BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1100 (Corbett)
Hearing Date: 05/03/2010 Amended: 04/22/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EQ 4-2
SB 1100 (Corbett), Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 1100 requires producers of household batteries
to institute programs to manage used household batteries. The
bill requires battery producers to set up and finance programs
to take back used batteries and recycle or properly dispose of
them. The bill sets out target collection rates of 50% by 2014
and 70% by 2017. The Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery is required to review and approve the producers' plans.
Producers are required to pay regulatory fees to the Department.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Plan review and $290 $280 $280 Special
*
enforcement
* New account within the Integrated Waste Management Fund. Fully
offset by fee revenues.
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STAFF COMMENTS:
Current law prohibits the disposal of certain types of
"universal" wastes, including non-rechargeable household
batteries, in landfills. (Rechargeable batteries are handled
separately and current law requires retailers to operate "take
back" programs.) Because household batteries may not be disposed
of in landfills, they are treated as hazardous waste and must be
handled with more stringent disposal requirements. Under current
practice, local governments accept universal wastes, including
household batteries, for disposal in hazardous waste sites.
Local governments have indicated that the collection and
disposal of household batteries is a costly activity for them to
undertake. In addition, the Department of Resources Recycling
and Reuse indicates that a relatively small portion of household
batteries sold in the state are properly disposed of. For
example, in 2008-09, about 2,000 tons of batteries were
collected through local government hazardous waste programs,
whereas over 19,000 tons were improperly disposed of in
landfills.
SB 1100 (Corbett), Page 2
SB 1100 institutes a mandatory producer stewardship program for
household batteries (not including rechargeable batteries).
Under the bill, household battery producers are required to
develop and implement plans for the proper collection and
disposal of those batteries. Under the bill, producers would be
prohibited from selling household batteries in the state unless
a producer has submitted a plan and it has been deemed complete
by the Department.
Under the bill, producers are required to develop a product
stewardship plan by September 30, 2011 to properly manage used
household batteries. These plans can be developed by individual
producers, groups of producers, or hazardous waste haulers
acting on behalf of one or more producers. The bill requires
producers to achieve collection rates of 50 percent of all
batteries by 2014 and 70 percent of all batteries by 2017. In
addition, the bill sets a target rate of 95 percent collection.
The bill requires the stewardship plans to detail how the
producers will implement and finance their plans to achieve the
target collection rates.
The bill requires the Department to review the initial product
stewardship plans and determine whether they are complete within
45 days. Beginning in April 2013, the bill requires producers to
submit annual plans to the Department describing the
implementation of the stewardship plans, including information
on battery sales and recovery rates.
The bill authorizes the Department to assess administrative
penalties of $5,000 per day on a producer or product stewardship
organization that has failed to make a good faith effort to
comply with the bill, for instance by not submitting a plan or
an annual report. In addition, the bill authorized the
Department to assess an administrative penalty of $1,000 per day
on a producer, wholesaler, or retailer that sells batteries for
which a product stewardship plan has not been deemed complete.
The bill requires producers to pay the Department a plan review
fee upon submission of the stewardship plan, in an amount set by
the Department that fully covers the Department's costs. The
bill also requires stewardship organizations to pay an annual
fee upon submission of their annual reports, in an amount set by
the Department that fully covers the Department's costs to
review the annual reports and enforce the provisions of the
bill. The bill provides that a producer or stewardship
organization that is meeting the 95 percent target collection
SB 1100 (Corbett), Page 2
rate set in the bill is not required to pay the annual fee.
The bill also creates two new subaccounts within the Integrated
Waste Management Fund, one for the deposit of fee revenues and
one for the deposit of penalty revenues. Monies in both of the
new subaccounts would be available, upon appropriation of the
Legislature, for the implementation of the bill.
Staff notes that over time, the bill is likely to reduce local
government costs for the deposal of household batteries. The
scope of these cost reductions is unknown. On the other hand, by
requiring producers to take responsibility for the collection
and disposal of used batteries, the bill is likely to increase
the retail cost of batteries in the state.