BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1566 (Holden) - Inedible Kitchen Grease
Amended: July 1, 2014 Policy Vote: Agriculture 5-0
T&H 11-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Robert Ingenito
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1566 would increase the authority of the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the
California Highway Patrol (CHP) to oversee and enforce laws
related to the collection, transportation, storage, and
rendering of inedible kitchen grease (IKG). Among other things,
the bill would extend the sunset for the collection of annual
fees charged by CDFA by five years, from July 1, 2015 to July 1,
2020
Fiscal Impact: This bill would result in minor and absorbable
costs to both CDFA and CHP.
Background: Inedible kitchen grease (IKG) is a byproduct of
commercial cooking that can be rendered into a valuable product
and used for biofuel or as an ingredient in animal feed.
Typically, restaurants will store IKG behind buildings and in
alleyways awaiting pickup and transportation to rendering
facilities. Inedible (used) kitchen grease has become a
valuable commodity in the last decade (rising up to six times in
price), especially in light of rising gasoline prices and
corresponding growth in the biodiesel fuel industry. Thus,
recycling a waste product into a valuable feed or biofuel
resource has become attractive. Due to the increasing value of
biofuels, IKG theft has risen over the past several years and
has proven to be a relatively easy and profitable target for
thieves.
The CDFA Inedible Kitchen Grease Program was established in 1995
in response to increasing theft of IKG. This program is
responsible for regulating and enforcing IKG laws and works
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closely with local law enforcement to conduct investigations and
prevent IKG theft. To assist in these efforts, CDFA requires
all renderers and collection centers to apply for and obtain a
license and requires all IKG transporters to be registered.
Existing law authorizes CDFA to revoke, suspend, or refuse to
issue a renderer or collection center license or transporter
registration under specified circumstances, including previous
violations of IKG transportation laws or
Existing law requires licensed renderers, collection center
operators, and registered transporters to retain specified
records reflecting sales and transportation of IKG for two
years. Existing law prohibits anyone from accepting IKG from
any unregistered transporter and from possessing any IKG that is
knowingly stolen. Existing law provides for fines and/or
imprisonment for violations of these provisions.
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Proposed Law: This bill would do all of the following:
Increases the stringency of requirements for renderer
and collection center licenses, including that applicants
may be refused licenses if they have violated existing law
pertaining to IKG.
Increases fines for failure to comply with record
keeping regulations, doubling the base fine for a first
offense from $500 to $1,000; and quintupling the fines for
second and third offenses from $1,000 to $5,000, and $2,000
to $10,000, respectively. When penalty assessments are
included, total corresponding bail amounts exceed $4,000,
$20,000, and $40,000.
Allows authorized CDFA and CHP employees to inspect
rendering and collection center facilities, manifests, and
any premises owned by licensed renderers, collection
centers, or registered transporters of IKG.
Specifies appeals processes for denial and revocation of
licenses for renderers and collection centers.
Extends sunset dates for the collection of annual fees
charged by CDFA by five years, from July 1, 2015 to July 1,
2020.
Requires more stringent record keeping by IKG
transporters, renderers, or collection centers, in the form
of an electronic or written manifest.
Allows peace officers to remove and impound vehicles
found to be illegally loading, unloading, or transporting
IKG.
Requires conspicuous labeling of vehicles used to
transport IKG.
Makes technical and conforming changes to align the
Vehicle Code with the Food and Agricultural Code.
Related Legislation: AB 2378 (Huber), Chapter 303, Statutes of
2012, increases maximum fines for specified crimes related to
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IKG theft, and requires that transporters, renderers, and
collection centers maintain records on IKG for two years.
Staff Comments: Any local government costs resulting from the
mandate in this measure are not state-reimbursable because the
mandate only involves the definition of a crime or the penalty
for conviction of a crime.