2005 California Public Resources Code Sections 14580-14587 CHAPTER 7. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

14580.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (d), the department
shall deposit all amounts paid as redemption payments by distributors
pursuant to Section 14574 and all other revenues received into the
California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, which is hereby created
in the State Treasury.  Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the
Government Code, the money in the fund is hereby continuously
appropriated to the department for expenditure without regard to
fiscal year for the following purposes:
   (1) The payment of refund values and administrative fees to
processors pursuant to Section 14573.
   (2) For a reserve for contingencies, which shall not be greater
than an amount equal to 5 percent of the total amount paid to
processors pursuant to Section 14573 during the preceding calendar
year, plus any interest earned on that amount.
   (b) Except as provided in Section 14580.5, the money in the fund
may be expended by the department for the administration of this
division only upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual
Budget Act.
   (c) After setting aside funds estimated to be needed for
expenditures authorized pursuant to this section, the department
shall set aside funds on a quarterly basis for the purposes specified
in Section 14581.  Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government
Code, that money is hereby continuously appropriated to the
department, without regard to fiscal year, for the purposes specified
in Section 14581.
   (d) The department shall deposit all civil penalties or fines
collected pursuant to this division into the Penalty Account, which
is hereby created in the fund.  The money in the Penalty Account may
be expended by the department only upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for purposes of this division.
14580.5.  (a) Notwithstanding any appropriation made in the annual
Budget Act, the department may only expend an amount for the
administration of this division which is five percent less than the
amount appropriated for the administration of this division for the
1995-96 fiscal year.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that for each fiscal year,
through the 1998-99 fiscal year, the amount appropriated in the
annual Budget Act for the administration of this division shall be
reduced by six and two-thirds percent of the amount appropriated in
the prior fiscal year.
   (c) It is the further intent of the Legislature that revenues that
otherwise would have been spent by the department for administration
of this division shall be expended for the purposes set forth in
Section 14581.
14581.  (a) Subject to the availability of funds, and pursuant to
subdivision (c), the department shall expend the moneys set aside in
the fund, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14580, for the
purposes of this section:
   (1) (A) On and after July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005, inclusive, up
to thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) may be expended for that
fiscal year for the payment of handling fees pursuant to Section
14585.
   (B) For each fiscal year commencing July 1, 2005, twenty-six
million five hundred thousand dollars ($26,500,000) shall be expended
each fiscal year for the payment of handling fees required pursuant
to Section 14585.
   (2) Fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be expended
annually for payments for curbside programs and neighborhood dropoff
programs pursuant to Section 14549.6.
   (3) (A) Fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000), plus the
proportional share of the cost-of-living adjustment, as provided in
subdivision (b), shall be expended annually in the form of grants for
beverage container litter reduction programs and recycling programs
issued to either of the following:
   (i) Certified community conservation corps that were in existence
on September 30, 1999, or that are formed subsequent to that date,
that are designated by a city or a city and county to perform litter
abatement, recycling, and related activities, if the city or the city
and county has a population, as determined by the most recent
census, of more than 250,000 persons.
   (ii) Community conservation corps that are designated by a county
to perform litter abatement, recycling, and related activities, and
are certified by the California Conservation Corps as having operated
for a minimum of two years and as meeting all other criteria of
Section 14507.5.
   (B) Any grants provided pursuant to this paragraph shall not
comprise more than 75 percent of the annual budget of a community
conservation corps.
   (4) (A) Ten million five hundred thousand dollars ($10,500,000)
may be expended annually for payments of five thousand dollars
($5,000) to cities and ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for payments to
counties for beverage container recycling and litter cleanup
activities, or the department may calculate the payments to counties
and cities on a per capita basis, and may pay whichever amount is
greater, for those activities.
   (B) Eligible activities for the use of these funds may include,
but are not necessarily limited to, support for new or existing
curbside recycling programs, neighborhood dropoff recycling programs,
public education promoting beverage container recycling, litter
prevention, and cleanup, cooperative regional efforts among two or
more cities or counties, or both, or other beverage container
recycling programs.
   (C) These funds may not be used for activities unrelated to
beverage container recycling or litter reduction.
   (D) To receive these funds, a city, county, or city and county
shall fill out and return a funding request form to the Department of
Conservation. The form shall specify the beverage container
recycling or litter reduction activities for which the funds will be
used.
   (E) The Department of Conservation shall annually prepare and
distribute a funding request form to each city, county, or city and
county. The form shall specify the amount of beverage container
recycling and litter cleanup funds for which the jurisdiction is
eligible. The form shall not exceed one double-sided page in length,
and may be submitted electronically. If a city, county, or city and
county does not return the funding request form within 90 days of
receipt of the form from the department, the city, county, or city
and county is not eligible to receive the funds for that funding
cycle.
