Bill Text: CA SB1020 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Recycling: hazardous waste: photovoltaic panels: collection and recycling programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-24 - Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [SB1020 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB1020-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1020 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
An act to add Article 11.6. (commencing with Section
25243) to Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to hazardous waste amend Section 25150.6 of
the Health and Safety Code, and to add Chapter 22 (commencing with
Section 42995) to P art 3 of Division 30 of the Public
Resources Code, relating to recycling .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1020, as amended, Monning. Hazardous
Recycling: hazardous waste: photovoltaic panels: collection and
recycling programs.
(1) The Hazardous Waste Control Law, among other things, vests the
Department of Toxic Substances Control with the authority to
regulate the generation and disposal of hazardous waste.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control to
exempt, by regulations adopted until January 1, 2008, a hazardous
waste management activity from certain statutory requirements related
to hazardous waste management if specified conditions for exemption
are met, including that the regulations identify the waste as a
universal waste. A violation of the Hazardous Waste Control Law
, including a regulation adopted pursuant to that law, is
a crime.
This bill would enact the California Photovoltaic Panel Collection
and Recycling Act of 2014 in the Hazardous Waste Control Law and
would require photovoltaic panel manufacturers, individually or
collectively, or with photovoltaic panel vendors, to establish a
program for the collection and recycling of end-of-life photovoltaic
panels that meets specified criteria. The bill would require the
Department of Toxic Substances Control to approve a program that
meets those criteria and would prohibit a photovoltaic panel
manufacturer that fails to establish an approved program from selling
or offering for sale photovoltaic panels in the state, as specified.
The bill would require the department to impose a reasonable annual
administrative fee, as specified, and would provide for the deposit
of the fees in the Photovoltaic Panel Collection Administration
Account, which this bill would establish in the State Treasury. The
bill would authorize the department to expend those fees, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the department's costs to
implement and enforce the bill's requirements, as specified.
The bill would require a contractor removing end-of-life
photovoltaic panels and a person who demolishes a building having
end-of-life photovoltaic panels to take the panels to an appropriate
location for collection and recycling. The bill would require the
bidder on state contracts for the purchase or lease of solar energy
systems to certify that the photovoltaic panels used are purchased
from a photovoltaic panel manufacturer in compliance with the above
requirements.
Because a violation of the act would be a crime, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would require a photovoltaic panel that is classified as
hazardous waste solely because it exhibits the characteristic of
toxicity to be considered a universal waste. The bill would require
the department to adopt regulations by January 1, 2016, to allow
photovoltaic panels to be managed as universal waste and would
require the standards for the management of universal waste
photovoltaic panels to be identical to the standards for the
management of universal waste electronic devices, except as
specified.
Because a violation of these regulations would be a crime, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires a retailer of various specified
products, such as rechargeable batteries and cell phones, sold in the
state to have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of
those products for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal.
This bill would establish the California Photovoltaic Panel
Collection and Recycling Act of 2014, and would require a producer of
photovoltaic panels, on or before July 1, 2016, to establish and
operate a take-back program to provide for the collection,
transportation, recovery, and recycling of end-of-life photovoltaic
panels, or to participate as a member in a take-back program operated
by, or on behalf of, 2 or more producers. The bill would allow a
producer to enter an agreement with a business consumer to establish
an alternative contractual arrangement with regard to the end-of-life
photovoltaic panels that are sold by the producer to the business
consumer.
The bill would require the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery to adopt regulations, by January 1, 2016, to set reasonably
achievable collection targets for take-back programs and to establish
a high-value recycling rate and a bulk recycling rate that take-back
programs would be required to meet. The bill would also require the
department to set the amount of the fee that a consumer submitting an
end-of-life historic or orphan photovoltaic panel, as defined, to a
take-back program would be required to pay to the program, based upon
the reasonable costs of the program to handle, transport, and
recycle the end-of-life photovoltaic panel.
The bill would require the operator of a take-back program to
submit to the department for approval a proposal to establish a
take-back program containing specified elements no less than 60 days
before beginning operation of the program. The operator would be
required to submit an annual report to the department and pay an
annual administrative fee to the department, which the department
would be required to set at an amount to cover the department's
reasonable costs of implementing and enforcing the act. The
department would be required to deposit the fee revenues in the
Photovoltaic Panel Collection Administration Fund, which the bill
would establish in the State Treasury. The department would be
authorized to expend the funds in the Photovoltaic Panel Collection
Administration Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to
implement and enforce the act.
