2023 - 2024 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
CAW PRIORITY LEGISLATION
SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
SB 1053 (Blakespear & Bauer Kahan) amends current law to no longer allow specific stores to provide ‘thicker’ plastic bags at check stands as ‘reusable’ bags.
AB 660 (Irwin) requires food manufacturers to use uniform terminology when labeling their products with "safety" or "quality" dates, and bans the use of consumer-facing "sell-by" dates.
SB 244 (Eggman) requires manufacturers of consumer electronics to provide replacement parts, diagnostic information, and service literature to consumers and third-party repair businesses.
SB 353 (Dodd) expands California’s Bottle Bill to include juice containers 46 oz and larger and fixes a flaw in the payment formula that funds recycling centers.
NO LONGER MOVING
AB 891 (Irwin) would have established a non-binding policy goal to support the use non-petroleum materials in plastic beverage containers.
AB 1290 (L.Rivas) would have eliminated several of the most problematic forms of plastics that contaminate recycling or pose a risk to human health.
AB 1347 (Ting) would have required businesses to provide customers the choice between receipt or no receipt and prohibited the use of bisphenols in receipts.
AB 1534 (Irwin) would have required the CARB to incorporate remote sensing technologies into landfill regulations.
AB 1705 (McKinnor) would have instituted a moratorium on the establishment and expansion of transformation and EMSW facilities until specific recycling and organic waste goals have been met for three consecutive years.
AB 2577 (Irwin) would have directed CalRecycle to regulate expiration date labels under SB 1383.
AB 2761 (Hart) would prohibit toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and PFAS in plastic packaging which harm human health.
SB 552 (Newman) would have required restaurants to provide reusable foodware for on-site dining.
SB 1167 (Blakespear) would have required large chain restaurants to serve beverages in reusable cups for dine-in customers.
OTHER WASTE & RECYCLING LEGISLATION
SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
AB 421 (Bryan) — State Referendum and Ballot Initiative Reform
Makes changes to the state referendum and ballot reform processes to clarify what voting yes or no on a measure entails, among other changes.
AB 590 (Hart) — Advanced Payments for State Grants & Contracts for Nonprofits
Allows for advanced payments for state grants & contracts for nonprofits to proceed more quickly with approved projects given minimum requirements are met.
AB 863 (Aguiar-Curry) — Changes to California Carpet Recycling Program
Makes changes to the CARE carpet recycling program, including increasing fines, adding CA stakeholders to the CARE board, setting a closed loop recycling target and allocating 8% of the funds collected for workplace apprenticeship programs, among other changes.
Sponsored by National Stewardship Action Council
AB 1059 (Friedman) — Ban on Fiberglass in Mattresses & Furniture
Prohibits the sale or distribution of new mattresses and furniture containing fiberglass after January 1, 2027.
Sponsored by Environmental Working Group
AB 1526 (Assembly Natural Resources Committee) — Expanding PaintCare program
Expands existing PaintCare extended producer responsibility program to include aerosols among other changes.
AB 1548 (Hart) — Expanding Eligibility for CalRecycle Grants and Loans
Expands eligibility for CalRecycle’s existing grant & loan program for organics recycling, reuse, and other material recovery projects.
Sponsored by Rural County Representatives of California
AB 2346 (Lee) — SB 1383 Procurement Assistance for Local Governments
Provides additional tools and pathways for local jurisdictions to meet their SB 1383 procurement requirements, including through the use of individual/regional procurement targets tied to waste characterization data and the addition of edible food recovery and community compost, among other changes.
Sponsored by StopWaste
AB 2511 (Berman) — Extension of the PMD Program
Extends the sunset for the Plastic Market Development Program that was set to expire.
AB 2902 (Wood) — Implementing SB 1383 for rural jurisdictions
Addresses rural jurisdictions’ issues with implementation of SB 1383, including extending existing rural waivers, allowing some alternate compliance strategies for low-population jurisdictions, among other changes.
Sponsored by Rural County Representatives of California
SB 253 (Wiener) — Climate Corporate Accountability Act
Requires all U.S.-based companies that make over $1 billion in annual revenue to publicly report all their greenhouse gas emissions, including their direct, indirect, and supply-chain emissions.
