AB 1699, as amended, Bloom. Waste management: plastic microbeads.
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,
2019, a person, as defined, from selling or offering for promotional purposes in this statebegin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert personal care product containing plastic microbeads, as specified. The bill would exempt from this prohibition the sale or promotional offer of a product containing less than 1 part per million (ppm) by weight of plastic microbeads, 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.
begin insertThe bill would declare that its provisions occupy the whole field of regulation of plastic microbeads and would prohibit a city, county, or other local public agency, on or after January 1, 2019, from adopting, enforcing, or otherwise implementing, an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule, or any amendment thereto, relating to plastic microbeads, except as expressly authorized.
end insertVote: 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:
9(a) Plastic does not biodegrade like other organic materials, but,
10upon exposure to the elements, photodegrades into smaller pieces,
11causing land and water pollution that is virtually impossible to
12remediate.
P3 1(b) Plastic pollution is the dominant type of anthropogenic debris
2found throughout the marine environment.
3(c) Plastic pollution is an environmental and human health
4hazard and a public nuisance.
5(d) Consumer personal care products such as facial
scrubs,
6soaps, and toothpaste increasingly contain thousands of plastic
7microbead particles, ranging from 50 to 500 microns, which are
8flushed down drains as part of their intended use.
9(e) Plastic microbeads in personal care products are not
10recoverable through ordinary wastewater treatment and so are
11released into the environment.
12(f) Plastic microbeads of the size found in personal care products
13are ingested by marine organisms.
14(g) Plastic microbeads attract other pollutants commonly present
15in the environment, many of which are recognized to have serious
16deleterious impacts on human health or the environment, including
17DDT, DDE, PCBs, and flame-retardants.
18(h) Plastic microbeads have been found in surface waters within
19the United States, as well as in fish, marine mammals, and reptiles,
20and in the digestive and circulatory systems of mussels and worms.
21(i) PAHs, PCBs, and PBDEs from plastic transfer to fish tissue
22during digestion and bioaccumulate, resulting in liver damage.
23(j) Fish that humans consume have been found to ingest plastic
24microbeads.
25(k) There are many biodegradable, natural alternatives to
plastic
26microbeads that are economically feasible, as evidenced by their
27current use in some consumer personal care products.
As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
29following meanings:
30(a) “Person” means an individual, business, or other entity.
31(b) (1) “Personal care product” means an articlebegin insert that isend insert intended
32to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced to, or
33otherwise applied to, the human body or any part thereof for
34cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the
35appearance, andbegin insert that may be rinsed off, includingend insert an article
36intended for use as a component of such an article.
37(2) “Personal care product” does not include a prescription drug,
38as defined in Section 110010.2 of the Health and Safety Code.
P4 1(c) “Plastic microbead” means an intentionally added plastic
2particle measuring five millimeters or less in size in every
3dimension.
On or after January 1, 2019, a person shall not sell or
5offer for promotional purposes in this state any personal care
6products containing plastic microbeads.
Section 42362 shall not apply to any person that sells
8or offers for promotional purposes a personal care product
9containing plastic microbeads in less than 1 part per million (ppm)
10by weight.
(a) A person who violates or threatens to violate Section
1242362 may be enjoined in any court of competent jurisdiction.
13(b) (1) A person who violates Section 42362 is liable for a civil
14penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)
15per day for each violation in addition to any other penalty
16established by law. That civil penalty may be assessed and
17recovered in a civil action brought in any court of competent
18jurisdiction.
19(2) In assessing the amount of a civil penalty for a violation of
20this chapter, the court shall consider all of the following:
21(A) The nature and extent of the violation.
22(B) The number of, and severity of, the violations.
23(C) The economic effect of the penalty on the person.
24(D) Whether the person took good faith measures to comply
25with this chapter and the time these measures were taken.
26(E) The deterrent effect that the imposition of the penalty would
27have on both the person and the regulated community as a whole.
28(F) Any other factor that justice may require.
29(c) Actions pursuant to this section may be brought by
the
30Attorney General in the name of the people of the state, by a district
31attorney, by a city attorney of a city having a population in excess
32of 750,000 persons, or, with the consent of the district attorney,
33by a city prosecutor in a city or city and county having a full-time
34city prosecutor.
The civil penalties collected pursuant to Section 42364
36shall be retained by the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor,
37district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought
38the action.
begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insertThis chapter does not alter or diminish any legal
40obligation otherwise required in common law or by statute or
P5 1regulation, and this chapter does not create or enlarge any defense
2in any action to enforce the legal obligation. Penalties and sanctions
3imposed under this chapter shall be in addition to any penalties or
4sanctions otherwise prescribed by law.
5(b) This chapter addresses a matter of statewide interest and
6concern and is applicable uniformly throughout the state.
7Accordingly, this chapter occupies the whole
field of regulation
8of plastic microbeads, except as provided in subdivision (a).
9(c) On and after January 1, 2019, a city, county, or other local
10public agency shall not adopt, enforce, or otherwise implement,
11an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule, or any amendment
12thereto, relating to plastic microbeads, except as expressly
13authorized by this chapter.
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