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AB-2686 Hazardous waste: generation and handling fees.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 04/11/2024 09:00 PM
AB2686:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 11, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 01, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 21, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2686

Introduced by Assembly Members Grayson and Wilson

February 14, 2024

An act to amend Section 25174 of, and to add and repeal Section 25205.5.3 of, the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 43101.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to hazardous waste.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2686, as amended, Grayson. Hazardous waste: generation and handling fees.
The hazardous waste control laws require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate the handling and management of hazardous waste and hazardous materials. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. Existing law requires a generator of hazardous waste to pay to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration a generation and handling fee for each generator site that generates an amount equal to, or more than, 5 tons for each calendar year, or portion of the calendar year, as provided. For the 2022–23 fiscal year, the fee rate is $49.25 for each ton or fraction of a ton of hazardous waste generated in calendar year 2021. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, imposes a discounted fee rate of $5.72 for each ton or fraction of a ton of certain hazardous waste generated from projects that meet specified criteria. Existing law requires these generation and handling fees to be deposited into the Hazardous Waste Control Account, which are authorized to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes.
Existing law further requires, until January 1, 2026, every person who is subject to the discounted fee rate to register with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration on forms provided by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
This bill would, until January 1, 2026, similarly impose a discounted fee rate of $5.72 for each ton or fraction of a ton of that certain hazardous waste generated from residential projects, including mixed-use projects, that were deemed complete on or before December 31, 2021, student housing projects for public universities that were issued permits on or before December 31, 2021, and certain other mixed-use, commercial, or nonprofit projects that were issued permits on or before December 31, 2021, as specified. The bill would, among other requirements, require this fee, which is collected and administered by the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to be due and payable in one installment, and would require the generator of hazardous waste to both file an annual return in the form prescribed by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and pay the proper amount of fee due, and to amend the annual return filed in fiscal years 2021–22 and 2022–23 to reflect this discounted fee rate, as provided. The bill would require a generator of hazardous waste that is subject to this discounted fee rate to report to the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration certain information about the hazardous waste generated, as specified. The bill would require the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, before issuing a refund or applying a credit, to confirm the generator meets the required criteria and, for purposes of a residential project, that the project has been constructed or is being constructed, as provided. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2026. Because a violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require funds collected pursuant to the discounted fee rate to be deposited into the Hazardous Waste Control Account. The bill would also expand the scope of the registration requirement described above to include every person who is subject to the discounted fee rate imposed by the bill.
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   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 25174 of the Health and Safety Code, as amended by Section 11 of Chapter 196 of the Statutes of 2023, is amended to read:

