(a) The Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account is hereby established in the Integrated Waste Management Fund. All fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the account. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the funds in the account are hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, for the following purposes:
(1) To pay refunds of the covered electronic waste recycling fee imposed under Section 42464.
(2) To make electronic waste recovery payments to an authorized collector of covered electronic waste pursuant to Section 42479.
(3) To make electronic waste recycling payments to covered electronic waste recyclers pursuant to Section 42479.
(4) To make payments to manufacturers pursuant to subdivision (h).
(b) (1) The money in the account may be expended for the following purposes only upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act:
(A) For the administration of this chapter by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery and the department.
(B) To reimburse the State Board of Equalization for its administrative costs of registering, collecting, making refunds, and auditing retailers and consumers in connection with the covered electronic waste recycling fee imposed under Section 42464.
(C) To provide funding to the department to implement and enforce Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, as that chapter relates to covered electronic devices, and any regulations adopted by the department pursuant to that chapter.
(D) To establish the public information program specified in subdivision (d).
(E) For expenditure pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of, and paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of, Section 17001.
(2) Any fines or penalties collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the Electronic Waste Penalty Subaccount, which is hereby established in the account. The funds in the Electronic Waste Penalty Subaccount may be expended by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery or the department only upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 16475 of the Government Code, any interest earned upon funds in the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account shall be deposited in that account for expenditure pursuant to this chapter.
(d) Not more than 1 percent of the funds annually deposited in the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account shall be expended for the purposes of establishing the public information program to educate the public in the hazards of improper covered electronic device storage and disposal and on the opportunities to recycle covered electronic devices.
(e) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery shall adopt regulations specifying cancellation methods for the recovery, processing, or recycling of covered electronic waste.
(f) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery may pay an electronic waste recycling payment or electronic waste recovery payment only for covered electronic waste that meets all of the following conditions:
(1) (A) The covered electronic waste is demonstrated to have been generated by a person who used the covered electronic device while located in this state.
(B) Covered electronic waste generated outside of the state and subsequently brought into the state is not eligible for payment.
(C) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery shall establish documentation requirements for purposes of this paragraph that are necessary to demonstrate that the covered electronic waste was generated in the state and eligible for payment.
(2) The covered electronic waste, including any residuals from the processing of the waste, is handled in compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations.
(3) The manufacturer or the authorized collector or recycler of the electronic waste provides a cost-free and convenient opportunity to recycle electronic waste, in accordance with the legislative intent specified in subdivision (b) of Section 42461.
(4) If the covered electronic waste is processed, the covered electronic waste is processed in this state according to the cancellation method authorized by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
(g) The Legislature hereby declares that the state is a market participant in the business of the recycling of covered electronic waste for all of the following reasons:
(1) The fee is collected from the state’s consumers for covered electronic devices sold for use in the state.
(2) The purpose of the fee and subsequent payments is to prevent damage to the public health and the environment from waste generated in the state.
(3) The recycling system funded by the fee ensures that economically viable and sustainable markets are developed and supported for recovered materials and components in order to conserve resources and maximize business and employment opportunities within the state.
(h) (1) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery may make a payment to a manufacturer that takes back a covered electronic device from a consumer in this state for purposes of recycling the device at a processing facility. The amount of the payment made by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery shall equal the value of the covered electronic waste recycling fee paid for that device. To qualify for a payment pursuant to this subdivision, the manufacturer shall demonstrate both of the following to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery:
(A) The covered electronic device for which payment is claimed was used in this state.
(B) The covered electronic waste for which a payment is claimed, including any residuals from the processing of the waste, has been, and will be, handled in compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations.
(2) A covered electronic device for which a payment is made under this subdivision is not eligible for an electronic waste recovery payment or an electronic waste recycling payment under Section 42479.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 35, Sec. 149. (SB 861) Effective June 20, 2014. Conditionally inoperative as provided in Sections 42485 and 42486.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018