   (F) For the purposes of this paragraph, per capita population
shall be based on the population of the incorporated area of a city
or city and county and the unincorporated area of a county. The
department may withhold payment to any city, county, or city and
county that has prohibited the siting of a supermarket site, caused a
supermarket site to close its business, or adopted a land use policy
that restricts or prohibits the siting of a supermarket site within
its jurisdiction.
   (5) One million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) may be
expended annually in the form of grants for beverage container
recycling and litter reduction programs.
   (6) (A) The department shall expend the amount necessary to pay
the processing payment and supplemental processing payment
established pursuant to Sections 14575 and 14575.5 and pay processing
fee rebates pursuant to Section 14575.2. The department shall
establish separate processing fee accounts in the fund for each
beverage container material type for which a processing payment and
processing fee is calculated pursuant to Section 14575, or for which
a processing payment is calculated pursuant to Section 14575 and a
voluntary artificial scrap value is calculated pursuant to Section
14575.1, into which account shall be deposited all of the following:
   (i) All amounts paid as processing fees for each beverage
container material type pursuant to Section 14575.
   (ii) Funds equal to the difference between the amount in clause
(i) and the amount of the processing payments established in
subdivision (b) of Section 14575, and adjusted pursuant to paragraphs
(2) and (3) of subdivision (c) of, and subdivision (f) of, Section
14575, to reduce the processing fee to the level provided in
subdivision (f) of Section 14575, or to reflect the agreement by a
willing purchaser to pay a voluntary artificial scrap value pursuant
to Section 14575.1.
   (iii) Funds equal to an amount sufficient to pay the total amount
of the supplemental processing payments established pursuant to
Section 14575.5.
   (B) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the
money in each processing fee account is hereby continuously
appropriated to the department for expenditure without regard to
fiscal years, for purposes of making processing payments and
supplemental processing payments, and reducing processing fees,
pursuant to Sections 14575 and 14575.5 and paying processing fee
rebates pursuant to Section 14575.2.
   (7) Up to five million dollars ($5,000,000) may be annually
expended by the department for the purposes of undertaking a
statewide public education and information campaign aimed at
promoting increased recycling of beverage containers.
   (8) Up to three million dollars ($3,000,000) shall be expended
annually for the payment of quality glass incentive payments pursuant
to Section 14549.1.
   (9) Up to ten million dollars ($10,000,000) may be expended
annually by the department, until January 1, 2007, to issue grants
for recycling market development and expansion-related activities
aimed at increasing the recycling of beverage containers, including,
but not limited to, the following:
   (A) Research and development of collecting, sorting, processing,
cleaning, or otherwise upgrading the market value of recycled
beverage containers.
   (B) Identification, development, and expansion of markets for
recycled beverage containers.
   (C) Research and development for products manufactured using
recycled beverage containers.
   (D) Payments to California manufacturers who recycle beverage
containers that are marked by resin type identification code "3," "4,"
"5," "6," or "7," pursuant to Section 18015.
   (10) Up to ten million dollars ($10,000,000) may be transferred on
a one-time basis by the department to the Recycling Infrastructure
Loan Guarantee Account, for expenditure pursuant to Section 14582.
   (b) The fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) that is set aside
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) is a base amount that
the department shall adjust annually to reflect any increases or
decreases in the cost of living, as measured by the Department of
Labor, or a successor agency, of the federal government.
   (c) (1) The department shall review all funds on a quarterly basis
to ensure that there are adequate funds to make the payments
specified in this section and the processing fee reductions required
pursuant to Section 14575.
   (2) If the department determines, pursuant to a review made
pursuant to paragraph (1), that there may be inadequate funds to pay
the payments required by this section and the processing fee
reductions required pursuant to Section 14575, the department shall
immediately notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of
the Legislature regarding the inadequacy.
   (3) On or before 180 days after the notice is sent pursuant to
paragraph (2), the department may reduce or eliminate expenditures,
or both, from the funds as necessary, according to the procedure set
forth in subdivision (d).
   (d) If the department determines that there are insufficient funds
to make the payments specified pursuant to this section and Section
14575, the department shall reduce all payments proportionally.
   (e) Prior to making an expenditure pursuant to paragraph (7) of
subdivision (a), the department shall convene an advisory committee
consisting of representatives of the beverage industry, beverage
container manufacturers, environmental organizations, the recycling
industry, nonprofit organizations, and retailers, to advise the
department on the most cost-effective and efficient method of the
expenditure of the funds for that education and information campaign.
14582.  The Recycling Infrastructure Loan Guarantee Account is
hereby created as a revolving account in the California Beverage
Container Recycling Fund, and the funds in that account are
continuously appropriated to the department to issue loan guarantees
for capital expenditures for new recycling infrastructure located in
the state.  The department may issue a loan guarantee from the
account only if the department determines that the new recycling
infrastructure adds recycling capacity, results in remanufacturing
and reuse of beverage containers into new products, and complies with
all applicable laws and regulations.
