BILL NUMBER: AB 549 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Carter
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to amend Sections 42463, 42476, and 42479 of the Public
Resources Code, relating to recycling.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 549, as introduced, Carter. Recycling: electronic waste.
Existing law, the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, requires
a retailer selling a covered electronic device in this state to
collect a covered electronic waste recycling fee from the consumer,
as specified. These fees are deposited in the Electronic Waste
Recovery and Recycling Account, and the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) is continuously appropriated the
money in the account to, among other things, make electronic waste
recovery payments and recycling payments. CalRecycle is authorized to
make these payments only if certain conditions are met. CalRecycle
is required to make these payments to an authorized collector or
covered electronic waste recycler upon receipt of a completed and
verified invoice submitted to CalRecycle in the form and manner
determined by CalRecycle.
This bill would additionally require, as a condition of making
these payments, that the covered electronic device for which the
payment is claimed was used in this state. The bill would authorize
CalRecycle to review any documentation required to be submitted by an
authorized collector or covered electronic waste recycler before
making these payments, and to refuse to make these payments, if
CalRecycle determines that the documentation is incomplete or not in
compliance with the act or the regulations adopted pursuant to the
act. The bill would also make conforming changes with reference to
CalRecycle.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 42463 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
42463. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires
otherwise:
(a) "Account" means the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling
Account created in the Integrated Waste Management Fund under Section
42476.
(b) "Authorized collector" means any of the following:
(1) A city, county, or district that collects covered electronic
devices.
(2) A person or entity that is required or authorized by a city,
county, or district to collect covered electronic devices pursuant to
the terms of a contract, license, permit, or other written
authorization.
(3) A nonprofit organization that collects or accepts covered
electronic devices.
(4) A manufacturer or agent of the manufacturer that collects,
consolidates, and transports covered electronic devices for recycling
from consumers, businesses, institutions, and other generators.
(5) An entity that collects, handles, consolidates, and transports
covered electronic devices and has filed applicable notifications
with the department pursuant to Chapter 23 (commencing with Section
66273.1) of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of
Regulations.
(c) "CalRecycle" means the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
(c)
(d) "Consumer" means a person who purchases a new or
refurbished covered electronic device in a transaction that is a
retail sale or in a transaction to which a use tax applies pursuant
to Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code.
(d) "Department"
(e) Notwithstanding Section 40118,
"department" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(e)
(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), "covered
electronic device" means a video display device containing a screen
greater than four inches, measured diagonally, that is identified in
the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Covered electronic device" does not include any of the
following:
(A) A video display device that is a part of a motor vehicle, as
defined in Section 415 of the Vehicle Code, or any component part of
a motor vehicle assembled by, or for, a vehicle manufacturer or
franchised dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor
vehicle.
(B) A video display device that is contained within, or a part of
a piece of industrial, commercial, or medical equipment, including
monitoring or control equipment.
(C) A video display device that is contained within a clothes
washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer,
microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room
air-conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier.
(D) An electronic device, on and after the date that it ceases to
be a covered electronic device under subdivision (e) of Section
25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(f)
(g) "Covered electronic waste" or "covered e-waste"
means a covered electronic device that is discarded.
(g)
(h) "Covered electronic waste recycling fee" or
"covered e-waste recycling fee" means the fee imposed pursuant to
Article 3 (commencing with Section 42464).
(h)
(i) "Covered electronic waste recycler" or "covered
e-waste recycler" means any of the following:
(1) A person who engages in the manual or mechanical separation of
covered electronic devices to recover components and commodities
contained therein for the purpose of reuse or recycling.
(2) A person who changes the physical or chemical composition of a
covered electronic device, in accordance with the requirements of
Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code and the regulations adopted pursuant to that
chapter, by deconstructing, size reduction, crushing, cutting,
sawing, compacting, shredding, or refining for purposes of
segregating components, for purposes of recovering or recycling those
components, and who arranges for the transport of those components
to an end user.
(3) A manufacturer who meets any conditions established by this
chapter and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division
20 of the Health and Safety Code for the collection or recycling of
covered electronic waste.
(i)
(j) "Discarded" has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 25124 of the Health and Safety Code.
(j)
(k) "Electronic waste recovery payment" means an amount
established and paid by the board CalRecycle
pursuant to Section 42477.