The bill would require a person that removes an end-of-life
photovoltaic panel from a building or structure, other than the
take-back program operator or the operator's employee, contractor, or
representative, to contact the take-back program operator and follow
all instructions received from the operator for participation in the
take-back program. The bill would require a person removing an
end-of life historic or orphan photovoltaic panel to submit the
photovoltaic panel to a take-back program and pay the fee established
by the department.
The bill would provide for the imposition of civil penalties and
administrative penalties upon a person who intentionally violates the
act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the act, or who knowingly
makes a false statement or representation in an application, record,
report, or other document filed, maintained, or used for purposes of
compliance with the act. The department would be required to deposit
the penalties in the Photovoltaic Panel Penalty Fund, which the bill
would establish in the State Treasury. The bill would authorize the
department to expend the funds in the Photovoltaic Panel Penalty
Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement and enforce
the act.
(2)
(3) 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.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 25150.6 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
25150.6. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (e) and (f), the
department, by regulation, may exempt a hazardous waste management
activity from one or more of the requirements of this chapter, if the
department does all of the following:
(1) Prepares an analysis of the hazardous waste management
activity to which the exemption will apply pursuant to subdivision
(b). The department shall first prepare the analysis as a preliminary
analysis and make it available to the public at the same time that
the department gives notice, pursuant to Section 11346.4 of the
Government Code, that it proposes to adopt a regulation exempting the
hazardous waste management activity from one or more of the
requirements of this chapter. The department shall include, in the
notice, a reference that the department has prepared a preliminary
analysis and a statement concerning where a copy of the preliminary
analysis can be obtained. The information in the preliminary analysis
shall be updated and the department shall make the analysis
available to the public as a final analysis not less than 10 working
days prior to the date that the regulation is adopted.
(2) Demonstrates that one of the conclusions required by
subdivision (c) is valid.
(3) Imposes, as may be necessary, conditions and limitations on
the exemption that ensure that the exempted activity will not pose a
significant potential hazard to human health or safety or to the
environment.
(b) Before the department gives notice of a proposal to adopt a
regulation exempting a hazardous waste management activity from one
or more of the requirements of this chapter pursuant to subdivision
(a), and before the department adopts the regulation, the department
shall evaluate the hazardous waste management activity and prepare,
as required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), an analysis that
addresses all of the following aspects of the activity, to the extent
that the requirement or requirements from which the activity will be
exempted can affect these aspects of the activity:
(1) The types of hazardous waste streams and the estimated amounts
of hazardous waste that are managed as part of the activity and the
hazards to human health or safety or to the environment posed by
reasonably foreseeable mismanagement of those hazardous wastes and
their hazardous constituents. The estimate of the amounts of
hazardous waste that are managed as part of the activity shall be
based upon information reasonably available to the department.
(2) The complexity of the activity, and the amount and complexity
of operator training, equipment installation and maintenance, and
monitoring that are required to ensure that the activity is conducted
in a manner that safely and effectively manages the particular
hazardous waste stream.
(3) The chemical or physical hazards that are associated with the
activity and the degree to which those hazards are similar to, or
differ from, the chemical or physical hazards that are associated
with the production processes that are carried out in the facilities
that produce the hazardous waste that is managed as part of the
activity.
(4) The types of accidents that might reasonably be foreseen to
occur during the management of particular types of hazardous waste
streams as part of the activity, the likely consequences of those
accidents, and the actual reasonably available accident history
associated with the activity.
(5) (A) The types of locations at which the
activity may be carried out, an estimate of the number of these
locations, and the types of hazards that may be posed by proximity to
the following land uses described in subdivision
(b) of Section 25232. uses:
(i) A residence, including any mobilehome or factory built housing
constructed or installed for use as permanently occupied human
habitation.
(ii) A hospital for humans.
(iii) A school for persons under 21 years of age.
(iv) A day care center for children.
(v) Any permanently occupied human habitation other than these
used for industrial purposes.
(B) The estimate of the number of locations
at which the activity may be carried out shall be based upon
information reasonably available to the department.
(c) The department shall not give notice proposing the adoption
of, and the department may not adopt, a regulation pursuant to
subdivision (a) unless it first demonstrates, using the information
developed in the analysis prepared pursuant to subdivision (b), that
one of the following is valid:
(1) The requirement from which the activity is exempted is not
significant or important in either of the following:
(A) Preventing or mitigating potential hazards to human health or
safety or to the environment posed by the activity.
