BILL NUMBER: AB 960 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Sections 42463, 42476, and 42476.5 of, and to
repeal and add Section 42476.6 of, the Public Resources Code,
relating to recycling.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 960, as introduced, Bonnie Lowenthal. Recycling: electronic
waste.
(1) Existing law, the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003,
requires a retailer selling a covered electronic device in this state
to collect a covered electronic waste recycling fee from the
consumer, as specified. These fees are deposited in the Electronic
Waste Recovery and Recycling Account, and the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) is continuously appropriated the
money in the account to, among other things, make electronic waste
recovery payments and recycling payments. CalRecycle is authorized to
make these payments only if certain conditions are met. A violation
of the act is a crime.
This bill would define the terms "electronic waste" and
"electronic device" and would additionally require, as a condition of
CalRecycle making those payments, that the recycler make certain
demonstrations regarding the export of electronic devices from which
that waste was derived and the export of all other electronic waste
handled by the recycler.
(2) Existing law requires a person who exports covered electronic
waste, or a covered electronic device intended for recycling or
disposal, to a foreign country, or to another state for ultimate
export to a foreign country, to comply with specified notification
requirements and make specified demonstrations. Existing law exempts
from these requirement a component part of a covered electronic
device that is exported and reused or recycled.
The bill would revise the requirements imposed on exportation to
additionally include a person who exports electronic waste or a
previously used electronic device and would also include, in the
provision, an export intended for reuse. The bill would impose a
state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
The bill would repeal the existing exemption for exportation of
component parts that are reused or recycled and would instead require
the department to adopt regulations exempting materials or component
parts of electronic waste or previously used electronic devices that
meet certain conditions. The bill would also make conforming changes
to reference to CalRecycle.
(3) 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 42463 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
42463. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires
otherwise:
(a) "Account" means the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling
Account created in the Integrated Waste Management Fund under Section
42476.
(b) "Authorized collector" means any of the following:
(1) A city, county, or district that collects covered electronic
devices.
(2) A person or entity that is required or authorized by a city,
county, or district to collect covered electronic devices pursuant to
the terms of a contract, license, permit, or other written
authorization.
(3) A nonprofit organization that collects or accepts covered
electronic devices.
(4) A manufacturer or agent of the manufacturer that collects,
consolidates, and transports covered electronic devices for recycling
from consumers, businesses, institutions, and other generators.
(5) An entity that collects, handles, consolidates, and transports
covered electronic devices and has filed applicable notifications
with the department pursuant to Chapter 23 (commencing with Section
66273.1) of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of
Regulations.
(c) "CalRecycle" means the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
(c)
( d) "Consumer" means a person who purchases
a new or refurbished covered electronic device in a transaction that
is a retail sale or in a transaction to which a use tax applies
pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of
the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(d) "Department"
(e) Notwithstanding Section
40118, "Department" means the Department of Toxic Substances
Control.
(f) (1) "Electronic waste" means an electronic device, as
specified in paragraph (2) that is discarded, and is identified as
hazardous waste because it meets either of the following conditions:
(A) Exhibits toxicity, as specified in the regulations adopted
pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Chapter
6.5 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B) Is listed as hazardous waste pursuant to the regulations
adopted pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of
Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Electronic device" includes, but is not limited to, cash
registers, oscilloscopes computers, computer peripherals, telephones,
answering machines, radios, stereo equipment, tape players,
recorders, phonographs, video cassette players or recorders, compact
disc players or recorders, calculators, appliances, and any of the
devices specified in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (e).
(3) "Electronic waste and electronic device do not include any of
the following:
(A) "Covered electronic waste" as defined in this section.
(B) A major appliance, as defined in Section 42166.
(C) A device that is comprised largely of metal, qualifies as
"scrap metal" as defined in Section 66260.10 of Title 22 of the
California Code of Regulations, and is recycled.
(e)
( g) (1) Except as provided in paragraph
(2), "covered electronic device" means a video display device
containing a screen greater than four inches, measured diagonally,
that is identified in the regulations adopted by the department
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25214.10.1 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(2) "Covered electronic device" does not include any of the
following:
(A) A video display device that is a part of a motor vehicle, as
defined in Section 415 of the Vehicle Code, or any component part of
a motor vehicle assembled by, or for, a vehicle manufacturer or
franchised dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor
vehicle.
(B) A video display device that is contained within, or a part of
a piece of industrial, commercial, or medical equipment, including
monitoring or control equipment.
(C) A video display device that is contained within a clothes
washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer,
microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room
air-conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier.
(D) An electronic device, on and after the date that it ceases to
be a covered electronic device under subdivision (e) of Section
25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(f)
(h) "Covered electronic waste" or "covered e-waste"
means a covered electronic device that is discarded.
(g)
(i) "Covered electronic waste recycling fee" or
"covered e-waste recycling fee" means the fee imposed pursuant to
Article 3 (commencing with Section 42464).
