Bill Text: CA SB1106 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Recycling: reusable bags.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-04-23 - Set, second hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 2. Noes 5. Page 3261.) Reconsideration granted. [SB1106 Detail]
Download: California-2011-SB1106-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1106 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 26, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Strickland
FEBRUARY 17, 2012
An act to add Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 26250)
to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
environmental health. An act to add Sectio
n 42253.1 to, and to repeal and add Sections 42256 and 42257 of, the
Public Resources Code, relating to recycling.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1106, as amended, Strickland. Reusable bags.
Recycling: reusable bags.
Existing law, part of the California Integrated Waste Management
Act of 1989, as administered by the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery, requires an operator of a store, as defined, to
establish an at-store recycling program that provides customers the
opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store and
to make reusable bags available to customers. Existing law prohibits
a city, county, or other local public agency from taking specified
regulatory actions with regard to plastic carryout bags. A violation
of these requirements is subject to civil liability penalties imposed
by a local agency or the state. These requirements and prohibitions
are repealed on January 1, 2013.
This bill would delete the repeal date, thereby continuing those
requirements and prohibitions indefinitely. The bill would require a
person that manufactures a reusable bag to print or attach a warning
label on the reusable bag containing specified information. The bill
would also require a person who sells or distributes a reusable bag
to conspicuously display that warning near the display where reusable
bags are sold or distributed or provide that warning in another
written form.
The bill would require the department, by October 1, 2013, to
conduct a study, in consultation with the State Department of Public
Health, to evaluate the health risks of using reusable bags, to
monitor the health effects in communities that principally use
reusable bags, and to determine the validity of specified findings of
previously published studies. The bill would require the department,
upon completing the study, to conduct a one-year statewide education
and awareness campaign.
Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, provides
for regulation by the State Department of Public Health of the
packaging, labeling, and advertising of food, drugs, and cosmetics.
This bill would prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution
of a reusable bag, as defined, without a specified warning label.
This bill would subject a violator to an action for injunctive relief
and for civil penalties, which may be brought by the Attorney
General, local officials, or private persons acting in the public
intent after a prescribed notice is given to the Attorney General and
local officials and other conditions are met. By imposing additional
duties on local officials. This bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
This bill would also state findings and declarations of the
Legislature relative to food-borne illness and reusable grocery bags.
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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 42253.1 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
42253.1. (a) A person that manufactures a reusable bag shall
print or attach the following warning label on the reusable bag in
10-point type:
WARNING: Reusable bags must be cleaned and disinfected between
uses to prevent food cross contamination. Failure to do so can cause
serious illness resulting from food-borne pathogens.
(b) A person who sells or distributes a reusable bag shall either
conspicuously display the warning specified in subdivision (a) near
the display where reusable bags are sold or distributed or provide
the warning in another written form available to the consumer.
SEC. 2. Section 42256 of the Public
Resources Code is repealed.
42256. This chapter shall become operative on July 1, 2007.
SEC. 3. Section 42256 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
42256. On or before October 1, 2013, the department, in
consultation with the State Department of Public Health, shall
conduct a study to evaluate if the use of reusable bags, without
frequent cleaning, increases an individual's risk of serious illness.
The department may authorize a university or a statewide health
organization, including, but not limited to, the California
Endowment, to conduct the study. The study shall monitor the health
effects in communities that principally use reusable bags and shall
determine the validity of the following findings of previously
published studies:
(a) Most consumers are unaware that the United States Department
of Agriculture and federal Food and Drug Administration have adopted
guidelines regarding food safety when shopping.
(b) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports
that in the United States, contaminated food causes approximately
1,000 reported disease outbreaks and an estimated 48 million
illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths annually.
(c) Most food-borne infections cause diarrheal illness, ranging
from mild to severe. Also, persons in susceptible populations and
some healthy persons can develop severe complications, such as
hemorrhagic colitis, bloodstream infection, meningitis, joint
infection, kidney failure, paralysis, miscarriage, and other
problems.
