AB895:v98#DOCUMENTBill Start
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 23, 2023
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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 895
Introduced by Assembly Member Chen
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February 14, 2023 |
An act to amend Section 40051 42653 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 895, as amended, Chen.
Solid waste: management.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program that requires each county and city and county to prepare and submit to the department a countywide integrated waste management plan.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants in the state and to approve and begin implementing the strategy to achieve a reduction in the statewide emissions of methane by 40% below 2013 levels by 2030, among other goals. Existing law requires the
methane emissions goals to reduce the landfill disposal of organics by meeting specified targets that include a 50% reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2020 and a 75% reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2025.
Existing law authorizes the department, in consultation with the state board, to adopt regulations that achieve the specified targets for reducing organic waste in landfills. Existing law authorizes local jurisdictions to charge and collect fees to recover the local jurisdiction’s costs incurred in complying with those regulations. Existing law also requires, no later than July 1, 2020, the department, in consultation with the state board, to analyze the progress that the waste sector, state government, and local governments have made in achieving the specified targets for reducing organic waste in landfills. Existing law authorizes the department,
depending on the outcome of that analysis, to amend the regulations to include incentives or additional requirements, as specified.
This bill would require the department to analyze the progress that the waste sector, state government, and local governments have made in achieving the organic waste reduction goals for 2020 and 2025 every 5 years. Because existing law authorizes the department to amend the regulations depending on the outcome of the analysis, as described above, the bill would add to the duties of local governments related to organic waste in landfills, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
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.
Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery and local agencies, when implementing the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, to promote certain waste management practices, in a specified order of priority, and maximize the use of all feasible source reduction, recycling, and composting options.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those requirements.
Digest Key
Vote:
MAJORITY
Appropriation:
NO
Fiscal Committee:
NOYES
Local Program:
NOYES
Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 42653 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:42653.
(a) No later than July 1, 2020, and every five years thereafter, the department, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, shall analyze the progress that the waste sector, state government, and local governments have made in achieving the organic waste reduction goals for 2020 and 2025 established in Section 39730.6 of the Health and Safety Code. The analysis shall include all of the following:(1) The status of new organics recycling infrastructure development, including the commitment of state funding and appropriate rate increases for solid waste and recycling services to support infrastructure expansion.
(2) The progress in reducing regulatory barriers to the siting of organics recycling facilities and the timing and effectiveness of policies that will facilitate the permitting of organics recycling infrastructure.
(3) The status of markets for the products generated by organics recycling facilities, including cost-effective electrical interconnection and common carrier pipeline injection of digester biomethane and the status of markets for compost, biomethane, and other products from the recycling of organic waste.
(b) If the department determines that significant progress has not been made on the items analyzed pursuant to subdivision (a), the department may include incentives or additional requirements in the regulations described in Section 42652.5 to facilitate progress towards achieving the organic waste reduction
goals for 2020 and 2025 established in Section 39730.6 of the Health and Safety Code. The department may, upon consultation with stakeholders, recommend to the Legislature revisions to those organic waste reduction goals.
SEC. 2.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.SECTION 1.Section 40051 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:40051.In implementing this division, the department and local agencies shall do both of the following:
(a)Promote the following waste management practices in order of priority:
(1)Source reduction.
(2)Recycling and composting.
(3)Environmentally safe transformation and environmentally safe land disposal, at the discretion of the city or county.
(b)Maximize the use of all feasible source reduction, recycling, and composting options in order to reduce the amount of solid waste that is required to be disposed of by transformation and land disposal. For wastes that cannot feasibly be reduced at their source, recycled, or composted, the local agency may use environmentally safe transformation or environmentally safe land disposal, or both of those practices.