BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1566
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
AB 1566 (Holden) - As Amended: April 10, 2014
TRANSPORTATION 15-0
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|Ayes:|Lowenthal, Linder, | | |
| |Achadjian, Ammiano, | | |
| |Bloom, Bonta, Buchanan, | | |
| |Daly, Frazier, Gatto, | | |
| |Holden, Wagner, Nazarian, | | |
| |Patterson, Quirk-Silva | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUBJECT : Inedible kitchen grease.
SUMMARY : Updates the Food and Agricultural Code (FAC) and
Vehicle Code (VC) to conform to each other dealing with
definitions, enforcement, fines, regulations, and transportation
of inedible kitchen grease (IKG). Specifically, this bill :
Food and Agriculture Code changes:
1)Recasts language dealing with refusal to issue an IKG
transport license, adds a violation of statutes or regulations
dealing with transportation of IKG to the reasons; and,
describes the due process appeal if licensure is refused.
2)Establishes a two-year requirement for retention of records,
recasts authorized employees language to review records to
include California Highway Patrol (CHP), conforming to
proposed VC language.
3)Replaces the term "registration certificate" with "renderer
license or collection center license" pertaining to the
suspension or revocation actions by the California Department
of Food and Agriculture (CDFA); clarifies containers are IKG;
and, describes the due process appeal if licensure is
suspended or revoked, conforming to license refusal process.
4)Makes conforming changes to rendering enforcement statutes and
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increases first offense fines from not less than $500 to
$1,000; second offense fines from not less than $1,000 to
$5,000; and, third and subsequent offenses from not less than
$2,000 to $10,000.
5)Adds failure to pay any penalties in full by the due date as a
condition to refuse an original or renewal registration IKG
transportation certificate.
6)Requires CDFA to adopt regulations describing the time period
to refuse a registration certificate based upon the number or
severity of violations, but cannot exceed three years.
7)Adds unlicensed renderers or collection centers, to the
prohibitions from whom a registered transporter cannot take
possession of IKG.
8)Requires CDFA to adopt regulations describing the time period
of suspension or revocation of a registration certificate
based upon the number or severity of violations, but cannot
exceed three years from the date of suspension or revocation;
adds clarifying language; and, expands the violations of the
Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act to include
legislative findings and local control provisions.
Vehicle Code changes:
1)Adds conforming FAC definitions for "container," "manifest,"
"transportation," and "IKG."
2)Adds conforming FAC language dealing with collection centers
of IKG being subject to the program's regulations and
requirements, and enforced by CDFA and law enforcement
agencies.
3)Clarifies and expands the VC inspection authorization by
adding "authorized employees of the CHP or CDFA," and adding
"collection centers" to the businesses that can be inspected.
4)Increases VC fines for a licensed renderer, collection center,
or registered transporter who fails to keep and maintain
records, as specified.
5)Clarifies that a peace officer or an authorized employee of
the CHP or CDFA is authorized to inspect the records of IKG
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transporters, renderers, or collection centers.
6)Requires IKG transporters to keep in their possession a copy
of their Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued
registration certificate and a manifest detailing the source
of IKG being transported, as specified.
7)Prohibits any person who is not a registered transporter or
licensed renderer of IKG to transport that product from any
location outside the state to any location within California.
8)Authorizes a peace officer to impound a vehicle for up to 15
days if the IKG transporter is involved in the theft or
illegal transport of IKG. The registered or legal owner of
the vehicle may receive the vehicle prior to the 15 day
requirement, if specific conditions are met.
9)Requires each vehicle transporting IKG to have the proper
decals and identification information required by CDFA to be
affixed to each transporting vehicle, as specified.
EXISTING LAW requires a licensed renderer to keep records for
two years, encompassing specific information in connection to
the receipt of IKG provided by a transporter; requires all
records retained by a licensed renderer or transporter to be
maintained at the renderer and transporter's regular place of
business; requires records to be provided on demand by any peace
officer and authorizes any peace officer to inspect any premises
maintained by a licensed renderer or transporter at any time
during normal business hours to ensure compliance with record
maintenance requirements. Imposes various fines, as specified,
on any licensed renderer or transporter who fails to keep
specified records or any licensed renderer or transporter who
refuses to exhibit any required records upon demand by any peace
officer; prohibits any person from engaging in the
transportation of IKG without being registered with CDFA and
without being in possession of a valid registration certificate
issued by DMV; and, prohibits any person who is not a registered
transporter or licensed renderer of IKG to transport that
product from any location within the state to any location
outside of California.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. Legislative Counsel has keyed this
bill fiscal.
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COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill "provides the
tools for state and local law enforcement to use in combatting
the growing occurrence of inedible kitchen grease theft. As
biofuels continue to grow as a source of alternative energy, the
value of kitchen grease will continue to skyrocket."
Over the past 15 years IKG theft has been a growing problem for
state regulators and law enforcement due to the low cost of
equipment to haul IKG and the product's value. In 2000, IKG was
being sold for approximately eight cents per pound; today it can
be sold for up to four times that amount, contingent on market
conditions. Specifically, in "high market" periods when the
market experiences spikes in gasoline and ethanol prices, the
demand grows for IKG to serve as a popular form of biodiesel to
fuel cars and trucks or as a cash commodity.
A recent article in the New Yorker reported that the increased
demand for IKG has "provided criminals with a potent incentive
to get to spent oil before renderers do." In fact, at the 2014
California Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Conference it was
reported that approximately 40% to 50% of IKG is stolen by
unlicensed transporters during "high market" conditions. In
"low market" conditions, approximately 20% to 30% of IKG is
stolen by unlicensed transporters.
Additionally, IKG theft imposes ongoing public safety and
environmental impact concerns to local communities. The New
Yorker article reported that unlicensed transporters use bolt
cutters to remove locks on container lids, cut through steel
with blowtorches, and use vacuum hoses to suck grease into
tanker trucks with little, if any, concern for IKG leakage or
spillage. Further reports have indicated these tanker trucks
are typically improperly built, do not possess the proper
licensing, and do not appropriately dispose of IKG byproducts
(e.g. animal bones or food waste).
CDFA's Inedible Kitchen Grease Program (IKGP) is the regulatory
and enforcement entity for the IKG industry. IKGP was
established in 1995 due to the great amount of theft of IKG,
beginning in the early '90s. The IKGP mission is to stop the
theft of IKG and related damage to IKG containers through
investigations and cooperation with local law enforcement and
local district attorneys. However, while the IKGP has continued
to make progress in enforcing program regulations, biofuels
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continue to grow as a viable source of alternative energy, which
will, in turn, continue to increase the value of IKG.
Law enforcement agencies have had confusion regarding their
enforcement role of IKG theft and illegal transportation. It is
the purpose of AB 1566 to clarify law enforcement's role by
adding to the Vehicle Code provisions dealing with IKG, which is
the code most often followed.
This bill aims to clarify existing law by conforming the two
codes and increase enforcement and penalties related to the
illegal collection and transporting of IKG. Specifically, to
incentivize program compliance, fines are increased for IKG
transporters for IKGP violations, law enforcement will be
allowed to impound a transporting vehicle involved in IKG theft
to ensure the vehicle is safely taken off the streets, and the
IKG is appropriately transported by a licensed transporter;
licensed transporters and renderers will be required to provide
specific identification on their transport vehicles, and
maintain detailed records in order for law enforcement to better
identify illegal IKG transporters.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Pacific Coast Rendering Association (Sponsor)
California Grain and Feed Association
California Restaurant Association
Claremont Chamber of Commerce
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084