ARTICLE 1. General Provisions [40400 - 40403]
( Repealed and added by Stats. 2009, Ch. 21, Sec. 9. )
There is in the California Environmental Protection Agency the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery shall be administered under the control of an executive officer known as the Director of Resources Recycling and Recovery. Any reference in any law or regulation to the State Solid Waste Management Board, the California Waste Management Board, or the California Integrated Waste Management Board shall hereafter apply to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The Director of Resources Recycling and Recovery shall hear and decide appeals of decisions of the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery made pursuant to this division.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 490. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)
(a) (1) Except as otherwise specified by statute, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery succeeds to and is vested with all of the authority, duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the former California Integrated Waste Management Board.
(2) Except as otherwise specified by statute, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery succeeds to and is vested with all of the authority, duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation in the performance of a function carrying out Division 12.1 (commencing with Section 14500). There shall be a Division of Recycling in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, to which the department may delegate any
activity relating to Division 12.1 (commencing with Section 14500).
(b) (1) All employees of the former California Integrated Waste Management Board who, on January 1, 2010, are serving in the state civil service, other than as temporary employees, are transferred to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
(2) The status, position, and rights of those persons transferred pursuant to this subdivision shall not be affected and shall be retained by them as employees of the department to which they are transferred pursuant to the State Civil Service Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except as to positions exempt from civil service.
(c) (1) All officers and employees of the Department of Conservation who, on
January 1, 2010, are serving in the state civil service, other than as temporary employees, and are engaged in the performance of a function carrying out Division 12.1 (commencing with Section 14500), shall be transferred to the Division of Recycling in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
(2) The status, position, and rights of those persons transferred pursuant to this subdivision shall not be affected and shall be retained by them as officers and employees of the department to which they are transferred pursuant to the State Civil Service Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except as to positions exempt from civil service.
(d) Any regulations adopted before January 1, 2010, by the former California Integrated Waste Management Board and the Department of Conservation relating to carrying out the duties and
responsibilities transferred pursuant to subdivision (a), that are in effect on January 1, 2010, shall remain in effect on and after January 1, 2010, and are enforceable until readopted, amended, or repealed.
(e) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery shall have possession and control of all records, papers, offices, equipment, supplies, moneys, funds, appropriations, land and other real or personal property, held for the benefit or use of all bodies, offices, and officers whose duties, powers, and functions have been transferred pursuant to subdivision (a).
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 868, Sec. 12. (SB 353) Effective October 13, 2023.)
The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery may expend the money in any appropriation or in any special fund in the State Treasury made available by law for the administration of the statutes the administration of which is committed to the department, or for the use, support, or maintenance of any board, bureau, commission, department, office, or officer whose duties, powers, and functions have been transferred to and conferred upon the department. The department shall make those expenditures in accordance with law in carrying out the purposes for which the appropriations were made or the special funds created.
(Added by Stats. 2009, Ch. 21, Sec. 9. (SB 63) Effective January 1, 2010.)
(a) The Office of Environmental Justice and Tribal Relations is hereby established within the department.
(b) Duties of the office shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Ensuring that the department’s programs effectively address the needs of disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, California Native American tribes, and farmworkers.
(2) Providing an evaluation of a range of strategic, scientific, technological, regulatory, and economic issues for the department related to environmental justice and tribal relations.
(3) Integrating environmental justice considerations into department programs, policies, and initiatives.
(4) Lessening the environmental impacts on those communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harm and risks.
(5) Addressing environmental justice by ensuring meaningful involvement of disproportionately burdened communities in department decisionmaking, building capacity to address environmental impacts in disproportionately burdened communities, and promoting collaborative problem solving for issues involving environmental justice.
(6) Strengthening partnerships with other governmental agencies at the federal, city, county, and tribal level regarding environmental justice issues.
(7) Enhancing research and assessment
approaches related to environmental justice.
(8) Collaborating with impacted communities and governmental agencies to promote equitable data collection regarding environmental burdens.
(9) Improving access to technical resources for disadvantaged communities.
(10) Enhancing protections for vulnerable communities.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 492, Sec. 1. (AB 649) Effective January 1, 2023.)