BILL NUMBER: AB 1699	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 19, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 20, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 12, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bloom
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Nestande and Stone)

                        FEBRUARY 13, 2014

   An act to add Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section 42360) to Part
3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to waste
management.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1699, as amended, Bloom. Waste management: 
microplastics.   plastic microbeads. 
   The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986
(Proposition 65) prohibits any person, in the course of doing
business, from knowingly and intentionally exposing any individual to
a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive
toxicity without giving a specified warning, or from discharging or
releasing such a chemical into any source of drinking water, except
as specified. Existing law prohibits the sale of expanded polystyrene
packaging material by a wholesaler or manufacturer. Existing law
prohibits a person from selling a plastic product in this state that
is labeled with the term "compostable," "home compostable," or
"marine degradable" unless, at the time of sale, the plastic product
meets the applicable American Society for Testing and Materials
standard specification.
   This bill would prohibit, after January 1, 2019, a  person
in the course of doing business   person  , as
defined, from selling or offering for promotional purposes in this
state any personal care product containing  microplastic
  plastic microbeads  , as specified. The bill
would exempt from this prohibition the sale or promotional offer of a
product containing less than 1 part per million (ppm) by weight of
 microplastic   plastic microbeads  , as
provided.
   The bill would make a violator liable for a civil penalty not to
exceed $2,500 per day for each violation. The bill would authorize
the penalty to be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in
any court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or local
officials, as provided. The bill would require the civil penalties
collected in an action brought pursuant to the act to be retained by
the office of the Attorney General or local official who brought the
action.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section 42360) is added to
Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 5.9.   MICROPLASTIC   PLASTIC
MICROBEADS  NUISANCE PREVENTION LAW


   42360.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) Plastic does not biodegrade like other organic materials, but,
upon exposure to the elements, photodegrades into smaller pieces,
causing land and water pollution that is virtually impossible to
remediate.
   (b) Plastic pollution is the dominant type of anthropogenic debris
found throughout the marine environment.
   (c) Plastic pollution is an environmental and human health hazard
and a public nuisance.
   (d) Consumer personal care products such as facial scrubs, soaps,
and toothpaste increasingly contain thousands of 
microplastic   plastic microbead  particles,
ranging from 50 to 500 microns, which are flushed down drains as part
of their intended use.
   (e)  Microplastics   Plastic microbeads 
in personal care products are not recoverable through ordinary
wastewater treatment and so are released into the environment.
   (f)  Microplastics   Plastic microbeads 
of the size found in personal care products are ingested by marine
organisms.
   (g)  Microplastics   Plastic microbeads 
attract other pollutants commonly present in the environment, many
of which are recognized to have serious deleterious impacts on human
health or the environment, including DDT, DDE, PCBs, and
flame-retardants.
   (h)  Microplastics   Plastic microbeads 
have been found in surface waters within the United States, as well
as in fish, marine mammals, and reptiles, and in the digestive and
circulatory systems of mussels and worms.
   (i) PAHs, PCBs, and PBDEs from plastic transfer to fish tissue
during digestion and bioaccumulate, resulting in liver damage.
   (j) Fish that humans consume have been found to ingest 
microplastics   plastic microbeads  .
   (k) There are many biodegradable, natural alternatives to 
microplastics   plastic microbeads  that are
economically feasible, as evidenced by their current use in some
consumer personal care products.
   42361.  As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings: 
   (a) "Microplastic" means any plastic size 5 millimeter or less in
all dimensions.  
   (b) 
    (a)  "Person" means an individual,  trust, firm,
joint stock company, corporation, company, partnership, limited
liability company, and association.   business, or other
entity.  
   (c) "Personal care products" means mixtures and solutions used for
bathing and facial or body cleaning, including, but not limited to,
hand and body soap, exfoliates, shampoos, toothpastes, and scrubs.
 
   (d) "Person in the course of doing business" does not include any
person employing fewer than 10 employees in his or her business; any
city, county, or district or any department or agency thereof or the
state or any department or agency thereof or the federal government
or any department or agency thereof; or any entity in its operation
of a public water system.  
   (e) "Plastic" means a synthetic material made from linking
monomers through a chemical reaction to create a polymer chain that
can be molded or extruded at high heat into various forms. Plastics
can be made from many organic substances, including petroleum and
natural gas.  
   (b) (1) "Personal care product" means an article intended to be
rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced to, or otherwise
applied to, the human body or any part thereof for cleansing,
beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance,
and an article intended for use as a component of such an article.
 
   (2) "Personal care product" does not include a prescription drug,
as defined in Section 110010.2 of the Health and Safety Code. 

   (c) "Plastic microbead" means an intentionally added plastic
particle measuring five millimeters or less in size in every
dimension. 
   42362.  On or after January 1, 2019, a person  in the
course of doing business  shall not sell or offer for
promotional purposes in this state any personal care products
containing  microplastic   plastic microbeads
 .
   42363.  Section 42362 shall not apply to any person  in
the course of doing business  that sells or offers for
promotional purposes a personal care product containing 
microplastic   plastic microbeads  in less than 1
part per million (ppm) by weight.
   42364.  (a) A person who violates or threatens to violate Section
42362 may be enjoined in any court of competent jurisdiction.
   (b) (1) A person who violates Section 42362 is liable for a civil
penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per
day for each violation in addition to any other penalty established
by law. That civil penalty may be assessed and recovered in a civil
action brought in any court of competent jurisdiction.
   (2) In assessing the amount of a civil penalty for a violation of
this chapter, the court shall consider all of the following:
   (A) The nature and extent of the violation.
   (B) The number of, and severity of, the violations.
   (C) The economic effect of the penalty on the person.
   (D) Whether the person took good faith measures to comply with
this chapter and the time these measures were taken.
   (E) The deterrent effect that the imposition of the penalty would
have on both the person and the regulated community as a whole.
   (F) Any other factor that justice may require.
   (c) Actions pursuant to this section may be brought by the
Attorney General in the name of the people of the state, by a
district attorney, by a city attorney of a city having a population
in excess of 750,000 persons, or, with the consent of the district
attorney, by a city prosecutor in a city or city and county having a
full-time city prosecutor.
   42367.  The civil penalties collected pursuant to Section 42364
shall be retained by the office of the city attorney, city
prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office
brought the action.
   42368.  This chapter does not alter or diminish any legal
obligation otherwise required in common law or by statute or
regulation, and this chapter does not create or enlarge any defense
in any action to enforce the legal obligation. Penalties and
sanctions imposed under this chapter shall be in addition to any
penalties or sanctions otherwise prescribed by law.