AB 2176

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law, the California Lighting Efficiency and Toxics Reduction Act, administered by the Department of Toxic Substances Control, prohibits a person from manufacturing for sale or selling in the state specified general purpose lights that contain levels of hazardous substances prohibited by the European Union pursuant to the RoHS Directive. A violation of the hazardous waste control law is a crime. This bill would enact the California Lighting Toxics Reduction and Jobs Act and would define terms, including defining a "class 1 lamp" as a lamp containing mercury and a "class 2 lamp" as a lamp that produces less than a specified amount of light per watt. The bill would require the producer of a class 1 lamp, by September 30, 2011, to submit a product stewardship plan with regard to the collection of class 1 lamps to the department, either individually or jointly with other producers, or by entering into an agreement with a stewardship organization. The bill would require the plan to reasonably demonstrate how the program would contribute to the recycling of all class 1 lamps, including the program's fair share of orphan lamps, on or before January 1, 2020. The department would be required to approve the plan pursuant to a specified procedure and the producer would be required to implement the approved plan by January 1, 2012. The bill would provide for the updating of the plan and would require the plan operator, by April 1, 2013, and on or before each April 1 annually thereafter, to prepare and submit to the department a report for the immediately preceding reporting period. The bill would require an entity submitting a plan to enter into an agreement with the department to pay the costs incurred by the department associated with the review and enforcement of the plan. The bill would require the funds to be deposited in the Lighting Product Stewardship Subaccount, which the bill would establish in the Hazardous Waste Control Account, and would authorize the department to expend the funds in the Lighting Product Stewardship Subaccount, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for those costs. The bill would require the producer of a class 2 lamp, by January 30, 2012, and on or before January 1 annually thereafter, to pay to the commission a fee in an amount established by the commission pursuant to a specified procedure. The commission would be required to deposit the fee revenues in the Energy Efficiency Research Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury, and the commission would be authorized to expend the funds in the Energy Efficiency Research Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified research and projects relating to improving class 2 lamps' lighting efficiency and reducing environmental impacts from class 2 lamps. The bill would prohibit a producer, wholesaler, or retailer from selling or offering for sale a class 1 lamp or class 2 lamp to a person in this state on and after January 1, 2012, unless, with regard to the class 1 lamp, the producer is participating in a product stewardship program, or, on or after February 1, 2012, with regard to a class 2 lamp, unless the producer has paid the required fee. The bill would also specify procedures for the enforcement of the act. Since a violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. (2) 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.