Amended in Senate May 11, 2016

Amended in Senate July 16, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 19, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1103

Introduced by Assembly Member Dodd

February 27, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Section 42649.8 of, and to add Sections 42649.88, 42649.89, 42649.9, 42649.91, and 42649.92 to, end delete begin insert Sections 41821.5 and 41953 of, to amend and renumber Section 41952 of, and to add Section 41952 to, end insert the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1103, as amended, Dodd. Solid waste: begin delete organic waste. end delete begin insert disposal. end insert

begin insert

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, generally regulates the disposal, management, and recycling of solid waste. Existing law requires exporters, brokers, and transporters of recyclables or compost to submit periodic information to the department on the types, quantities, and destinations of materials that are disposed of, sold, or transferred.

end insert begin insert

This bill would additionally require a self-hauler, as defined, to submit that information to the department.

end insert begin insert

Existing law prohibits a person, other than the authorized recycling agent of the city or county, from removing specified materials that have been segregated from solid waste materials and placed at a designated recycling collection location for residential curbside collection programs authorized by a city, county, or local agency for the purposes of collection and recycling. Existing law authorizes a court, in a civil action by a recycling agent against a person alleged to have violated that or another specified law, to either allow treble damages or award a civil penalty, as specified, against the unauthorized person removing the recyclable material, and to allow treble damages or award a civil penalty, as specified, against a person for a second violation and subsequent violations.

end insert begin insert

This bill would prohibit a person, other than the solid waste enterprise duly authorized by a city, county, or other local governmental agency, subject to these same penalties and damages, from collecting, removing, or transporting solid waste generated on residential, commercial, or industrial premises located within the city, county, or local governmental jurisdiction. The bill would require a court, if a plaintiff prevails in a civil action brought pursuant to these and related provisions, to award to the plaintiff reasonable attorneys’ fees, expert witness fees, and costs incurred in the course of the litigation.

end insert begin delete

Existing law, on and after April 1, 2016, requires a business that generates a certain amount of organic waste to arrange for recycling services specifically for organic waste, and requires each city, county, or regional agency approved by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to implement an organic waste recycling program designed to divert organic waste generated by those businesses, except as specified. Existing law defines the term “organic waste” for purposes of those provisions to include food waste.

end delete begin delete

This bill would require a person who transports a certain amount of food waste to be registered by the department, except as specified. The bill would require a registered transporter to maintain a record of food waste transported that contains specified documents and information, and to certify, under penalty of perjury, to the accuracy of the record. By expanding the application of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the department to impose fees on registered transporters for vehicles used to transport food waste for the department’s reasonable regulatory costs in administering these provisions regulating the diversion of food waste, as specified. The bill would require food waste transporters and facilities to report specified information to the department at least quarterly, including, among other things, the quantity of food waste transported or received, as applicable. The bill would subject a registered transporter of food waste to a civil penalty, payable to the department, for a violation of these provisions. The bill would require a jurisdiction or other local governmental agency to inspect vehicles that are used by transporters to transport food waste. By imposing additional duties on local governmental agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

end delete begin delete

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.

end delete begin delete

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end delete begin delete

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 41821.5 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

41821.5.  

(a) Disposal facility operators shall submit
information on the disposal tonnages by jurisdiction or region of
origin that are disposed of at each disposal facility to the
department, and to counties that request the information, in a form
prescribed by the department. To enable disposal facility operators
to provide that information, solid waste handlers and transfer
station operators shall provide information to disposal facility
operators on the origin of the solid waste that they deliver to the
disposal facility.

(b) (1) Recycling and composting operations and facilities shall
submit periodic information to the department on the types and
quantities of materials that are disposed of, sold, or transferred to
other recycling or composting facilities, end users inside of the
state or outside of the state, or exporters, brokers, or transporters
for sale inside of the state or outside of the state.

(2) Exporters, begin delete brokers, end delete begin insert brokers, self-haulers, end insert and transporters
of recyclables or compost shall submit periodic information to the
department on the types, quantities, and destinations of materials
that are disposed of, sold, or transferred. begin insert For purposes of this
section, “self-hauler” means a person or entity that generates and
transports, utilizing its own employees and equipment, more than
one cubic yard per week of its own recyclables, organics, or
compostable material to a location or facility that is not owned
and operated by that person or entity. end insert

(3) The information in the reports submitted pursuant to this
subdivision may be provided to the department on an aggregated
facility-wide basis and may exclude financial data, such as contract
terms and conditions (including information on pricing, credit
terms, volume discounts and other proprietary business terms), the
jurisdiction of the origin of the materials, or information on the
entities from which the materials are received. The department
may provide this information to jurisdictions, aggregated by
company, upon request. The aggregated information, other than
that aggregated by company, is public information.

