California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1784

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

February 18, 2014

An act to amend Section 5342 of the Food and Agricultural Code, and to amend Sections 14572 and 14595.5 of the Public Resources Code, relating to beverage containers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1784, as introduced, Quirk. Beverage containers: enforcement.

(1) The existing California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires certified recycling centers, when accepting an empty beverage container from a consumer, to pay the refund value. A violation of the act is a crime.

This bill would prohibit a certified recycling center from accepting or paying a refund value to a consumer for more than 50 pounds of empty beverage containers submitted by that consumer to the certified recycling center during a single 24-hour period. Since a violation of this requirement would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) The act prohibits any person from paying, claiming, or receiving any refund value or other specified payments of fees for imported beverage container material, previously redeemed containers, rejected containers, line breakage, or other ineligible material, or, with intent to defraud, taking specified actions with regard to redeeming ineligible containers.

This bill would require the department, when implementing these prohibitions, to consider proximity to the state border when assigning employees to the department’s audits of redemption centers.

(3) Existing law requires a vehicle entering the state that contains more than 25 pounds of empty beverage container material to pass through the nearest plant quarantine inspection station and obtain proof of inspection from the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The department is authorized to enter into an interagency agreement with the Department of Food and Agriculture to implement this requirement. Existing law authorizes plant quarantine officers at plant quarantine inspection stations to, among other things, ascertain the origin, quantity, and kinds of meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, eggs, and livestock transported into or out of this state through the station.

This bill would require the plant quarantine officers at plant quarantine inspection stations to ascertain the origin and quantity of high volumes of empty beverage containers transported by vehicles entering the state.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 5342 of the Food and Agricultural Code
is amended to read:

5342.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Plant quarantine officers at plant quarantine
inspection stations may ascertain the origin, quantity, and kinds
of meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, eggs,
and livestock transported into or out of this state through the
stations. The operator of begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert vehicle begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is transporting
begin delete any such commodity end delete begin insert one of these commodities end insert into or out of the
state through begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert plant quarantine inspection station shall stop
and give this information upon request to a plant quarantine officer
at the plant quarantine inspection station. begin delete Such end delete begin insert The end insert request may
be by a sign which is openly displayed at the station or by any
other means which is deemed by the director as effective.

begin delete

The

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert director may accept, on behalf of the state, donations
of money from any person to defray the costs of the department
under this begin delete section end delete begin insert subdivision end insert . begin delete Any such end delete begin insert That end insert money shall be paid
into the State Treasury and credited to the Department of
Agriculture Fund. The director may limit expenditures under this
begin delete section end delete begin insert subdivision end insert relating to livestock to the amounts so donated
for this purpose, and shall limit expenditures under this section
relating to poultry and poultry products and eggs to the amounts
so donated for this purpose.

begin insert

(b) Plant quarantine officers at plant quarantine inspection
stations shall ascertain the origin and quantity of high volumes of
empty beverage containers transported by vehicles entering the
state for purposes of determining compliance with Section 14596
of the Public Resources Code.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 14572 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

14572.  

(a) (1) Except as provided in begin delete subdivision (b) end delete
begin insert subdivisions (b) and (e) end insert , a certified recycling center shall accept
from any consumer or dropoff or collection program any empty
beverage container, and shall pay to the consumer or dropoff or
collection program the refund value of the beverage container.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the recycling center
may pay the refund value based on the weight of returned
containers.

(3) On and after September 1, 2013, for beverage containers
redeemed by consumers, a certified recycling center shall pay the
refund value using the applicable segregated rate, as defined in
paragraph (43) of subsection (a) of Section 2000 of Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations, as that section read on September
1, 2013, which shall be based on the weight of the redeemed
beverage containers.

(b) Any recycling center or processor that was in existence on
January 1, 1986, and that refused, as of January 1, 1986, to accept
at a particular location a certain type of empty beverage container
may continue to refuse to accept at the location the type or types
of empty beverage containers that the recycling center or processor
refused to accept as of January 1, 1986. A certified recycling center
that refuses, pursuant to this subdivision, to accept a certain type
or types of empty beverage containers is not eligible to receive
handling fees unless the center agrees to accept all types of empty
beverage containers and is a supermarket site. This subdivision
does not preclude the certified recycling center from receiving a
handling fee for beverage containers redeemed at supermarket
sites that do accept all types of containers.

(c) The department shall develop procedures by which recycling
centers and processors that meet the criteria of subdivision (b) may
recertify to change the material types accepted.

(d) (1) Only a certified recycling center may pay the refund
value to consumers or dropoff or collection programs. A person
shall not pay a noncertified recycler for empty beverage containers
an amount that exceeds the current scrap value for each container
type, which shall be determined in the following manner:

(A) For a plastic or glass beverage container, the current scrap
value shall be determined by the department.

(B) For an aluminum beverage container, the current scrap value
shall be not greater than the amount paid to the processor for that
aluminum beverage container, on the date the container was
purchased, by the location of end use, as defined in the regulations
of the department.

(2) A person shall not receive or retain, for empty beverage
containers that come from out of state, any refund values,
processing payments, or administrative fees for which a claim is
made to the department against the fund.

(3) Paragraph (1) does not affect curbside programs under
contract with cities or counties.

begin insert

(e) A certified recycling center shall not accept or pay a refund
value to a consumer for more than 50 pounds of empty beverage
containers submitted by that consumer to the certified recycling
center during a single 24-hour period.

end insert

SEC. 3.  

Section 14595.5 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

14595.5.  

(a) (1)  begin delete No end delete begin insert A end insert person shall begin insert not end insert pay, claim, or receive
begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert refund value, processing payment, handling fee, or
administrative fee for any of the following:

(A) Beverage container material that the person knew, or should
have known, was imported from out of state.

(B) A previously redeemed container, rejected container, line
breakage, or other ineligible material.

(2)  begin delete No end delete begin insert A end insert person shall begin insert not end insert , with intent to defraud, do any of the
following:

(A) Redeem or attempt to redeem an out-of-state container,
rejected container, line breakage, previously redeemed container,
or other ineligible material.

(B) Return a previously redeemed container to the marketplace
for redemption.

(C) Bring an out-of-state container, rejected container, line
breakage, or other ineligible material to the marketplace for
redemption.

(D) Receive, store, transport, distribute, or otherwise facilitate
or aid in the redemption of a previously redeemed container,
out-of-state container, rejected container, line breakage, or other
ineligible material.

(b) For purposes of implementing subdivision (a), the
department shall begin delete take all reasonable end delete begin insert do both of the following: end insert

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Consider proximity to the state’s border when assigning
employees to the department’s audits of redemption centers. end insert

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Take all reasonable end insert steps to exclude beverage container
material imported from out of state, previously redeemed
containers, rejected containers, and line breakage, when conducting
surveys to determine a commingled rate pursuant to Section
14549.5.

SEC. 4.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.