Bill Text: CA AB1699 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Waste management: synthetic plastic microbeads.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-28 - Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator Jackson. [AB1699 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1699-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1699	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 4, 2014
	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: 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, as
defined, from selling or offering for promotional purposes in this
state  any   a  personal care product
containing 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 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. 
   The bill would declare that its provisions occupy the whole field
of regulation of plastic microbeads and would prohibit a city,
county, or other local public agency, on or after January 1, 2019,
from adopting, enforcing, or otherwise implementing, an ordinance,
resolution, regulation, or rule, or any amendment thereto, relating
to plastic microbeads, except as expressly authorized. 
   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.  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 plastic microbead
particles, ranging from 50 to 500 microns, which are flushed down
drains as part of their intended use.
   (e) Plastic microbeads in personal care products are not
recoverable through ordinary wastewater treatment and so are released
into the environment.
   (f) Plastic microbeads of the size found in personal care products
are ingested by marine organisms.
   (g) 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) 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 plastic
microbeads.
   (k) There are many biodegradable, natural alternatives to 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) "Person" means an individual, business, or other entity.
   (b) (1) "Personal care product" means an article  that is
 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  that may be rinsed off, including
 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 shall not sell or
offer for promotional purposes in this state any personal care
products containing plastic microbeads.
   42363.  Section 42362 shall not apply to any person that sells or
offers for promotional purposes a personal care product containing
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.   (a)    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. 
   (b) This chapter addresses a matter of statewide interest and
concern and is applicable uniformly throughout the state.
Accordingly, this chapter occupies the whole field of regulation of
plastic microbeads, except as provided in subdivision (a).  

   (c) On and after January 1, 2019, a city, county, or other local
public agency shall not adopt, enforce, or otherwise implement, an
ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule, or any amendment thereto,
relating to plastic microbeads, except as expressly authorized by
this chapter.