(B) Ensuring that the activity is conducted in compliance with
other applicable requirements of this chapter and the regulations
adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(2) A requirement is imposed and enforced by another public agency
that provides protection of human health and safety and the
environment that is as effective as, and equivalent to, the
protection provided by the requirement, or requirements, from which
the activity is being exempted.
(3) Conditions or limitations imposed on the exemption will
provide protection of human health and safety and the environment
equivalent to the requirement, or requirements, from which the
activity is exempted.
(4) Conditions or limitations imposed on the exemption accomplish
the same regulatory purpose as the requirement, or requirements, from
which the activity is being exempted but at less cost or greater
administrative convenience and without increasing potential risks to
human health or safety or to the environment.
(d) A regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall not be
deemed to meet the standard of necessity, pursuant to Section 11349.1
of the Government Code, unless the department has complied with
subdivisions (b) and (c).
(e) The department shall not exempt a hazardous waste management
activity from a requirement of this chapter or the regulations
adopted by the department if the requirement is also a requirement
for that activity under the federal act.
(f) (1) On Except as provided in
subdivision (g), on and after January 1, 2002, the department
may, by regulation, exempt a hazardous waste management activity from
one or more of the requirements of this chapter pursuant to this
section only if the regulations govern the management of one of the
hazardous wastes listed in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of
paragraph (2), the regulations identify the hazardous waste as a
universal waste, and the regulations amend the standards for
universal waste management set forth in Chapter 23 (commencing with
Section 66273.1) of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code
of Regulations.
(2) The regulations that the department may adopt pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall govern only the following types of hazardous
waste:
(A) Electronic hazardous wastes, as the department may describe in
the regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision.
(B) Hazardous waste batteries.
(C) Hazardous wastes containing mercury.
(D) Hazardous waste lamps.
(E) Lead-based painted debris that is a hazardous waste.
(g) (1) For purposes of this subdivision, "photovoltaic panel" has
the same meaning as in Section 42995.2 of the Public Resources Code.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivisions (f) and (h), to the extent not
inconsistent with the federal act, a photovoltaic panel that is
classified as hazardous waste under this chapter solely because it
exhibits the characteristic of toxicity shall be considered a
universal waste, as defined in Section 25123.8.
(3) On or before January 1, 2016, the department shall adopt
regulations to amend the standards for universal waste management set
forth in Chapter 23 (commencing with Section 66273.1) of Division
4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, to allow for
the management of photovoltaic panels as universal waste. The
department shall adopt standards for the management of universal
waste photovoltaic panels that are identical to the standards for the
management of universal waste electronic devices that are in effect
on January 1, 2015, except for the following:
(A) The regulations shall not include requirements applicable only
to waste that is RCRA hazardous waste, including, but not limited
to, the United States Environmental Protection Agency notification
requirements and the requirement that the handler obtain a federal ID
number.
(B) The regulations shall not include provisions applicable only
to residual printed circuit boards, as specified in Chapter 23
(commencing with Section 66273.1) of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(C) The regulations shall allow for the removal of photovoltaic
panel frames, junction boxes, wires, and cables, the disassembly of
photovoltaic panels into individual components, panels, or cells, and
the breakage of photovoltaic panels, if the broken panels are
contained in a manner that will prevent the release of hazardous
constituents to the environment under reasonably foreseeable
conditions. The regulations shall provide that the activities
specified in this subparagraph shall be regulated as disassembly
activities under Section 66273.72 of Title 22 of the California Code
of Regulations and not as treatment activities under Section 66273.73
of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
(g)
(h) (1) The authority of the
department to adopt regulations pursuant to this section shall remain
in effect only until January 1, 2008, unless a later enacted
statute, which is enacted before January 1, 2008, deletes or extends
that date. This subdivision does not invalidate any regulation
adopted pursuant to this section prior to the expiration of the
department's authority.
(2) This subdivision does not apply to a regulation adopted
pursuant to subdivision (g).
SEC. 2. Chapter 22 (commencing with Section 42995)
is added to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources
Code , to read:
CHAPTER 22. CALIFORNIA PHOTOVOLTAIC PANEL COLLECTION AND
RECYCLING ACT OF 2014
42995. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Photovoltaic Panel Collection and Recycling Act of 2014.