14584. (a) Operators of reverse vending machines or processors may
apply to the California Pollution Control Financing Authority for
financing pursuant to Section 44526 of the Health and Safety Code, as
a means of obtaining capital for establishment of a convenience
network.  For purposes of Section 44508 of the Health and Safety
Code, "project" includes the establishing of a recycling location
pursuant to the division.
   (b) Corporations, companies, or individuals may apply for loan and
grant funds from the Energy Technologies Research, Development, and
Demonstration Account specified in Section 25683 by applying to the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for
the purpose of demonstrating equipment for enhancing recycling
opportunities.
14585.  (a) The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for
paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone
recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the
redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones.  The
guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
   (1) Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis, in the form
and manner adopted by the department.  The department shall require
that claims for the handling fee be filed with the department not
later than the first day of the second month following the month for
which the handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any
handling fee.
   (2) To be eligible for any handling fee, a supermarket site
recycling center, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural
region recycler shall redeem not less than 60,000 beverage
containers, during the calendar month in which the handling fee is
claimed or have redeemed not less than an average of 60,000 beverage
containers per month during the previous 12 months.
   (3) A beverage container with a capacity of 24 fluid ounces or
more shall be considered as two beverage containers for purposes of
determining the eligibility percentage, any handling fee
calculations, and payments.
   (4) The department shall determine the number of eligible
containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid in the
following manner:
   (A) Each eligible site's combined monthly volume of glass and
plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the site's total
monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
   (B) If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is
equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the
site shall be the maximum volume which is eligible for a handling fee
for that month.
   (C) If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is
less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass
and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent.  That quotient shall
be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that
month.
   (5) The department shall pay a handling fee of 1.8 cents ($0.018)
per eligible beverage container, as determined pursuant to paragraph
(4).
   (6) Notwithstanding paragraph (5), the total handling fee payment
to a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural
region recycler shall not exceed two thousand three hundred dollars
($2,300) per month.
   (7) If the eligible volume in any given month would result in
handling fee payments which exceed the allocation of funds for that
month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible
monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible
monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes
receive any handling fees.
   (8) (A) If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit
convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located ceases
operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the operator
of that supermarket site nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or
rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for handling fees
for that site for a period of three months following the date of the
closure of the dealer.
   (B) Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone
recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the
department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site,
nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is
located.
   (C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to
provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B)
shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
   (b) The department may allocate the amount authorized for
expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may
carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or
months.  However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be
carried over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying
handling fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant
to Section 14581.
   (c) (1) The department shall not make handling fee payments to
more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone.  If a
dealer is located in more than one convenience zone, the department
shall offer a single handling fee payment to a supermarket site
located at that dealer.  This handling fee payment shall not be split
between the affected zones.  The department shall stop making
handling fee payments if another recycling center certifies to
operate within the convenience zone without receiving payments
pursuant to this section, if the department monitors the performance
of the other recycling center for 60 days and determines that the
recycling center is in compliance with this division.  Any recycling
center that locates in a convenience zone, thereby causing a
preexisting recycling center to become ineligible to receive handling
fee payments, is ineligible to receive any handling fee payments in
that convenience zone.
   (2) The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a
rural region recycler that is located anywhere inside a convenience
zone that is not served by another certified recycling center and
does either of the following:
   (A) Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience
zone.
   (B) Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the
following criteria:
   (i) Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
   (ii) Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each
convenience zone and is certified at each location.
   (iii) Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all
convenience zones served.
   (d) The department may require the operator of a supermarket site
or rural region recycler receiving handling fees to maintain records
for each location where beverage containers are redeemed, and may
require the supermarket site or rural region recycler to take any
other action necessary for the department to determine that the
supermarket site or rural region recycler does not receive an
excessive handling fee.
   (e) The department may determine and utilize a standard container
per pound rate, for each material type, for the purpose of
calculating volumes and making handling fee payments.
14585.5.  (a) The department shall not make handling fee payments to
a supermarket site if the department determines that all empty
beverage container types are not redeemed at the same physical
location within the recycling location.
   (b) A supermarket site that redeems all empty beverage container
types at the same physical location within the recycling location,
and issues script to consumers which is required to be redeemed at a
nearby host business, is eligible to receive handling fee payments.
14586.  This division does not create any guarantee of a continuing
level of support, or other obligation on the part of the State of
California, the department, or any agency thereof, to pay any
specified amount to any local conservation organization, community
conservation corps, or statewide nonprofit private agency.
14587.  This division does not require or create any obligation that
payments made pursuant to this division to any local conservation
organization, community conservation corps, or statewide nonprofit
private agency in any given fiscal year be made in any subsequent
fiscal year at the same or greater level.