25174.
 (a) There is in the General Fund the Hazardous Waste Control Account, which shall be administered by the director. In addition to any other money that may be deposited into the Hazardous Waste Control Account, pursuant to statute, all of the following amounts shall be deposited into the account:
(1) The fees collected pursuant to Sections 25205.5, 25205.5.2, and 25205.5.3.
(2) The fees collected pursuant to Section 25187.2, to the extent that those fees are for the oversight of corrective action taken under this chapter at a site other than a site operated by a hazardous waste facility authorized to operate under this chapter.
(3) Any interest earned upon the money deposited into the Hazardous Waste Control Account.
(4) Any money received from the federal government pursuant to the federal act to pay for department costs at sites or activities at sites other than those operated by a hazardous waste facility authorized to operate under this chapter.
(5) Any reimbursements for funds expended from the Hazardous Waste Control Account for services provided by the department pursuant to this chapter at a site other than a site operated by a hazardous waste facility authorized to operate under this chapter, including, but not limited to, the reimbursements required pursuant to Sections 25201.9 and 25205.7.
(b) The funds deposited into the Hazardous Waste Control Account may be appropriated by the Legislature, for expenditure as follows:
(1) To the department for the costs to administer and implement this chapter, but not including the costs of regulatory activities at sites operated by a hazardous waste facility authorized to operate under this chapter, and not including regulatory activities authorized under Article 10 (commencing with Section 25210), Article 10.01 (commencing with Section 25210.5), Article 10.02 (commencing with Section 25210.9), Article 10.1.1 (commencing with Section 25214.1), Article 10.1.2 (commencing with Section 25214.4.3), Article 10.2.1 (commencing with Section 25214.8.1), Article 10.4 (commencing with Section 25214.11), Article 10.5 (commencing with Section 25215), Article 10.5.1 (commencing with Section 25215.8), Article 13.5 (commencing with Section 25250.50), Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251), and Section 25214.10.
(2) To the department for allocation to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to pay refunds of fees collected pursuant to Section 43053 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and for the administration and collection of the fees imposed pursuant to Section 25205.5 that are deposited into the Hazardous Waste Control Account.
(3) (A) To the department for allocation to the office of the Attorney General for the support of the Toxic Substance Enforcement Program in the office of the Attorney General in carrying out investigations, inspections, and audits, and the administrative enforcement and adjudication thereof, for purposes of this chapter, but not for purposes related to a site operated by a hazardous waste facility authorized to operate under this chapter or related to the owner or operator of a hazardous waste facility authorized to operate under this chapter, and not for regulatory activities authorized under Article 10 (commencing with Section 25210), Article 10.01 (commencing with Section 25210.5), Article 10.02 (commencing with Section 25210.9), Article 10.1.1 (commencing with Section 25214.1), Article 10.1.2 (commencing with Section 25214.4.3), Article 10.2.1 (commencing with Section 25214.8.1), Article 10.4 (commencing with Section 25214.11), Article 10.5 (commencing with Section 25215), Article 10.5.1 (commencing with Section 25215.8), Article 13.5 (commencing with Section 25250.50), Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251), and Section 25214.10.
(B) On or before October 1 of each year, the Attorney General shall report to the Legislature on the expenditure of any funds allocated to the office of the Attorney General for the preceding fiscal year pursuant to this paragraph. The report shall include all of the following:
(i) A description of cases resolved by the office of the Attorney General through settlement or court order, including the monetary benefit to the department and the state.
(ii) A description of injunctions or other court orders benefiting the people of the state.
(iii) A description of any cases in which the Attorney General’s Toxic Substance Enforcement Program is representing the department or the state against claims by defendants or responsible parties.
(iv) A description of other pending litigation handled by the Attorney General’s Toxic Substance Enforcement Program.
(C) Subparagraph (B) does not require the Attorney General to report on any confidential or investigatory matter.
(4) To the department for administration and implementation of Chapter 6.11 (commencing with Section 25404).
(5) To the department for costs incurred by the Board of Environmental Safety in the administration and implementation of its duties and responsibilities established in Article 2.1 (commencing with Section 25125).
(c) (1) The department shall, at the time of the release of the annual Governor’s Budget, describe the budgetary amounts proposed to be allocated to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that moneys appropriated in the annual Budget Act each year for the purpose of reimbursing the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, a private party, or other public agency, for the administration and collection of the fees imposed pursuant to Section 25205.5, and deposited into the Hazardous Waste Control Account, shall not exceed the costs incurred by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the private party, or other public agency, for the administration and collection of those fees.
(d) The Director of Finance, upon the request of the director, may make a loan from the General Fund to the Hazardous Waste Control Account to meet cash needs. The loan shall be subject to the repayment provisions of Section 16351 of the Government Code and the interest provisions of Section 16314 of the Government Code.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 Section 25205.5.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