42995.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) California's policies, including the policies reflected in the
California Solar Initiative (Chapter 8.8 (commencing with Section
25780) of Division 15), the state's net energy metering program, and
the California Renewable Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division
1 of the Public Utilities Code), have made California the leading
state in the installation of solar energy systems by providing
ratepayer-funded incentives to eligible solar energy systems,
resulting in substantially increased utilization by homes,
businesses, and utilities.
(2) Existing solar energy systems use photovoltaic technology to
capture sunlight and convert it into electricity until the end of
their useful lives, estimated to be between 25 and 40 years. Today a
wide variety of solar photovoltaic technologies, manufactured using
processes and materials similar to those of the microelectronics
industry, contribute to California's solar energy portfolio.
(3) The numerous renewable and customer-generated solar programs
in California have led to a rapid expansion of solar energy systems
and have given rise to an emerging photovoltaic industry. An
increasing amount of end-of-life photovoltaic panels can be expected
from 2020 onwards in California. It is critical to consider the
end-of-life issues associated with photovoltaic panels. Recycling is
the most sustainable way to manage end-of-life photovoltaic panels.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the
following:
(1) Foster a comprehensive and innovative system for the reuse,
recycling, and proper and legal disposal of end-of-life photovoltaic
panels.
(2) Establish a program that makes it convenient for consumers and
the public to return and recycle photovoltaic panels, and ensures
the efficient, environmentally safe disposition of end-of-life
photovoltaic panels.
(3) Reduce the likelihood of improper disposal and ensure that the
cost associated with the handling, recycling, and disposition of
end-of-life photovoltaic panels shall be the responsibility of the
photovoltaic panel producers and consumers, and not local governments
or their service providers, state government, or taxpayers.
(4) Provide flexibility to photovoltaic panel producers to partner
with each other and with those private and nonprofit business
enterprises that currently provide collection and processing services
to develop and promote a safe and effective end-of-life photovoltaic
panel recycling system for California.
(5) Provide for the collection and recycling of the maximum
feasible number of end-of-life photovoltaic panels.
(6) Ensure that semiconductor materials and other metal
constituents of photovoltaic panels are recovered from photovoltaic
panels at the end of life.
(7) Encourage photovoltaic panel producers to establish a
cost-effective system for the recovery, reuse, recycling, and proper
disposal of end-of-life photovoltaic panels, and build on and reward
early action to create existing photovoltaic panel take-back and
recycling programs.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature that photovoltaic
panels, to the greatest extent feasible, should be designed for
extended life, repair, and reuse, and that collection and recycling
services should be provided for the maximum feasible number of
end-of-life photovoltaic panels.
42995.2. For the purposes of the chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) "Bulk recycling" means recycling targeted at the recovery of a
certain percentage of the total mass of a photovoltaic panel and
that does not differentiate between high-value and low-value
constituents.
(b) "Business consumer" means a business, corporation, limited
partnership, nonprofit organization, or governmental entity that
purchases or owns photovoltaic panels in a quantity larger than those
typically possessed by a household consumer.
(c) "Consumer" means a purchaser or owner of a photovoltaic panel
in the state.
(d) "Department" means the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
(e) "End-of-life photovoltaic panel" means a photovoltaic panel
that has been used and is removed from service in this state and is
intended to be discarded or recycled. A photovoltaic panel that is
designated for refurbishment or reuse is not an end-of-life
photovoltaic panel.
(f) "High-value recycling" means recycling targeted at the
recovery of a significant percentage of metals and semiconductor
materials from a photovoltaic panel.
(g) "Historic photovoltaic panel" means a photovoltaic panel
placed on the market by a producer before January 1, 2015.
(h) "Household consumer" means both of the following:
(1) A household, as defined in Section 25218.1 of the Health and
Safety Code, that purchases or owns a photovoltaic panel in the
state.
(2) The purchaser or owner of a photovoltaic panel that does not
meet the definition of a household specified in paragraph (1), but
purchases or owns photovoltaic panels in a limited quantities that is
equivalent to the amount of photovoltaic panels that a household
otherwise purchases or owns.
(i) (1) "Photovoltaic panel producer" or "producer" means a
person, business, corporation, limited partnership, nonprofit
organization, or governmental entity that, irrespective of the
selling technique used, sells photovoltaic panels in this state or
places photovoltaic panels on the market because it does one of the
following:
(A) Manufactures photovoltaic panels within the state under its
own name or trademark, or has photovoltaic panels designed or
manufactured in the state, and markets the photovoltaic panels in the
state under its own name.