(d) A potential significant risk of bacterial cross contamination
exists from using reusable bags to carry groceries.
(e) Foods, including safely cooked and ready-to-eat foods, can
become cross contaminated with pathogens transferred from raw egg,
meat, poultry, and seafood products, and their juices and their
containers.
(f) Given the right circumstances, harmful bacteria can quickly
multiply on food and food containers in large numbers.
(g) Cross contamination problems associated with reusable bags for
carrying groceries has been recognized by health departments,
including the Minnesota Department of Health in 2007 and Health
Canada in 2010, and based on those problems, those health departments
have made recommendations regarding the proper handling and cleaning
of reusable grocery bags.
(h) Hand or machine washing reduced the numbers of bacteria in
reusable bags by 99.9 percent.
(i) Consumers almost never wash reusable bags and those who choose
to use reusable bags should be made aware of possible food safety
health risks.
(j) A sudden or significant increase in the use of reusable bags
without a major public education campaign on how to reduce the risk
of cross contamination could create the risk of significant adverse
public health impacts.
(k) It is important to require printed instructions on reusable
bags that direct that they be washed between uses and that raw foods
be separated from other food products.
SEC. 3. Section 42257 of the Public
Resources Code is repealed.
42257. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 4. Section 42257 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
42257. Upon completion of the study specified in Section 42256,
the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in consultation
with the State Department of Public Health, shall conduct a one-year
statewide education and awareness campaign to inform the public
regarding the health risks associated with unwashed reusable bags.
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be
cited as the Safety Labeling of Reusable Grocery Bag Act.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Most consumers are unaware of the United States Department of
Agriculture and federal Food and Drug Administration guidelines
regarding food safety when shopping.
(b) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports
that in the United States, contaminated food causes approximately
1,000 reported disease outbreaks and an estimated 48 million
illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths annually.
(c) Most food-borne infections cause diarrheal illness, ranging
from mild to severe. Also, persons in susceptible populations and
some healthy persons can develop severe complications, such as
hemorrhagic colitis, bloodstream infection, meningitis, joint
infection, kidney failure, paralysis, miscarriage, and other
problems.
(d) A potential significant risk of bacterial cross contamination
exists from using reusable bags to carry groceries.
(e) Foods, including safely cooked and ready-to-eat foods, can
become cross contaminated with pathogens transferred from raw egg,
meat, poultry, and seafood products, and their juices and their
containers.
(f) Given the right circumstances, harmful bacteria can quickly
multiply on food and food containers in large numbers.
(g) Cross contamination problems associated with reusable bags for
carrying groceries has been recognized by health departments
(Minnesota Department of Health, 2007; Health Canada, 2010) that have
made recommendations about proper handling and cleaning of reusable
grocery bags.
(h) Hand or machine washing reduced the numbers of bacteria in
reusable bags by 99.9 percent.
(i) Consumers almost never wash reusable bags and those who chose
to use reusable bags should be made aware of possible food safety
health risks.
(j) A sudden or significant increase in the use of reusable bags
without a major public education campaign on how to reduce the risk
of cross contamination would create the risk of significant adverse
public health impacts.
(k) It is important to require printed instructions on reusable
bags that direct that they be washed between uses and that raw foods
be separated from other food products.
SEC. 3. Chapter 20 (commencing with Section
26250) is added to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
CHAPTER 20. REUSABLE BAGS
26250. (a) No person shall manufacture, sell, or distribute in
commerce a reusable bag that does not contain the following warning
label in 10-point type:
WARNING: Reusable bags must be cleaned and disinfected between
uses to prevent food cross contamination. Failure to do so can cause
serious illness, cancer, or birth defects resulting from food-borne
pathogens. Once used for other purposes, reusable bags should not be
used for carrying groceries.
(b) The warning shall be conspicuously displayed on a five-inch by
eight-inch sign with 18 point type near any display where reusable
bags are sold to consumers.