(c) The department shall adopt regulations pursuant to this
section requiring practices and procedures that are reasonable and
necessary to implement this section, and that provide a
representative accounting of solid wastes and recyclable materials
that are handled, processed, or disposed. Those regulations
approved by the department shall not impose an unreasonable
burden on waste and recycling handling, processing, or disposal
operations or otherwise interfere with the safe handling, processing,
and disposal of solid waste and recyclables. The department shall
include in those regulations both of the following:

(1) Procedures to ensure that an opportunity to comply is
provided prior to initiation of enforcement authorized by Section
41821.7.

(2) Factors to be considered in determining penalty amounts
that are similar to those provided in Section 45016.

(d) Any person who refuses or fails to submit information
required by regulations adopted pursuant to this section is liable
for a civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and
not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation of
a separate provision or, for continuing violations, for each day that
the violation continues.

(e) Any person who knowingly or willfully files a false report,
or any person who refuses to permit the department or any of its
representatives to make inspection or examination of records, or
who fails to keep any records for the inspection of the department,
or who alters, cancels, or obliterates entries in the records for the
purpose of falsifying the records as required by regulations adopted
pursuant to this section, is liable for a civil penalty of not less than
five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than ten thousand dollars
($10,000) for each violation of a separate provision or, for
continuing violations, for each day that the violation continues.

(f) Liability under this section may be imposed in a civil action,
or liability may be imposed administratively pursuant to this article.

(g) (1) Notwithstanding Title 5 (commencing with Section
3426) of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Civil Code and Article 11
(commencing with Section 1060) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of
the Evidence Code, all records that the facility or operator is
reasonably required to keep to allow the department to verify
information in, or verification of, the reports required pursuant to
subdivisions (a) and (b) and implementing regulations shall be
subject to inspection and copying by the department, but shall be
confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under the
California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(2) Notwithstanding Title 5 (commencing with Section 3426)
of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Civil Code and Article 11
(commencing with Section 1060) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of
the Evidence Code, an employee of a government entity may, at
the disposal facility, inspect and copy records related to tonnage
received at the facility on or after July 1, 2015, and originating
within the government entity’s geographic jurisdiction. Those
records shall be limited to weight tags that identify the hauler,
vehicle, quantity, date, type, and origin of waste received at a
disposal facility. Those records shall be available to those
government entities for the purposes of subdivision (a) and as
necessary to enforce the collection of local fees, but those records
shall be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under
the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
Names of haulers using specific landfills shall not be disclosed by
a government entity unless necessary as part of an administrative
or judicial enforcement proceeding to fund local programs or
enforce local franchises.

(3) A government entity may petition the superior court for
injunctive or declaratory relief to enforce its authority under
paragraph (2). The times for responsive pleadings and hearings in
these proceedings shall be set by the judge of the court with the
object of securing a decision as to these matters at the earliest
possible time.

(4) For purposes of this section, a government entity is an entity
identified in Section 40145 or an entity formed pursuant to Section
40976.

(5) For purposes of this subdivision, “disposal” and “disposal
facility” have the same meanings as prescribed by Sections 40120.1
and 40121, respectively.

(6) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to limit or
expand the authority of a government entity that may have been
provided by this section and implementing regulations as they read
on December 31, 2015.

(7) The records subject to inspection and copying by the
department pursuant to paragraph (1) or by an employee of a
government entity pursuant to paragraph (2) may be redacted by
the operator before inspection to exclude confidential pricing
information contained in the records, such as contract terms and
conditions (including information on pricing, credit terms, volume
discounts, and other proprietary business terms), if the redacted
information is not information that is otherwise required to be
reported to the department.

(h) Notwithstanding the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act
(Title 2.5 (commencing with Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division
3 of the Civil Code), reports required by this section shall be
submitted electronically, using an electronic reporting format
system established by the department.

