BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2658
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2658 (Bocanegra)
As Amended April 21, 2014
Majority vote
NATURAL RESOURCES 5-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Garcia, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Muratsuchi, Stone, | |Bradford, |
| |Williams | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Patterson |Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, Jones, |
| | | |Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Clarifies that "parklets" and "greenways" are eligible for
grants for public works projects that use tire derived products
(TDP) and requires the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle), when awarding grants for parklets and
greenways, to give priority to projects located in disadvantaged
communities. Extends a sunset date relating to the use of
rubberized asphalt concrete (RAC) by the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans). Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends the requirement that 50% of asphalt paving materials used
by Caltrans be RAC until January 1, 2020.
2)Clarifies that parklets and greenways are eligible for grants
awarded by CalRecycle for public works projects that use TDP.
3)Requires CalRecycle, when awarding grants for parklets and
greenways that use TDP, to give priority to give priority to
projects located in disadvantaged communities.
4)Defines "disadvantaged community" as a community with an annual
median household income that is less than 80% of the statewide
median household income.
5)Defines "greenway" as a travel corridor for pedestrians, bicycles,
nonmotorized vehicle transportation, recreation, or a combination
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thereof, located along natural landscape features, such as an
urban watercourse.
6)Defines "parklet" as a small urban park that provides amenities
including, but not limited to, seating, tables, bike racks, and
landscaping.
EXISTING LAW establishes the California Tire Recycling Act (Act),
which:
1)Requires a person who purchases a new tire to pay a California
tire fee of $1.75 for each new tire purchased in the state. One
dollar of which is deposited into the Tire Recycling Fund for
oversight, enforcement, and market development grants relating to
waste tire management and recycling. The remaining $0.75 is
deposited into the Air Pollution Control Fund for programs and
projects that mitigate or remediate air pollution caused by tires.
2)Reduces the fee on January 1, 2015 to $0.75 per tire, to be
deposited into the Tire Recycling Fund.
3)Requires CalRecycle to adopt a Five-Year Plan, which must be
updated every two years, that establishes goals and priorities for
the waste tire program, including grant programs.
4)Authorizes CalRecycle to award grants, subsidies, rebates, and
loans to businesses and public entities that result in reduced
landfill disposal of used tires.
5)Specifies that the grants awarded by CalRecycle pursuant to their
authority under the Act be awarded to local government agencies
for the funding of public works projects that use waste tires,
including RAC, TDP, and tire derived aggregate (TDA), as
prescribed. While CalRecycle is granted broad authority to
continue grant programs under their existing authority within the
Act and the Five-Year Plan, this statutory guidance for the
program sunsets on June 30, 2015.
6)Pursuant to AB 513 (Frazier), Chapter 499, Statutes of 2013,
establishes the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Market Development
Act, which creates a grant program for local government agencies
for public works projects that use RAC and for state and local
agencies, including regional park districts, for funding
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disability access projects at parks and Class I bikeways. Sunsets
this program on June 30, 2019.
7)Requires Caltrans on an annual average to use not less than 11.58
pounds of recycled crumb rubber (from tires) per metric ton of the
total amount of asphalt paving materials used. Requires that
until January 1, 2015, at least 50% of the crumb rubber used be
RAC. After that date, specifies that the material used be any
type of asphalt containing crumb rubber.
8)Defines RAC as paving material that uses an asphalt rubber binder
containing an amount of reclaimed tire rubber that is 15% or more
by weight of the total blend, and that meets required
specifications. [This definition is based on the American Society
for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard specification D6114.]
9)Defines asphalt containing crumb rubber as any asphalt pavement
construction, rehabilitation, or maintenance material that
contains reclaimed tire rubber and that meets required
specifications.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1)Negligible, if any costs to Caltrans.
2)Potential grant funding shifts in the TDP due to prioritizing
projects in disadvantaged communities and expanding funding
authorization.
3)No additional costs for CalRecyle to administer the TDP.
COMMENTS : According to CalRecycle, approximately 40 million waste
tires are generated in California every year. CalRecycle's
diversion goal is 90%; the most recent Five-Year Plan (2011) states
that the current diversion rate is around 74%. According to the
California Waste Tire Market Report: 2011, of the 40.8 million
tires generated: 8.8 million were recycled as ground rubber, of
which 4.9 million were used as RAC; 2 million were used in civil
engineering projects; 6.9 million were reused (either sold as used
tires or retreaded); 6.2 million were used as "tire derived fuel" in
cement kilns or at co-generation facilities; and, 5 million were
disposed in landfills. The remaining 2.1 million were otherwise
recycled (generally other forms of reuse, such as dock bumpers) or
used as landfill cover.
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California's recent economic downturn and relatively high
unemployment rate has contributed to a decline in waste tires
generated. The same factors, along with local government budget
constraints and a decline in use by Caltrans, has resulted in
diminishing numbers of tires being recycled. Export, generally for
energy generation in Asia, has nearly tripled since 2009.
Appropriate tire recycling in California provides significant
environmental benefits and creates green jobs.
There are a number of alternatives for recycling waste tires.
CalRecycle currently has three grant programs available to local
government agencies for public works projects that use recycled
tires.
The TDP grant program provides funding for recycled-content products
that contain waste tires generated in California. Grant
applications for this program must use a minimum of 2,500 tires, but
one application may be submitted for multiple projects within a
jurisdiction. Eligible projects include agricultural and
landscaping, recreational, and transportation projects. The types
of projects that have received funding under this program include
tire-derived mulch, playground surfacing, weed abatement coverings,
horse stalls and arenas, sport field surfacing, sidewalks and
pathways, railroad ties, and sound barriers.
The TDA grant program provides funding for projects that use a
minimum of 500 tons of California-generated TDA, which is
construction aggregate made from shredded waste tires. It is used
for a wide range of public works projects and other civil
engineering applications, including slope stabilization, retaining
wall backfill, lightweight embankment fill, vibration mitigation,
and some landfill applications.
The RAC grant program provides grants for recycled-content road
surfacing products derived from waste tires generated in California.
The grant amount is based on the difference in cost between
conventional asphalt concrete and RAC. Eligible projects must use a
minimum of 3,500 tons of RAC or 35,000 square yards of RAC chip seal
material.
AB 338 (Levine), Chapter 709, Statutes of 2005, established the
requirement that Caltrans use a minimum amount of recycled tires in
paving projects, including the requirement that 50% of asphalt
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containing crumb rubber be RAC. This bill extends this requirement
for an additional five years, until 2020. When AB 338 was enacted,
it was expected that there would be an ASTM standard specification
for other types of asphalt containing crumb rubber before the sunset
date of 2015; however, ASTM has not yet developed additional
standards.
According to CalRecycle, RAC reduces overall project costs due to
less maintenance, increases safety due to its skid-resistant surface
and prolonged color contrast, and reduces noise pollution with
noticeably lower tire noise. It has an additional benefit of being
manufactured in California using California-generated tires.
Alternative types of asphalt containing crumb rubber are primarily
manufactured out of state (out of non-California tires) and
transported by rail into California.
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0003670