(c) For the purposes of this chapter, "reusable bag" means a
washable bag used by consumers to transport food from retail food
facilities, intended to be used repeatedly, and made from a durable
material, such as canvas, cloth, polypropylene, polyester, or
polyethylene.
26251. (a) Any person who violates Section 26250 may be enjoined
in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) (1) Any person who violates Section 26250 shall be 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 violator.
(D) Whether the violator took good faith measures to comply with
this chapter and the time these measures were taken.
(E) The willfulness of the violator's misconduct.
(F) The deterrent effect that the imposition of the penalty would
have on both the violator and the regulated community as a whole.
(G) 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 of
California, by any district attorney, by any city attorney of a city
having a population in excess of 750,000, or, with the consent of the
district attorney, by a city prosecutor in any city or city and
county having a full-time city prosecutor, or as provided in
subdivision (d).
(d) Actions pursuant to this section may be brought by any person
in the public interest if both of the following requirements are met:
(1) The private action is commenced more than 60 days from the
date that the person has given notice of an alleged violation of
Section 26250 that is the subject of the private action to the
Attorney General and the district attorney, city attorney, or
prosecutor in whose jurisdiction the violation is alleged to have
occurred, and to the alleged violator.
(2) Neither the Attorney General, any district attorney, any city
attorney, nor any prosecutor has commenced and is diligently
prosecuting an action against the violation.
(e) Any person bringing an action in the public interest pursuant
to subdivision (d) and any person filing any action in which a
violation of this chapter is alleged shall notify the Attorney
General that the action has been filed.
(f) (1) Any person filing an action in the public interest
pursuant to subdivision (d), any private person filing any action in
which a violation of this chapter is alleged, or any private person
settling any violation of this chapter alleged in a notice given
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d), shall, after the action
or violation is subject either to a settlement or to a judgment,
submit to the Attorney General a reporting form that includes the
results of that settlement or judgment and the final disposition of
the case, even if dismissed. At the time of the filing of any
judgment pursuant to an action brought in the public interest
pursuant to subdivision (d), or any action brought by a private
person in which a violation of this chapter is alleged, the plaintiff
shall file an affidavit verifying that the report required by this
subdivision has been accurately completed and submitted to the
Attorney General.
(2) Any person bringing an action in the public interest pursuant
to subdivision (d), or any private person bringing an action in which
a violation of this chapter is alleged, shall, after the action is
either subject to a settlement, with or without court approval, or to
a judgment, submit to the Attorney General a report that includes
information on any corrective action being taken as a part of the
settlement or resolution of the action.
(3) The Attorney General shall develop a reporting form that
specifies the information that shall be reported, including, but not
limited to, for purposes of subdivision (e), the date the action was
filed, the nature of the relief sought, and for purposes of this
subdivision, the amount of the settlement or civil penalty assessed,
other financial terms of the settlement, and any other information
the Attorney General deems appropriate.
(4) If there is a settlement of an action brought by a person in
the public interest under subdivision (d), the plaintiff shall submit
the settlement, other than a voluntary dismissal in which no
consideration is received from the defendant, to the court for
approval upon noticed motion, and the court may approve the
settlement only if the court makes all of the following findings:
(A) Any warning that is required by the settlement complies with
this chapter.
(B) Any award of attorney's fees is reasonable under California
law.
(C) Any penalty amount is reasonable based on the criteria set
forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(5) The plaintiff subject to paragraph (4) has the burden of
producing evidence sufficient to sustain each required finding. The
plaintiff shall serve the motion and all supporting papers on the
Attorney General, who may appear and participate in any proceeding
without intervening in the case.
(g) The Attorney General shall maintain a record of the
information submitted pursuant to subdivisions (e) and (f) and shall
make this information available to the public.
(h) In any action brought by the Attorney General, a district
attorney, a city attorney, or a prosecutor pursuant to this chapter,
the Attorney General, district attorney, city attorney, or prosecutor
may seek and recover costs and attorney's fees on behalf of any
party who provides a notice pursuant to subdivision (d) and who
renders assistance in that action.
SEC. 4. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