(i) All records provided in accordance with this section shall be
subject to Section 40062.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 41952 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert is
amended and renumbered to read: end insert

begin delete 41952. end delete

begin insert 41957. end insert   

Nothing in this chapter limits the right of any person
to donate, sell, or otherwise dispose of his or her recyclable
materials.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 41952 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 41952. end insert   

No person, other than the solid waste enterprise duly
authorized by a city, county, or other local governmental agency,
shall collect, remove, or transport solid waste generated on
residential, commercial, or industrial premises located within the
city, county, or local governmental jurisdiction.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 41953 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

41953.  

(a) In any civil action by a recycling agent against a
person alleged to have violated Section 41950 or 41951, begin insert or by an
authorized solid waste enterprise against a person alleged to have
violated Section 41952, end insert the court may either allow treble damages,
as measured by the market value of the recyclable material
removed, or award a civil penalty of not more than two thousand
dollars ($2,000), whichever is greater, for each unauthorized
removal, against the unauthorized person removing the recyclable
material.

(b) In any civil action by a recycling agent against a person
alleged to have violated Section 41950 or begin delete 41951 end delete begin insert 41951, end insert begin insert or by an
authorized solid waste enterprise against a person alleged to have
violated Section 41952, end insert for a second, or begin delete subsequent time, end delete
begin insert subsequent, time end insert in any 12-month period, the court may either
allow treble damages, as measured by the market value of the
recyclable material removed, or award a civil penalty of not more
than five thousand dollars ($5,000), whichever is greater, for each
unauthorized removal against the unauthorized person removing
the recyclable material.

begin insert

(c) If a plaintiff prevails in a civil action brought pursuant to
this chapter, the court shall award to the plaintiff reasonable
attorneys’ fees, expert witness fees, and costs incurred in the course
of the litigation.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that a
statewide system of accounting for the diversion of food waste
through the implementation and enforcement of statewide standards
for hauling, processing, and transferring of food waste is critical
to protect public health and safety, to reduce the disposal of food
waste in landfills, and to improve the environment through the
reduction of greenhouse gases. According to the State Air
Resources Board’s May 2015 Short-Lived Climate Pollutant
Reduction Strategy concept paper, “The strategy will consider
measures to meet a goal of diverting 90 percent of organics from
landfills through source reduction and organics recycling by 2025.”

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that food waste material be
managed in a manner that is consistent statewide and that tracks
the movement of food waste through a regulated system to
significantly improve the state’s ability to do both of the following:

(1) Quantify progress toward greenhouse gas reduction goals
statewide.

(2) Report diversion levels for determining progress toward the
state’s current 75 percent recycling goal.

SEC. 2.  

Section 42649.8 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

42649.8.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall
apply:

(a) “Business” means a commercial or public entity, including,
but not limited to, a firm, partnership, proprietorship, joint stock
company, corporation, or association that is organized as a
for-profit or nonprofit entity, or a multifamily residential dwelling,
and including federal, state, county, and municipal entities, special
districts, schools, and colleges.

(b) “Commercial waste generator” means a business subject to
subdivision (a) of Section 42649.2.

(c) “Food waste” means discarded putrescible solid, semisolid,
and liquid food, including, but not limited to, fruit, vegetables,
cheese, meat, bones, poultry, seafood, bread, rice, pasta, oils, and
herbs, and any other putrescible matter produced from human food
production and preparation activities.

(d) “Individual self-hauler” means a self-hauler with only one
transporter vehicle that transports not more than one cubic yard
of food waste per week from not more than one location.

(e) “Organic waste” means food waste, green waste, landscape
and pruning waste, nonhazardous wood waste, and food-soiled
paper waste that is mixed in with food waste.

(f) “Organic waste generator” means a business subject to
subdivision (a) of Section 42649.81.

(g) “Rural jurisdiction” means a jurisdiction that is located
entirely within one or more rural counties, or a regional agency
comprised of jurisdictions that are located within one or more rural
counties.

(h) “Rural county” means a county that has a total population
of less than 70,000 persons.

(i) “Self-hauler” means a business that hauls more than one
cubic yard of its own food waste or hauls food waste from more
than one location, rather than contracting for that service, and
“self-haul” means to act as a self-hauler.

(j) “Transporter vehicle” means a vehicle that transports and
delivers food waste to an approved processing facility, and that is
operated by a business required to be registered pursuant to Section
42649.89.

SEC. 3.  

Section 42649.88 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

42649.88.  

Any facility that is permitted or authorized by law
to receive food waste may participate in the diversion of food waste
pursuant to this chapter.

SEC. 4.  