25205.5.3.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 25205.5, a generator of hazardous waste whose project meets the criteria in subdivision (b) shall pay to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration a generation and handling fee for each generator site that generated an amount equal to, or more than, five tons of hazardous waste that meets the criteria in subdivision (c) for each calendar year or portion of the calendar year.
(b) The fee imposed pursuant to this section shall apply only to a generator who paid a generation and handling fee pursuant to Section 25205.5 before January 1, 2025, and whose project meets one of the following criteria:
(1) A residential project, including a mixed-use project in which at least two-thirds of the square footage consists of residential uses, that was deemed complete, as defined in Section 65589.5 of the Government Code, on or before December 31, 2021, and meets both of the following criteria:
(A) Consists of 600 or fewer units.
(B) At least 15 percent of the total units, as defined in Section 65915 of the Government Code, are affordable to households earning 110 percent of the area median income or less, or at least 10 percent of the units are affordable to households earning 80 percent of the area median income or less.
(2) A project that was issued a permit on or before December 31, 2021, and that is either a mixed-use project in which less than two-thirds of the square footage consists of residential uses or a commercial or is a nonprofit project of less than 200,000 square feet.
(3) A student housing project for a public university that was issued a permit on or before December 31, 2021.
(c) The fee imposed pursuant to this section shall apply only to hazardous waste that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The hazardous waste was generated in calendar years year 2021, 2022, or 2023.
(2) The hazardous waste is non-RCRA hazardous waste.
(3) The hazardous waste was generated in a remedial action, a removal action, or corrective action taken pursuant to, or generated in a soil disturbance conducted in compliance with a risk management plan approved pursuant to, this chapter, Chapter 6.65 (commencing with Section 25260), Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25280), Chapter 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10), Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 25300), or Division 45 (commencing with Section 78000), or generated in any other required cleanup, removal, or remediation.
(d) All of the following shall apply to the fee imposed pursuant to this section:
(1) The fee shall be in an amount of five dollars and seventy-two cents ($5.72) for each ton, or fraction of a ton, of hazardous waste. There shall not be a generation and handling fee pursuant to this section for hazardous waste generated in the 2021 calendar year if the generator meets the criteria of subdivision (b) and was subject to, and paid to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, before January 1, 2022, pursuant to Section 25205.5 of the Health and Safety Code, the generator fee for that hazardous waste in calendar year 2021.
(2) The fee shall be collected and administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and is due and payable in one installment.
(3) For purposes of calculating the amount of the fee imposed pursuant to paragraph (1), all exemptions and exclusions applicable to the fee imposed pursuant to Section 25205.5 shall apply.
(e) (1) The generator of hazardous waste shall file an annual return in the form prescribed by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and pay the proper amount of fee due. Returns shall be authenticated in a form or pursuant to methods as may be prescribed by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
(2) The generator of hazardous waste shall amend the annual return filed in fiscal years 2021–22 and 2022–23 to reflect the appropriate fee rates imposed pursuant to Section 25205.5 and this section for hazardous waste generated in calendar year 2021.
(3) The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall acknowledge the amended annual return within 30 days from the filing date. After acknowledgment of the amended annual return, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall process the refund either by mailing a check or applying a credit to outstanding future balances of the generator within 90 days, at the discretion of the generator of hazardous waste.
(4) Before issuing a refund or applying a credit pursuant to paragraph (3), the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall confirm that the generator meets the criteria set forth in subdivision (b) and that a project described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) has been constructed or is being constructed. In verifying this information, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration may use information from other state agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of Housing and Community Development, or local governments.
(f) A generator of hazardous waste that is generated from a project that meets the criteria in subdivision (b) shall report to the directors of the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration by January 1 of the fiscal year in which the fee is assessed all of the following information:
(1) All identification numbers issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control or by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that are associated with the project that meets the criteria in subdivision (b). If multiple identification numbers are used by a single company, all of the company’s identification numbers shall be included.
(2) All account numbers issued by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
(3) For each identification number issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control or by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the total tonnage of hazardous waste generated from the project that meets the criteria in subdivision (b), itemized as follows:
(A) The type and total tonnage of hazardous waste generated, identified by federal or state waste codes and the organic or inorganic chemical constituent or constituents causing the waste to be hazardous.
(B) Any exemptions or exclusions the generator claims are applicable to the hazardous waste generated and the total tonnage to which each of those exemptions apply.
(4) Any additional information the generator wishes to provide to support the generator’s eligibility pursuant to subdivision (b).
(g) Hazardous waste generated from a project meeting the criteria in subdivision (b) that does not meet all of the criteria in subdivision (c) shall be subject to the fee imposed pursuant to Section 25205.5 and shall be paid in accordance with Part 22 (commencing with Section 43001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 Section 43101.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read:

43101.1.
 (a) Every person, as defined in Section 25118 of the Health and Safety Code, who is subject to the fee imposed pursuant to Section 25205.5.2 or 25205.5.3 of the Health and Safety Code shall register with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration on forms provided by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 4.

 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.