(h)
(j) "Covered electronic waste recycler" or "covered
e-waste recycler" means any of the following:
(1) A person who engages in the manual or mechanical separation of
covered electronic devices to recover components and commodities
contained therein for the purpose of reuse or recycling.
(2) A person who changes the physical or chemical composition of a
covered electronic device, in accordance with the requirements of
Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code and the regulations adopted pursuant to that
chapter, by deconstructing, size reduction, crushing, cutting,
sawing, compacting, shredding, or refining for purposes of
segregating components, for purposes of recovering or recycling those
components, and who arranges for the transport of those components
to an end user.
(3) A manufacturer who meets any conditions established by this
chapter and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division
20 of the Health and Safety Code for the collection or recycling of
covered electronic waste.
(i)
(k) "Discarded" has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 25124 of the Health and Safety Code.
(j)
(l) "Electronic waste recovery payment" means an amount
established and paid by the board CalRecycle
pursuant to Section 42477.
(k)
(m) "Electronic waste recycling payment" means an
amount established and paid by the board
CalRecycle pursuant to Section 42478.
(l)
(n) "Hazardous material" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 25501 of the Health and Safety Code.
(m)
(o) "Manufacturer" means either of the following:
(1) A person who manufactures a covered electronic device sold in
this state.
(2) A person who sells a covered electronic device in this state
under that person's brand name.
(n)
(p) "Person" means an individual, trust firm, joint
stock company, business concern, and corporation, including, but not
limited to, a government corporation, partnership, limited liability
company, and association. Notwithstanding Section 40170, "person"
also includes a city, county, city and county, district, commission,
the state or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof,
an interstate body, and the United States and its agencies and
instrumentalities to the extent permitted by law.
(o)
(q) "Recycling" has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 25121.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(p)
(r) "Refurbished," when used to describe a covered
electronic device, means a device that the manufacturer has tested
and returned to a condition that meets factory specifications for the
device, has repackaged, and has labeled as refurbished.
(q)
(s) "Retailer" means a person who makes a retail sale
of a new or refurbished covered electronic device. "Retailer"
includes a manufacturer of a covered electronic device who sells that
covered electronic device directly to a consumer through any means,
including, but not limited to, a transaction conducted through a
sales outlet, catalog, or the Internet, or any other similar
electronic means.
(r)
(t) (1) "Retail sale" has the same meaning as defined
under Section 6007 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(2) "Retail sale" does not include the sale of a covered
electronic device that is temporarily stored or used in California
for the sole purpose of preparing the covered electronic device for
use thereafter solely outside the state, and that is subsequently
transported outside the state and thereafter used solely outside the
state.
(s)
(u) "Vendor" means a person that makes a sale of a
covered electronic device for the purpose of resale to a retailer who
is the lessor of the covered electronic device to a consumer under a
lease that is a continuing sale and purchase pursuant to Part 1
(commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.
(t)
(v) "Video display device" means an electronic device
with an output surface that displays, or is capable of displaying,
moving graphical images or a visual representation of image sequences
or pictures, showing a number of quickly changing images on a screen
in fast succession to create the illusion of motion, including, if
applicable, a device that is an integral part of the display, in that
it cannot be easily removed from the display by the consumer, that
produces the moving image on the screen. A video display device may
use, but is not limited to, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal
display (LCD), gas plasma, digital light processing, or other image
projection technology.
SEC. 2. Section 42476 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
42476. (a) The Electronic Waste and Recovery and Recycling
Account is hereby established in the Integrated Waste Management
Fund. All fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited
in the account. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
the funds in the account are hereby continuously appropriated,
without regard to fiscal year, for the following purposes:
(1) To pay refunds of the covered electronic waste recycling fee
imposed under Section 42464.
(2) To make electronic waste recovery payments to an authorized
collector of covered electronic waste pursuant to Section 42479.
(3) To make electronic waste recycling payments to covered
electronic waste recyclers pursuant to Section 42479.
(4) To make payments to manufacturers pursuant to subdivision (g).
(b) (1) The money in the account may be expended for the following
purposes only upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual
Budget Act:
(A) For the administration of this chapter by the board
CalRecycle and the department.
(B) To reimburse the State Board of Equalization for its
administrative costs of registering, collecting, making refunds, and
auditing retailers and consumers in connection with the covered
electronic waste recycling fee imposed under Section 42464.
(C) To provide funding to the department to implement and enforce
Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code, as that chapter relates to covered electronic
devices, and any regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
that chapter.
(D) To establish the public information program specified in
subdivision (d).
(2) Any fines or penalties collected pursuant to this chapter
shall be deposited in the Electronic Waste Penalty Subaccount, which
is hereby established in the account. The funds in the Electronic
Waste Penalty Subaccount may be expended by the board
CalRecycle or department only upon appropriation
by the Legislature.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 16475 of the Government Code, any
interest earned upon funds in the Electronic Waste Recovery and
Recycling Account shall be deposited in that account for expenditure
pursuant to this chapter.
