BILL ANALYSIS
SB 231
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Date of Hearing: June 29, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Pedro Nava, Chair
SB 231 (Alan Lowenthal) - As Amended: June 22, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 22-17
SUBJECT : Hazardous waste generator fees.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Department of Toxic Substance Control
(DTSC) to annually adjust the Hazardous Waste Generator Fee
(HWGF). Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the base rate for the HWGF at $3,949 per year.
2)Replaces the current cost of living adjustment based on the
changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the authority
for the DTSC to annually adjust the base rate fee by no more
that 5% to reflect the increased or decreased hazardous waste
regulatory program cost to DTSC.
3)Provides that the annual adjustment to the HWGF shall not be
increased if there is a reserve balance in the Hazardous Waste
Control Account (HWCA) greater than 1/3 of the annual revenue
generated from the fee.
4)Provides that the annual adjustment to the HWCF may not be
made if there is an outstanding loan from the HWCA to the
General Fund.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires generators of hazardous waste to pay the State Board
of Equalization (BOE) a fee for each generator site for each
calendar year, with certain exceptions and conditions, based
on tiers of rates calculated according to the amount of waste
generated during the prior calendar year.
2)Establishes the HWGF base fee rate at $2,748 for the 1997
calendar year and requires the BOE to adjust the base fee rate
annually to reflect changes in the cost of living. The
current base rate, as set by the BOE is $3,949. Hazardous
waste generators pay the HWGF based on the amount of waste
generated with the smallest generators paying 5% of the base
SB 231
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rate and the largest waste generators paying 200 times the
base rate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Not known.
COMMENTS :
1)Need for the bill . According to the author, this bill is
designed to increase the flexibility of the State in adjusting
annual fees on hazardous waste generators to pay for the
State's regulation of hazardous waste disposal. The current
rate setting process is based only on the changes to the CPI
and fails to consider the changes in programmatic costs. This
bill would update a 13 year old fee standard and increase
DTSC's ability to make minor adjustments to the base fee rate.
2)Hazardous waste generator fee . Every generator that produces
five tons or more of hazardous waste is required to pay a
generator fee for each generator site for each calendar year.
Facilities permitted under a full or standardized permit who
pay annual facility fees for a specific site do not owe a
generator fee for that site. Generators are required to
report the amount of waste generated. The rates specified for
2010 are included in the table below and are adjusted annually
to reflect increases or decreases in the cost of living as
measured by the CPI.
Generator Fees CY 2010
Base Rate: $3,949
Generator Size Rate Fee
Amount of Waste Rate
Fee
Less than 5 tons/year 0%
base rate $ -0-
5 but less than 25 tons/year 5%
base rate $ 197
25 but less than 50 tons/year
40% base rate $ 1,580
50 but less than 250 tons/year 100%
base rate $ 3,949
250 but less than 500 tons/year 5 x base
rate $ 19,745
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500 but less than 1,000 tons/year 10 x
base rate $ 39,490
1,000 but less than 2,000 tons/year 15 x
base rate $ 59,235
2,000 or more tons/year 20 x
base rate $ 78,980
3)Change from CPI to annual DTSC fee setting . Shifting the
annual base rate fee setting from the CPI to the program cost
would likely have the immediate effect of increasing the base
rate. In 2009-2010 the CPI experienced an approximate decline
of 1.5%, resulting in a decrease in the HWG base rate. The
current estimate of an unadjusted CPI for this year is a 2%
increase.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None received.
Opposition
None received.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965