Section 42649.89 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

42649.89.  

(a) Except as expressly provided herein, it is
unlawful for any business to transport more than one cubic yard
of food waste per week or to transport food waste from more than
one location without being registered by the department as a
transporter of food waste. The following are exempt from the
registration and related requirements of this section:

(1) Licensed renderers lawfully operating pursuant to Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 19200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the
Food and Agricultural Code.

(2) Transporters of agricultural byproducts destined for final
disposition on land in a manner that is specifically authorized by
the State Water Resources Control Board, or a Regional Water
Quality Control Board, provided such final disposition does not
adversely affect public health and safety or the environment.

(b) The department may impose fees on registered transporters
of food waste and individual self-haulers for transporter vehicles
for the reasonable regulatory costs to the department to administer
the provisions of this chapter regulating the diversion of food
waste, not to exceed the following:

(1) Except as specified in paragraph (2), three hundred dollars
($300) for each transporter vehicle.

(2) One hundred dollars ($100) for the transporter vehicle of an
individual self-hauler.

(c) A registered transporter shall procure and maintain insurance
coverage against claims for injuries to persons or damages to
property that may arise from, or in connection with, the
performance of the work of the transporter. A registered transporter
shall maintain commercial liability, commercial automobile
liability, workers’ compensation, and pollution liability insurance
policies, in an amount and type as determined by the department,
which amount shall be no less than one million dollars
($1,000,000). A registered transporter lawfully operating pursuant
to a franchise, contract, license, or permit issued by a local agency
shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of this
subdivision.

(d) A transporter vehicle shall be inspected on a regular basis,
at a frequency and in accordance with standards developed by the
department, by the jurisdiction or other local governmental entity
permitting the transporter’s operation. The inspection shall include,
but is not limited to, the vehicle’s cleanliness, whether the vehicle
is watertight, whether the food waste is properly contained, and
whether the vehicle has been inspected pursuant to Section
34501.12 of the Vehicle Code. A transporter lawfully operating
pursuant to a franchise, contract, license, or permit issued by a
local agency shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements
of this subdivision.

(e) A registered transporter shall comply with state or local laws
or requirements, including a local ordinance or agreement,
applicable to the collection, handling, or recycling of solid waste.

SEC. 5.  

Section 42649.9 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

42649.9.  

(a) A registered transporter shall maintain a record
of transported food waste to document that food waste did not
remain on the premises of the generator for more than seven days,
consistent with, and subject to the exceptions provided in, Section
17331 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, and was
handled in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, as
specified in regulations to be adopted pursuant to subdivision (e).

(b) The record shall include a receipt indicating the acceptance
of the material at a permitted or approved facility, the quantity of
the material, and the jurisdiction of origin of the food waste. The
transporter shall certify, under penalty of perjury, that the record
is accurate.

(c) A registered transporter shall submit an electronic report to
the department, at least quarterly, containing all information
required to be reported pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
42649.91.

(d) A registered transporter shall maintain all records required
pursuant to this section for a minimum of three years.

(e) The department may adopt regulations requiring practices
and procedures that are reasonable and necessary to provide an
accounting of food waste transported, handled, processed, or
disposed. The regulations shall not impose an unreasonable burden
on the transporting, safe handling, processing, and disposal of food
waste.

SEC. 6.  

Section 42649.91 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

42649.91.  

(a) The department shall compile a list of permitted
and approved facilities authorized to accept food waste and shall
also notify facilities and registered transporters of the requirements
relating to transportation of food waste by posting the information
on the department’s Internet Web site.

(b) The department shall require a registered transporter or
facility that transports or receives food waste, as applicable, to
report information to the department at least quarterly concerning
the transportation and receipt of food waste, including all of the
following:

(1) The name of the transporter or facility.

(2) The jurisdiction of origin of the food waste.

(3) The quantity of the food waste transported or received in
weight or volume.

(4) The date and time the food waste was transported or
received.

(5) The license plate number of the vehicle used for
transportation.

(6) Any other information required by the department.

SEC. 7.  

Section 42649.92 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

42649.92.  

Any person who refuses or fails to submit
information required by regulations adopted pursuant to Sections
42649.88 to 42649.91, inclusive, is liable to the department for a
civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not
more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation of a
separate provision or, for continuing violations, for each day that
the violation continues.

SEC. 8.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain
costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
because, in that regard, 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.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end delete