Sponsored by California EnviroVoters, Carbon Accountable/Sunrise Movement Bay Area
SB 261 (Stern) — Climate Financial Risk Disclosure
Requires corporations and financial institutions with at least $500 million in revenues to annually disclose their climate-related financial risk, beginning in 2026.
SB 568 (Newman) — Exporting Electronic Waste
Prohibits exports of e-waste unless there is no capacity to recycle in California.
Sponsored by Camston Wrather
SB 613 (Seyarto) — SB 1383 Low Population Exemption
Extends the timeline for applying for a low population exemption under SB 1383.
SB 707 (Newman) — Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024
Mandates the formation of a Producer Responsibility Organization that manages the collection, transportation, sorting, and repair of textiles and apparel.
Sponsored by California Product Stewardship Council
SB 1143 (Allen) — Paint Extended Producer Responsibility
Expands the existing PaintCare Program to include additional paint products.
Sponsored by National Stewardship Action Council
SB 1147 (Portantino) — Microplastics in Drinking Water
Requires OEHHA to study and establish a Public Health Goal for microplastics in drinking water.
SB 1280 (Laird) – Refillable Propane Cylinders
Prohibits the sale of propane cylinders unless they are reusable or refillable by January 1, 2028.
Sponsored by California Product Stewardship Council
VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
AB 246 (Papan) — PFAS in Menstrual Products
Would have prohibited the sale of menstrual products containing PFAS.
Read veto message from the Governor
AB 249 (Holden) — Lead Testing in Schools
Would have required community water systems that serve schools to test for lead.
Sponsored by Environmental Working Group
Read veto message from the Governor
AB 407 (Chen) — Used Oil Recycling
Would have provided an alternate management pathway for used oil to be recycled.
Read veto message from the Governor
AB 457 (Aguiar-Curry) - Wine & Distilled Spirit CRV Reduction
Would have lowered the CRV on wine and distilled spirits in containers under 24 ounces from 15 cents to 10 cents per container.
Read veto message from the Governor
AB 552 (Bennett) — Farmer Equipment Sharing
Would have required the Department of Food & Agriculture to develop a pilot program to support regional farm equipment sharing
Read veto message from the Governor
AB 1489 (Wood) — Exempting Compostable Plastics from SB 54
Would have exempted compostable plastics from SB 54 source reduction requirements
Read veto message from the Governor
AB 1628 (McKinnor) — Microfiber Filtration for Washing Machines
Would have required washing machine filters on new washing machines sold in California after January 1, 2029.
Sponsored by 5 Gyres, The Nature Conservancy & Ocean Conservancy
Read veto message from the Governor
SB 271 (Dodd) — Wheelchair Right to Repair
Would have required manufacturers of powered wheelchairs to provide parts, instructions and tools to authorized repair providers and users in order to complete repairs.
Read veto message from the Governor
SB 303 (Allen) — SB 54 Cleanup
Would have made clarifying changes to SB 54 (Allen).
Read veto message from the Governor
SB 615 (Allen & Min) — Electric Vehicle Batteries
Would have established requirements for reporting and end-of-life management requirements for EV batteries.
Read veto message from the Governor
SB 665 (Allen) — SB 54 Novel Plastics Working Group
Would have required CalEPA to develop framework for a working group to evaluate novel plastic and plastic alternatives as the state works to implement SB 54.
Read veto message from the Governor
SB 728 (Limon) — Ban on Plastic Gift Cards
Would have prohibited the sale of gift cards made of PVC plastic after January 1, 2027.
Read veto message from the Governor
SB 777 (Allen) — Plastic bag reporting requirements
Would have required stores covered by the statewide bag ban to report on sales of recycled paper and reusable bags.
Sponsored by United Food & Commercial Workers
Read veto message from the Governor
SB 972 (Min) — SB 1383 Assistance for Local Jurisdictions
Would have bolstered CalRecycle’s local assistance for jurisdictions in the implementation of organic food waste diversion programs under SB 1383.
Sponsored by CalCities
Read veto message from the Governor
SB 1066 (Blakespear) — Marine Flare Extended Producer Responsibility
Would have mandated the establishment of a manufacturer responsibility program and plan for marine flares
Sponsored by National Stewardship Action Council