(k)
(l) "Electronic waste recycling payment" means an
amount established and paid by the board
CalRecycle pursuant to Section 42478.
(l)
(m) "Hazardous material" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 25501 of the Health and Safety Code.
(m)
(n) "Manufacturer" means either of the following:
(1) A person who manufactures a covered electronic device sold in
this state.
(2) A person who sells a covered electronic device in this state
under that person's brand name.
(n)
(o) "Person" means an individual, trust firm, joint
stock company, business concern, and corporation, including, but not
limited to, a government corporation, partnership, limited liability
company, and association. Notwithstanding Section 40170, "person"
also includes a city, county, city and county, district, commission,
the state or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof,
an interstate body, and the United States and its agencies and
instrumentalities to the extent permitted by law.
(o)
(p) "Recycling" has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 25121.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(p)
(q) "Refurbished," when used to describe a covered
electronic device, means a device that the manufacturer has tested
and returned to a condition that meets factory specifications for the
device, has repackaged, and has labeled as refurbished.
(q)
(r) "Retailer" means a person who makes a retail sale
of a new or refurbished covered electronic device. "Retailer"
includes a manufacturer of a covered electronic device who sells that
covered electronic device directly to a consumer through any means,
including, but not limited to, a transaction conducted through a
sales outlet, catalog, or the Internet, or any other similar
electronic means.
(r)
(s) (1) "Retail sale" has the same meaning as defined
under Section 6007 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(2) "Retail sale" does not include the sale of a covered
electronic device that is temporarily stored or used in California
for the sole purpose of preparing the covered electronic device for
use thereafter solely outside the state, and that is subsequently
transported outside the state and thereafter used solely outside the
state.
(s)
(t) "Vendor" means a person that makes a sale of a
covered electronic device for the purpose of resale to a retailer who
is the lessor of the covered electronic device to a consumer under a
lease that is a continuing sale and purchase pursuant to Part 1
(commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.
(t)
(u) "Video display device" means an electronic device
with an output surface that displays, or is capable of displaying,
moving graphical images or a visual representation of image sequences
or pictures, showing a number of quickly changing images on a screen
in fast succession to create the illusion of motion, including, if
applicable, a device that is an integral part of the display, in that
it cannot be easily removed from the display by the consumer, that
produces the moving image on the screen. A video display device may
use, but is not limited to, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal
display (LCD), gas plasma, digital light processing, or other image
projection technology.
SEC. 2. Section 42476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
42476. (a) The Electronic Waste and Recovery and Recycling
Account is hereby established in the Integrated Waste Management
Fund. All fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited
in the account. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
the funds in the account are hereby continuously appropriated,
without regard to fiscal year, for the following purposes:
(1) To pay refunds of the covered electronic waste recycling fee
imposed under Section 42464.
(2) To make electronic waste recovery payments to an authorized
collector of covered electronic waste pursuant to Section 42479.
(3) To make electronic waste recycling payments to covered
electronic waste recyclers pursuant to Section 42479.
(4) To make payments to manufacturers pursuant to subdivision (g).
(b) (1) The money in the account may be expended for the following
purposes only upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual
Budget Act:
(A) For the administration of this chapter by the board
CalRecycle and the department.
(B) To reimburse the State Board of Equalization for its
administrative costs of registering, collecting, making refunds, and
auditing retailers and consumers in connection with the covered
electronic waste recycling fee imposed under Section 42464.
(C) To provide funding to the department to implement and enforce
Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code, as that chapter relates to covered electronic
devices, and any regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
that chapter.
(D) To establish the public information program specified in
subdivision (d).
(2) Any fines or penalties collected pursuant to this chapter
shall be deposited in the Electronic Waste Penalty Subaccount, which
is hereby established in the account. The funds in the Electronic
Waste Penalty Subaccount may be expended by the board
CalRecycle or the department only
upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 16475 of the Government Code, any
interest earned upon funds in the Electronic Waste Recovery and
Recycling Account shall be deposited in that account for expenditure
pursuant to this chapter.
(d) Not more than 1 percent of the funds annually deposited in the
Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account shall be expended
for the purposes of establishing the public information program to
educate the public in the hazards of improper covered electronic
device storage and disposal and on the opportunities to recycle
covered electronic devices.
