BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2251|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2251
Author: Yamada (D)
Amended: 7/2/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-1, 6/18/14
AYES: Hill, Fuller, Hancock, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Gaines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/5/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Weights and measures: beverage containers:
redemption value
SOURCE : California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers
Association
DIGEST : This bill provides investigative and enforcement
authority to Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) and county
sealers to enforce the requirement that dealers are prohibited
from charging more for a redemption payment than the actual
California redemption value (CRV).
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Under the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter
Reduction Act (Act):
A. Requires specified beverage containers sold in this
state to have a CRV of $.05 for containers that hold
fewer than 24 ounces and $.10 for containers that hold
24 ounces or more.
B. Requires beverage manufacturers to include the
correct CRV value on the label of all beverage
containers sold in the state.
2. Requires the DFA to investigate conditions in the various
counties and cities in respect to weights and measures, and
to the sale of goods, wares and merchandise, commodities and
foodstuffs in containers.
3. Prohibits a person, at the time of sale of a commodity, to
charge an amount greater than the advertised or posted price
and requires DFA and each county sealer to enforce this
requirement.
4. Provides that a violation of the commodity pricing
requirements above is an infraction punishable by a fine of
not more than $100 when the overcharge is $1 or less.
5. Requires a sealer to file with the DFA, a written report of
the work done by him/her, of the weights, measures, weighing
and measuring instruments inspected or tested, the result of
such inspection, of all prosecutions instituted for
violations of the provisions, and of all other matters and
things pertaining to his/her duties or which may be required
by the DFA.
This bill:
1. Provides investigative and enforcement authority to DFA and
county sealers to enforce the requirement that dealers are
prohibited from charging more for a redemption payment than
the actual CRV.
2. Provides that a violation of the redemption payment
requirements above is an infraction punishable by a fine of
not more than $100 when the overcharge is $1 or less.
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3. Requires the sealer in the written report, pursuant to
current law, to separately report any action taken to enforce
the provisions of this bill that result in a penalty being
levied for a violation, as specified.
4. Specifies that nothing in this bill is intended to limit or
alter the authority of the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery (CalRecycle) under the Act.
5. Requires CalRecycle to notify DFA of any changes or
regulations that effect refund values, redemption payments,
or the responsibilities of the dealer.
Background
The ACT is designed to provide consumers with a financial
incentive for recycling and to make recycling convenient to
consumers. The centerpiece of the ACT is the CRV. Consumers
pay a deposit, the CRV, on each beverage container they
purchase. Retailers collect the CRV from consumers when they
buy beverages. The dealer retains a small percentage of the
deposit for administration and remits the remainder to the
distributor, who also retains a small portion for administration
before remitting the balance to CalRecycle. When consumers
return their empty beverage containers to a recycler (or donate
them to a curbside or other program), the deposit is paid back
as a refund.
The Act has achieved an overall recycling rate over 80% higher
than any other bottle bill program in North America. In some
ways, the Act program is a victim of its own success. According
to CalRecycle, the Act is currently operating under an
approximately $100 million annual structural deficit, mainly
caused by historically high recycling rates, along with mandated
program payments. Fraud also contributes to the structural
deficit. CalRecycle has taken a number of actions to improve
enforcement and fraud prevention in the program in recent years.
CalRecycle has previously teamed up with DFA to improve
enforcement. In the summer of 2011, CalRecycle, in coordination
with DFA, initiated a "no-cost" pilot program to survey and
document vehicles importing out-of-state beverage container
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material into California through all 16 DFA Border Protection
Stations. During the first 60 calendar days of the pilot
program, the information gathered indicated that over 2,500
vehicles (including 378 rental trucks filled to capacity)
imported out-of-state beverage container material through these
stations.
In April of this year, the Department of Justice arrested six
people in two different cases for importing beverage containers
into California and illegally redeeming them for CRV. The total
amount of the fraud for both cases was approximately $425,000.
The Department estimates fraud in the program to be around $40
million annually.
Agricultural commissioners and sealers . Agricultural
commissioners and sealers of weights and measures are licensed
by DFA and appointed by the local board of county supervisors.
Under existing law, they are charged with investigating and
enforcing misrepresentations of charges for services and
commodities. Additionally, county sealers inspect weighing and
measuring devices such as gas pumps and scales, respond to
deceptive packaging complaints, scanner and cash register
inaccuracies, and related issues.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/2/14)
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
(source)
Association of California Recycling Industries
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/2/14)
California Grocers Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/5/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
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Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Logue, Mansoor, Melendez, Vacancy
RM:d 7/2/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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