(B) Resells photovoltaic panels within the state that were
produced within the state by another entity under the reseller's own
name.
(C) Imports into the state photovoltaic panels manufactured
outside of the state for the purpose of sale within the state.
(D) Sells photovoltaic panels directly into the state or solely by
means of distance communication, including telephone or internet
sales, to consumers in the state.
(2) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), a person,
business, corporation, limited partnership, nonprofit organization,
or governmental entity is not a producer if the brand of a producer
which is not that person, business, corporation, limited partnership,
nonprofit organization, or governmental entity appears on the
photovoltaic panels resold by that entity.
(j) "Photovoltaic panel" means a device having the primary purpose
of providing nonthermal generation of electricity from solar energy.
(k) "Orphan photovoltaic panel" means a photovoltaic panel sold to
a consumer that, at the end of life, is not managed by the producer
of that photovoltaic panel because the producer no longer exists or
because the producer does not otherwise operate or participate in a
take-back program.
(l) "Take-back program" means a system for the collection,
transportation, recovery, and environmentally sound recycling of
end-of-life photovoltaic panels.
(m) "Take-back program operator" or "operator" means an individual
producer or a group or organization of producers that manages a
take-back program.
42995.3. (a) On or before July 1, 2016, a producer shall
establish and operate a take-back program or shall participate as a
member in a take-back program established and operated by, or on
behalf of, two or more producers.
(b) A take-back program established pursuant to this chapter shall
provide for the collection, transportation, recovery, and
environmentally sound recycling of end-of-life photovoltaic panels
that are put on the market on and after January 1, 2015, by the
producer participating in the take-back program pursuant to
subdivision (a), and for end-of-life historic photovoltaic panels and
end-of-life orphan photovoltaic panels, upon payment of the fee
specified in Section 42995.4.
(c) (1) A producer may enter an agreement with a business consumer
to establish an alternative contractual arrangement to finance the
costs of the collection, transportation, recovery, and
environmentally sound recycling of the end-of-life photovoltaic
panels that are sold by the producer to the business consumer. An
agreement entered into pursuant to this subdivision shall require the
photovoltaic panels managed pursuant to the alternative contractual
arrangement to meet the photovoltaic panel collection and recycling
targets established pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section
42995.4.
(2) If a producer enters into an agreement pursuant to this
subdivision, any photovoltaic panels sold by the producer that are
not subject to the alternative contractual arrangement shall be
included in a take-back program established pursuant to subdivision
(a).
42995.4. The department may adopt regulations to implement this
chapter. On or before January 1, 2016, the department shall adopt
regulations that do all of the following:
(a) Set reasonably achievable collection targets for take-back
programs, on a graduated basis, taking into account cost and the
technical feasibility.
(b) Establish a high-value recycling rate of not less than 80
percent and a bulk recycling rate of not less than 75 percent for all
end-of-life photovoltaic panels collected pursuant to a program,
taking into account cost and technical feasibility.
(c) Set the amount of the fee that a consumer submitting an
end-of-life historic photovoltaic panel or an end-of-life orphan
photovoltaic panel to a take-back program shall pay to the program,
based upon the reasonable costs of the program to handle, transport,
and recycle the end-of-life photovoltaic panel.
42995.5. An operator of a take-back program shall submit to the
department a proposal to establish a take-back program that would
take all of the following actions:
(a) Collect end-of-life photovoltaic panels at the rate
established by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
42295.4. The take-back program operator shall undertake the
educational and outreach efforts necessary to achieve the established
collection rates.
(b) Meet the recovery rates for high-value recycling and bulk
recycling of photovoltaic panels established by the department
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 42995.4. The take-back program
operator shall utilize recycling technologies capable of meeting the
recycling rates established by the department.
(c) Affix a label to each photovoltaic panel sold by the producers
participating in the program. The label shall enable the consumer to
easily contact the take-back program operator at end-of-life, by
including the name of the take-back program operator, relevant
handling instructions, and contact information including, but not
limited to, a toll-free number, an Internet Web address, or an email
address.
(d) Provide for one or more of the following:
(1) The direct pickup of end-of-life photovoltaic panels from the
installation location.
(2) The free shipping of photovoltaic panels to the operator.
(3) The operation of locations for consumers to drop off
end-of-life photovoltaic panels.
(e) Handle and transport photovoltaic panels in a manner
consistent with all local, state, and federal requirements.