(e) The board CalRecycle
shall adopt regulations specifying cancellation methods for the
recovery, processing, or recycling of covered electronic waste.
(f) The board CalRecycle may pay an
electronic waste recycling payment or electronic waste recovery
payment for covered electronic waste only if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The covered electronic waste, including any residuals from the
processing of the waste, is handled in compliance with all
applicable statutes and regulations.
(2) The manufacturer or the authorized collector or recycler of
the electronic waste provide a cost free and convenient opportunity
to recycle electronic waste, in accordance with the legislative
intent specified in subdivision (b) of Section 42461.
(3) If the covered electronic waste is processed, the covered
electronic waste is processed in this state according to the
cancellation method authorized by the board.
CalRecycle.
(4) The covered electronic device for which the payment is claimed
was used in this state.
(4)
( g) The board
CalRecycle declares that the state is a market participant in
the business of the recycling of covered electronic waste for all of
the following reasons:
(A)
(1) The fee is collected from the state's consumers for
covered electronic devices sold for use in the state.
(B)
(2) The purpose of the fee and subsequent payments is
to prevent damage to the public health and the environment from waste
generated in the state.
(C)
(3) The recycling system funded by the fee ensures that
economically viable and sustainable markets are developed and
supported for recovered materials and components in order to conserve
resources and maximize business and employment opportunities within
the state.
(g)
( h) (1) The board
CalRecycle may make a payment to a manufacturer that takes back
a covered electronic device from a consumer in this state for
purposes of recycling the device at a processing facility. The amount
of the payment made by the board CalRecycle
shall equal the value of the covered electronic waste recycling
fee paid for that device. To qualify for a payment pursuant to this
subdivision, the manufacturer shall demonstrate both of the following
to the board CalRecycle :
(A) The covered electronic device for which payment is claimed was
used in this state.
(B) The covered electronic waste for which a payment is claimed,
including any residuals from the processing of the waste, has been,
and will be, handled in compliance with all applicable statutes and
regulations.
(2) A covered electronic device for which a payment is made under
this subdivision is not eligible for an electronic waste recovery
payment or an electronic waste recycling payment under Section 42479.
SEC. 3. Section 42479 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
42479. (a) (1) (A) For covered electronic
waste collected for recycling on and after January 1, 2005,
the board CalRecycle shall make electronic waste
recovery payments and electronic waste recycling payments for the
collection and recycling of covered electronic waste to an authorized
collector or covered electronic waste recycler, respectively, upon
receipt of a completed and verified invoice submitted to the
board CalRecycle by the authorized collector or
recycler in the form and manner determined by the board
CalRecycle .
(B) CalRecycle may review any documentation required to be
submitted by an authorized collector or covered electronic waste
recycler before making a payment authorized by this chapter.
CalRecycle may refuse to make a payment pursuant to this chapter if
it determines the documentation submitted by an authorized collector
or covered electronic waste recycler is incomplete or otherwise not
in compliance with this chapter or the regulations adopted pursuant
to this chapter.
(2) To the extent authorized pursuant to Section 42477, a covered
electronic waste recycler shall make the electronic waste recovery
payments to an authorized collector upon receipt of a completed and
verified invoice submitted to the recycler by the authorized
collector in the form and manner determined by the board
CalRecycle .
(b) An e-waste recycler is eligible for a payment pursuant to this
section only if the e-waste recycler meets all of the following
requirements:
(1) The e-waste recycler is in compliance with applicable
requirements of Article 6 (commencing with Section 66273.70) of
Chapter 23 of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of
Regulations.
(2) The e-waste recycler demonstrates to the board
CalRecycle that any facility utilized by the
e-waste recycler for the handling, processing, refurbishment, or
recycling of covered electronic devices meets all of the following
standards:
(A) The facility has been inspected by the department within the
past 12 months and had been found to be operating in conformance with
all applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.
(B) The facility is accessible during normal business hours for
unannounced inspections by state or local agencies.
(C) The facility has health and safety, employee training, and
environmental compliance plans and certifies compliance with the
plans.
(D) The facility meets or exceed the standards specified in
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1171) of Part 4 of Division 2,
Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200), and Division 5 (commencing
with Section 6300), of the Labor Code or, if all or part of the work
is to be performed in another state, the equivalent requirements of
that state.