(d) Not more than 1 percent of the funds annually deposited in the
Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account shall be expended
for the purposes of establishing the public information program to
educate the public in the hazards of improper covered electronic
device storage and disposal and on the opportunities to recycle
covered electronic devices.
(e) The board CalRecycle
shall adopt regulations specifying cancellation methods for the
recovery, processing, or recycling of covered electronic waste.
(f) The board CalRecycle may pay an
electronic waste recycling payment or electronic waste recovery
payment for covered electronic waste only if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The covered electronic waste, including any residuals from the
processing of the waste, is handled in compliance with all
applicable statutes and regulations.
(2) The manufacturer or the authorized collector or recycler of
the electronic waste provide a cost free and convenient opportunity
to recycle electronic waste, in accordance with the legislative
intent specified in subdivision (b) of Section 42461.
(3) If the covered electronic waste is processed, the covered
electronic waste is processed in this state according to the
cancellation method authorized by the board
CalRecycle .
(4) The recycler demonstrates and CalRecycle determines that no
amount or component of the covered electronic device from which the
covered electronic waste was derived is exported to a state or
country in violation of the laws or requirements of that state or
country.
(5) The recycler demonstrates and CalRecycle determines that all
electronic waste handled by the recycler making the claim has been
managed consistent with Section 42476.5 and that the recycler or any
other entity exporting any portion of the covered electronic waste
for which payment is claimed or any electronic waste is in compliance
with the requirements of Section 42476.5.
(4)
( g) The board declares
CalRecycle shall declare that the state is a
market participant in the business of the recycling of covered
electronic waste for all of the following reasons:
(A)
( 1) The fee is collected from the state's
consumers for covered electronic devices sold for use in the state.
(B)
(2) The purpose of the fee and subsequent payments is
to prevent damage to the public health and the environment from waste
generated in the state.
(C)
(3) The recycling system funded by the fee ensures that
economically viable and sustainable markets are developed and
supported for recovered materials and components in order to conserve
resources and maximize business and employment opportunities within
the state.
(g)
( h) (1) The board
CalRecycle may make a payment to a manufacturer that takes back
a covered electronic device from a consumer in this state for
purposes of recycling the device at a processing facility. The amount
of the payment made by the board CalRecycle
shall equal the value of the covered electronic waste recycling
fee paid for that device. To qualify for a payment pursuant to this
subdivision, the manufacturer shall demonstrate both of the following
to the board CalRecycle :
(A) The covered electronic device for which payment is claimed was
used in this state.
(B) The covered electronic waste for which a payment is claimed,
including any residuals from the processing of the waste, has been,
and will be, handled in compliance with all applicable statutes and
regulations.
(2) A covered electronic device for which a payment is made under
this subdivision is not eligible for an electronic waste recovery
payment or an electronic waste recycling payment under Section 42479.
SEC. 3. Section 42476.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
42476.5. A Except as provided in the
regulations adopted pursuant to Section 42476.6, a person who
exports covered electronic waste, or a covered
electronic device , electronic waste, or previously used
electronic device intended for reuse, recycling
, or disposal, to a foreign country, or to another state for
ultimate export to a foreign country, shall do all of the following
at least 60 days prior to export:
(a) Notify the department of the destination, disposition,
contents, and volume of the waste, or device intended for recycling
or disposal to be exported, and include with the notification the
demonstrations required pursuant to subdivisions (b) to (e),
inclusive.
(b) Demonstrate that the waste or device is being exported for the
purposes of recycling or disposal.
(c) Demonstrate that the importation of the waste or device is not
prohibited by an applicable law in the state or country of
destination and that any import will be conducted in accordance with
all applicable laws. As part of this demonstration, required import
and operating licenses, permits, or other appropriate authorization
documents shall be forwarded to the department.
(d) Demonstrate that the exportation of the waste or device is
conducted in accordance with applicable United States or applicable
international law.
(e) (1) Demonstrate that the waste or device will be managed
within the country of destination only at facilities whose operations
meet or exceed the binding decisions and implementing guidelines of
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for the
environmentally sound management of the waste or device being
exported.
(2) The demonstration required by this subdivision applies to any
country of destination, notwithstanding that the country is not a
member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
SEC. 4. Section 42476.6 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.
42476.6. Section 42476.5 does not apply to a component part of a
covered electronic device that is exported to an authorized collector
or recycler and that is reused or recycled into a new electronic
component.
SEC. 5. Section 42476.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
42476.6. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that only
materials or component parts of electronic waste or previously used
electronic devices that are ready for reuse or recycling back into
new materials or products without further processing or handling and
that pose no risk to public health or the environment are exempt from
the requirements of Section 42476.5.
(b) The department shall adopt regulations providing guidance to
exporters on materials and components to exempt from the requirements
of Section 42476.5 only materials or component parts of electronic
waste, covered electronic waste, previously used electronic devices,
and previously used covered electronic devices that are ready for
reuse or recycling back into new materials or products without
further processing or handling and that pose no risk to public health
or the environment.
SEC. 6. 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.