(f) Notify a consumer of the requirements of Section 42995.9, if
the consumer removes a photovoltaic panel and does not intend to
reuse, sell for reuse by another, or refurbish the photovoltaic
panel.
(g) Accept end-of-life historic and orphan photovoltaic panels,
pursuant to one or more of the means specified in subdivision (d),
from a consumer who pays the program the amount of the fee
established by the department pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
42295.4.
42995.6. (a) A take-back program operator shall submit the
take-back program proposal to the department for approval no less
than 60 days before beginning operation of the program. The
department shall approve a take-back program if it meets the
requirements of Section 42995.5.
(b) If the department takes no action to approve or reject a
program proposal within 60 days of its submittal, the program shall
be deemed to be an approved program.
42995.7. On or before April 1, 2017, and on or before April 1
annually thereafter, each take-back program operator shall submit a
report to the department covering the one-year period ending December
31 of the previous calendar year. The annual report shall include
all of the following:
(a) The volume by weight of photovoltaic panels marketed for sale
by producers participating in the take-back program that were
installed by consumers in the past calendar year. If the operator
enters into an alternative contractual arrangement pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 42995.3 with a business consumer, the
operator shall include the volume by weight of the photovoltaic
panels that are sold to the business consumer subject to that
agreement.
(b) The volume by weight of end-of-life photovoltaic panels
collected under the take-back program during the previous calendar
year, including the quantity of historic photovoltaic panels and
orphan photovoltaic panels collected by the program.
(c) Information regarding the collection rate and recycling rates
achieved by the take-back program and under any alternative
contractual arrangement entered into pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 42995.3.
(d) Contact information for all collection locations operated as
part of the take-back program.
(e) If the take-back program fails to meet the collection or
recycling rates established by the department pursuant to Section
42995.4, a summary of the actions the
operator plans to take in the upcoming calendar
year to achieve those rates.
42995.8. (a) The department shall establish an annual
administrative fee to be paid by the operator of a take-back program,
which shall be set at an amount to cover the reasonable costs of
implementing and enforcing this chapter.
(b) An operator shall pay an annual administrative fee to the
department. The department shall deposit the fee revenues in the
Photovoltaic Panel Collection Administration Fund, which is hereby
established in the State Treasury, the moneys in which may be
expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to
implement and enforce this chapter.
42995.9. (a) A person that removes an end-of-life photovoltaic
panel from a building or structure, other than a take-back program
operator or the operator's employee, contractor, or representative,
shall contact the take-back program operator using the contact
information on the panel's label and shall follow the instructions
received from the operator for participation in the take-back
program.
(b) A person removing an end-of life historic photovoltaic panel
or orphan photovoltaic panel shall submit the photovoltaic panel to
an existing take-back program and pay the program the fee established
by the department.
42995.10. (a) A person who does any of the following shall be
liable for a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500) for each violation or, for continuing violations,
for each day that violation continues, not to exceed a total of two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for all violations:
(1) Intentionally violates the requirements of this chapter or a
regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(2) Knowingly makes any false statement or representation in any
application, record, report, or other document filed, maintained, or
used for purposes of compliance with this chapter.
(b) In any action brought pursuant to subdivision (a), the
department may seek injunctive relief in addition to civil penalties.
(c) (1) As an alternative to a civil penalty pursuant to
subdivision (a), the department may impose an administrative penalty
in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each
intentional violation of this chapter, or a regulation adopted
pursuant to this chapter, or, for continuing violations, for each day
that violation continues, not to exceed a total of fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000) for all violations, and shall submit a notice of
the proposed penalty to the person subject to the penalty.
(2) A person assessed an administrative penalty may request the
department to reconsider the penalty within 30 days of receiving
notice of the proposed penalty. Upon receiving a request for
reconsideration, the department shall, within 45 days, review the
administrative penalty and issue a written decision. If the
department upholds the administrative penalty, the person assessed
that penalty may appeal the department's determination in an action
brought in the superior court, where the court shall consider the
issue de novo.
(d) The department shall deposit all penalties collected pursuant
to this section in the Photovoltaic Panel Penalty Fund, which is
hereby established in the State Treasury. The department may expend
the funds in the Photovoltaic Panel Penalty Fund, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, to implement and enforce this chapter.
SEC. 3. 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. All matter omitted in this version of
the bill appears in the bill as introduced in the Senate, February
14, 2014. (JR11)
