Bill Text: CA SB1159 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1159 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Plastic bag: labeling.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-05-14 - Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [SB1159 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB1159-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: SB 1159	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 12, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Calderon

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2012

   An act to add Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 42250) to Part
3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1159, as amended, Calderon. Plastic bag  recycling.
  : labeling.  
   Existing 
    (1)     Existing  law requires an
operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling
program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean
plastic carryout bags to that store. Existing law prohibits a city,
county, or other local public agency from taking specified regulatory
actions with regard to the recycling of plastic carryout bags. These
requirements and prohibitions are repealed on January 1, 2013.
   This bill would enact the Plastic Bag Reduction and Recycling Act
of 2012 and  make a statement of Legislative intent in this
regard   would prohibit the operator of a supermarket,
as defined, on and after July 1, 2013, from distributing a plastic
carryout bag to a customer unless the plastic carryout bag displays
the phrase "Please Recycle This Bag," in accordance with specified
requirements. The bill would provide that a violation of this
requirement by the operator of a   supermarket is an
infraction, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by
creating a new crime. The bill would authorize the city attorney or
district attorney to bring an action against the operator of 
 the supermarket convicted of violating this requirement for the
recovery of the costs of the enforcement action  . 
   (2) 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:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program:  no
  yes  .


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

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 42250) is added to
Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 5.1.  PLASTIC BAG REDUCTION AND RECYCLING ACT


   42250.  This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Plastic Bag Reduction and Recycling Act of 2012.
   42251.  The Legislature finds and declares that regulation of
plastic bag use, including specifying the recycled content of those
bags and providing recycling opportunities, requires a statewide and
unified approach. 
   42252.  For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
   (a) "Manufacturer" means the producer of a plastic carryout bag
sold to a supermarket.
   (b) "Operator" means a person in control of, or having daily
responsibility for, the daily operation of a supermarket, which may
include, but is not limited to, the owner of the supermarket.
   (c) "Plastic carryout bag" means a plastic carryout bag provided
by a supermarket to a customer at the point of sale. A plastic
carryout bag does not include a reusable bag or a bag that is labeled
compostable, biodegradable, or degradable in accordance with Chapter
5.7 (commencing with Section 42355).
    (d) "Reusable bag" means a durable plastic bag with handles that
is at least 2.25 mils thick and is specifically designed and
manufactured for multiple reuse.
   (e) "Supermarket" means a retail establishment that provides
plastic carryout bags to its customers as a result of the sale of a
product and meets the definition of a "supermarket" as found in
Section 14526.5.  
   42253.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), on and after
July 1, 2013, the operator of a supermarket shall not distribute a
plastic carryout bag to a customer unless the plastic carryout bag
displays the phrase "Please Recycle This Bag" on both the front and
back panel of the plastic carryout bag, which phrase meets all of the
following requirements:
   (1) The phrase shall be at least one inch in height and 75 percent
of the width of each of the front and back panels of the bag.
   (2) The phrase shall be displayed in a prominent location upon the
upper one-half of each panel and not in the gusset or on the base of
the bag.
   (3) The phrase shall be printed in a bold font.
   (b) The operator of a supermarket may distribute to a customer a
plastic carryout bag that does not comply with subdivision (a) if the
operator purchased and received the plastic carryout bag from a
manufacturer before July 1, 2013.  
   42254.  This chapter does not prohibit any other phrase or
communication from being printed upon a plastic carryout bag
distributed by a supermarket if the phrase or communication does not
contradict or interfere with the label required by Section 42253.
 
   42255.  (a) A violation of this chapter by the operator of a
supermarket is an infraction.
   (b) In addition to the penalties for an infraction specified in
Section 19.8 of the Penal Code, the city attorney or district
attorney may bring an action against the operator of a supermarket
convicted of a violation of this chapter to recover the costs of the
enforcement action. 
   SEC. 2.    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.