BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 1547
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 8, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

               SB 1547 (Simitian) - As Introduced:  February 24, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                             Natural 
          ResourcesVote:8-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill adds the category of "other ineligible material" to 
          the list of materials the Department of Resources Recycling and 
          Recovery (Calrecycle) is to attempt to exclude when conducting 
          surveys to determine a commingled rate for redeemable beverage 
          containers.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible costs to Calrecycle, if any.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale.   The author expresses a concern for the potential 
            for fraud committed by those redeeming beverage containers by 
            use of the comingled rate.  He intends this bill, which he 
            states is not a spot bill, to ensure Calrecycle excludes all 
            materials not eligible for redemption value.  
             
           2)Background.   The Division of Recycling (DOR) within Calrecycle 
            administers the Beverage Container Recycling Program, commonly 
            referred to as the bottle bill program.  This program was 
            created more than 20 years ago by Chapter 1290, Statutes of 
            1986 (AB 2020, Margolin). The program encourages the voluntary 
            recycling of most beverage containers by guaranteeing a 
            minimum payment (the California Redemption Value (CRV)) for 
            each container returned to a certified recycler. Beverage 
            containers are subject to the CRV based on both the content of 
            the container (the beverage type, such as water or sports 
            drinks) and the container material (such as glass or plastic).









                                                                 SB 1547
                                                                  Page  2

            When more than 50 beverage containers are redeemed by a 
            consumer at a recycling center, the center may pay the 
            consumer by weight rather by individual container.  Because 
            beverage container weights vary, the "comingled rate" is 
            established by Calrecycle based on surveys of various 
            container weights.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081