BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1326
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1326
AUTHOR: Oropeza
AMENDED: March 23, 2010
FISCAL: No HEARING DATE: April 5, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT : CONSERVATION CORP FUNDING
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Pursuant to the Electronic Waste Recycling Act, overseen by
the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (DRRR)
in partnership with the Department of Toxic Substances
Control to collect and recycle electronic waste (Public
Resources Code 42460 et seq. and Health and Safety Code
25214.10 et seq.):
a) Requires retailers selling a covered electronic
device, as defined, to collect a covered electronic
waste recycling fee and those fees are deposited in the
Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account (E-waste
Account) and are continuously appropriated to DRRR for
specified purposes.
b) Authorizes DRRR to adjust the fee in (a) to ensure
there are adequate funds in the E-waste Account for
program implementation.
2) Pursuant to the California Tire Recycling Act overseen by
DRRR (PRC 42860 et seq.):
a) Requires a person who purchases a new tire to pay a
California tire fee and the revenue generated from the
fee is deposited in the California Tire Recycling
Management Fund (Tire Fund), for expenditure by DRRR,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for programs
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related to the disposal of waste tires, including
collection and management of illegally disposed tires.
3) Pursuant to Item Number 3340-101-6051 of the Budget Act of
2009, as added by Chapter 1 of the 4th Extraordinary
Session, appropriated $6,700,000 to the California
Conservation Corps for local assistance, payable from the
Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood
Control, River and Coastal Protection Fund of 2006.
4) Pursuant to Item 3340-490 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act
of 2009, as added by Chapter 1 of the 2009-10, 4th
Extraordinary Session, re-appropriated to the California
Conservation Corps for local assistance grants to local
conservation corps, funds payable from Safe Drinking Water,
Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal
Protection Fund of 2006.
This bill:
1)Appropriates $15,000,000 from the E-Waste account to the
California Conservation Corps for the purposes of making
direct grants to certified local community conservation
corps to collect and recycle covered electronic devices, as
defined, consistent with the Electronic Waste Recycling Act
of 2003, and for activities related to that collection and
recycling.
2)Appropriates $10,000,000 from the E-Waste Account to the
California Conservation Corps for their efforts to collect
and recycle covered electronic devices.
3)Appropriates $5,000,000 from the Tire Fund to the California
Conservation Corps for the purposes of making direct grants
to certified local community conservation corps to collect
and recycle waste tires consistent with the California Tire
Recycling Act, and for activities related to waste tire
collection and recycling.
4)Requires that the funds appropriated above be used to
provide immediate employment for at-risk youth and other
persons who are members of the local community conservation
corps to increase new jobs, employ people in productive
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activities and reduce unemployment.
5)Re-appropriates funds in #3 and #4 under Existing Law above,
subject to the purposes and limitations of those
appropriations, and provides that those funds would be
available for encumbrance until June 30, 2013.
6)Makes related findings and declarations.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, this measure
tackles two major problems in California - lack of jobs, and
littering. The jobs created by funding this program would
include collecting and recycling waste that has been
littered in our communities. It will create conservation
corps jobs in inner-city and rural areas. The author notes
that the Local Conservation Corps have recycled over 25,000
pounds of e-waste and removed over 154,000 pounds of litter
and debris. This bill appropriates $30 million to local
community conservation corps and to the California
Conservation Corps. Additionally, this bill would
re-appropriate $17.2 million in Prop. 84 dollars that were
originally allocated in the 2008 and 2009 budgets but have
not been encumbered.
2)Background .
a) California Conservation Corps: The California
Conservation Corps (CCC) provides young people between
the ages of 18 and 23 work experience and educational
opportunities. Corpsmembers work on projects that
conserve and improve the environment, such as tree
planting, trail building, and brush clearance. The CCC
estimates about 4,000 men and women (the equivalent of
about 1,200 full-time positions) participated in the
program during the 2008-09 budget year. Corpsmembers
earn minimum wage and are assigned to work approximately
40 hours per week. On average, corpsmembers stay in the
program for a little over seven months.
In addition to the CCC, there are also 12 certified local
conservation corps located in various communities
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throughout the state. These local corps perform
workforce development and training activities similar to
the CCC.
b) Electronic Waste Recycling: Under current law, DRRR
administers a program to manage certain waste electronic
products that contain hazardous materials. A fee is
assessed on the sale of specified electronic devices.
Revenue from this fee is deposited in E-waste Account.
Funds in the E-waste Account are used to provide recovery
and recycling payments to qualified entities to cover the
cost of collecting and recycling electronic devices and
other activities to reduce hazardous substances in
electronic devices and encourage recycling of such
devices. According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee analysis of SB8X 30, currently, revenues exceed
expenditures, and the E-waste Account is projected to
have a fund balance of $137 million at the end of the
2010-11 budget year. (DRRR is in the process of
reviewing the current fee level and may reduce it in the
budget year due to the large fund balance.)
This bill appropriates $25 million from the E-Waste
Account to the CCC for the collection and recycling of
electronic devices specified under current law. Of this
amount, the CCC would use $10 million for its own efforts
to collect and recycle electronic devices and the CCC
would provide $15 million in grants to local community
conservation corps for projects to collect and recycle
electronic devices.
c) Waste Tire Recycling: Under current law, DRRR
administers a program to encourage the recycling of used
tires and discourage the illegal dumping of used tires.
Under this program, DRRR provides a variety of technical
assistance, grants, and loans to businesses and local
governments. The program is funded by a fee assessed on
the sale of tires in the state. Fee revenues are
deposited in the Tire Fund. Currently, revenues and
expenditures in the Tire Fund are generally in line, with
a projected fund balance of $26 million at the end of the
2010-11 budget year. (According to the Senate
Appropriations Committee Analysis of SB8X 30, there are
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about $27 million in outstanding loans from the Tire Fund
to the General Fund. The proposed 2010-11 Budget Act
includes a $10 million repayment to the Tire Fund with a
further $17 million repayment anticipated in 2011-12.)
This bill appropriates $5 million to the CCC for grants
to local community conservation corps to collect and
recycle used tires consistent with the existing program.
d) Freeze on Bond Funding: The Budget Act of 2008
provides $23 million to the CCC from Proposition 84 bond
funds for local assistance grants to local community
conservation corps. In addition, the Budget Act of 2009
provides $6.7 million in Proposition 84 bond funds for
local assistance grants to local community conservation
corps. Due to the statewide freeze on issuing new
general obligation bonds, the CCC has been unable to
encumber $17.2 million of these funds to date. This bill
re-appropriates those funds and makes them available for
encumbrance until June 30, 2013.
3)Related Legislation . SB8X 30 (Oropeza), an identical bill,
passed the Senate on March 4, 2010 (23-8 vote). It was
passed to the Assembly where it died with no further action.
SOURCE : Senator Oropeza
SUPPORT : None on file
OPPOSITION : Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries
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