BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 983
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 23, 2000

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                              Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                    SB 983 (Bowen) - As Amended:  August 18, 2000 

          Policy Committee:                             ES&TM Vote:8-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control  
          (DTSC), by January 1, 2002 with  the Office of Environmental  
          Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), to establish statewide  
          standards and procedures for the cleanup of illegal drug lab  
          sites  and their illegal dump sites that protect the health and  
          safety of any future occupants of the sites.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Minor one-time costs, less than $75,000 primarily in FY  
            2001-02, to the DTSC to adopt regulations establishing these  
            standards and procedures.  (Illegal Drug Lab Cleanup Account.)

          2)Negligible costs, if any, to the OEHHA to assist the DTSC in  
            developing these regulations. (General Fund.)

           COMMENTS  

          1)Rationale  .  The author notes there are no statewide, uniform  
            standards and procedures for the remediation or cleanup of  
            illegal drug labs after they have been discovered or shut  
            down.  Residue left behind can cause a variety of acute and  
            chronic health problems ranging from chemical burns to cancer.  
             These standards and procedures should provide both state and  
            local agencies with clear parameters for dealing with the  
            substantial cleanup of a house or apartment, often located in  
            densely-populated neighborhoods, so that those persons who may  
            eventually move in to the home are not exposed to drug lab  
            chemical residue.
           
          2)Funding  .  Perhaps the most difficult problem vexing agencies  








                                                                  SB 983
                                                                  Page  2

            that face an illegal drug lab cleanup is insufficient sources  
            of funding.  The parties responsible for the lab or its dump  
            site are often not known and, even when identified, are not  
            able to financially contribute significant funds to offset the  
            costs of cleanup.  While the Legislature has created an  
            Illegal Drug Lab Cleanup Account, there is no consistent  
            ongoing source of funding for the account. 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916)319-2081