AB 1699, as amended, Bloom. Waste management: microplastics.
The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) prohibits any person, in the course of doing business, from knowingly and intentionally exposing any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without giving a specified warning, or from discharging or releasing such a chemical into any source of drinking water, except as specified. Existing law prohibits the sale of expanded polystyrene packaging material by a wholesaler or manufacturer. Existing law prohibits a person from selling a plastic product in this state that is labeled with the term “compostable,” “home compostable,” or “marine degradable” unless, at the time of sale, the plastic product meets the applicable American Society for Testing and Materials standard specification.
This bill would prohibit, after January 1,begin delete 2016,end deletebegin insert
2018,end insert a person in the course of doing business, as defined, from selling or offering for promotional purposes in this state any personal care product containing microplastic, as specified. The bill wouldbegin delete provide an exception to the above provision forend deletebegin insert exempt from this prohibitionend insert the sale or promotional offer of a product containing less than 1 part per million (ppm) by weight of microplastic, as provided.
The bill would make a violator liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 per day for each violation. The bill would authorize the penalty to be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in any court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or local officials, as provided. The bill would require the civil penalties collected in an action brought pursuant to the act to be retained by the office of the Attorney General or local official who brought the action.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section 42360)
2is added to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to
3read:
4
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
8(a) Plastic does not biodegrade like other organic materials, but,
9upon exposure to thebegin delete elementsend deletebegin insert elements,end insert photodegrades into smaller
10begin delete piecesend deletebegin insert pieces,end insert causing land and water pollution that is virtually
11impossible to remediate.
12(b) Plastic pollution is the dominant type of anthropogenic debris
13found throughout the marine environment.
14(c) Plastic pollution is an environmental and human health
15hazard and a public nuisance.
16(d) Consumer personal care products such as facial scrubs,
17soaps, and toothpaste increasingly contain thousands of
18microplastic particles, ranging from 50 to 500 microns, which are
19flushed down drains as part of their intended use.
20(e) Microplastics in personal care products are not recoverable
21through ordinary wastewater treatment and so are released into
22the environment.
P3 1(f) Microplastics of the size found inbegin delete cleaning andend delete
personal care
2products are ingested by marine organisms.
3(g) Microplastics attract other pollutants commonly present in
4the environment, many of which are recognized to have serious
5deleterious impacts on human health or the environment, including
6DDT, DDE, PCBs, and flame-retardants.
7(h) Microplastics have been found in surface waters within the
8United States, as well as in fish, marine mammals, and reptiles,
9
and in the digestive and circulatory systems of mussels and worms.
10(i) PAHs, PCBs, and PBDEs from plastic transfer to fish tissue
11during digestion and bioaccumulate, resulting in liver damage.
12(j) Fish that humans consume have been found to ingest
13microplastics.
14(k) There are many biodegradable, natural alternatives to
15microplastics that are economically feasible, as evidenced by their
16current use in some consumer personal care products.
As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
18following meanings:
19(a) “Department” means the Department of Resources Recycling
20and Recovery.
39 21(b)
end delete
22begin insert(a)end insert “Microplastic” means any plastic size 5 millimeter or less
23in all
dimensions.
24(c)
end delete
25begin insert(b)end insert “Person” means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock
26company, corporation, company, partnership, limited liability
27company, and association.
5 28(d)
end delete
29begin insert(c)end insert “Personal care products” means mixtures and solutions used
30for bathing and facial or body cleaning, including,
but not limited
31to, hand and body soap, exfoliates, shampoos, toothpastes, and
32scrubs.
33(e)
end delete
34begin insert(d)end insert “Person in the course of doing business” does not include
35any person employing fewer than 10 employees in his or her
36business; any city, county, or district or any department or agency
37thereof or the state or any department or agency thereof or the
38federal government or any department or agency thereof; or any
39entity in its operation of a public water system.
40(f)
end delete
P4 1begin insert(e)end insert “Plastic” means a synthetic material made from linking
2monomers through a chemical reaction to create a polymer chain
3that can be molded or extruded at high heat into various forms.
4Plastics can be made from many organic substances, including
5petroleum and natural gas.
On or after January 1,begin delete 2016,end deletebegin insert 2018,end insert a person in the course
7of doing business shall not sell or offer for promotional purposes
8in this state any personal care products containing microplastic.
Section 42362 shall not apply to any person in the
10course of doing business that sells or offers for promotional
11purposes a personal care product containing microplastic in less
12than 1 part per million (ppm) by weight.
(a) A person who violates or threatens to violate Section
1442362 may be enjoined in any court of competent jurisdiction.
15(b) (1) A person who violates Section 42362 is liable for a civil
16penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)
17per day for each violation in addition to any other penalty
18established by law. That civil penalty may be assessed and
19recovered in a civil action brought in any court of competent
20jurisdiction.
21(2) In assessing the amount of a civil penalty for a violation of
22this chapter, the court shall consider all of the following:
23(A) The nature and extent of the violation.
24(B) The number of, and severity of, the violations.
25(C) The economic effect of the penalty on the person.
26(D) Whether the person took good faith measures to comply
27with this chapter and the time these measures were taken.
28(E) The deterrent effect that the imposition of the penalty would
29have on both the person and the regulated community as a whole.
30(F) Any other factor that justice may require.
31(c) Actions pursuant to this section may be brought by
the
32Attorney General in the name of the people of the state, by a district
33attorney, by a city attorney of a city having a population in excess
34of 750,000 persons, or, with the consent of the district attorney,
35by a city prosecutor in a city or city and county having a full-time
36city prosecutor.
The civil penalties collected pursuant to Section 42364
38shall be retained by the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor,
39district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought
40the action.
This chapter does not alter or diminish any legal
2obligation otherwise required in common law or by statute or
3regulation, and this chapter does not create or enlarge any defense
4in any action to enforce the legal obligation. Penalties and sanctions
5imposed under this chapter shall be in addition to any penalties or
6sanctions otherwise prescribed by law.
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