Environmental pollution: program funding.

(1) Existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (act) , requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment no later than the 3rd month following the sale of a beverage container to the Division of Recycling in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The division is required to deposit those amounts in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. Under existing law, the money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the division to pay, among other things, handling fees to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would instead require, between February 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012, a distributor to submit the redemption payment to the department not later than the 2nd month following the sale, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by changing the definition of a crime. The bill would require the department, on or before January 10, 2012, to submit to the relevant policy and budget committees of the Legislature an assessment of the effect of ending the bimonthly payment on the solvency of the fund. The bill would revise the conditions under which a distributor may make an annual payment of redemption payments. (2) Existing law provides that after setting aside funds for the payment of refund values and administrative fees, and for a reserve for contingencies, the remaining moneys in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund are continuously appropriated to the division for expenditure for designated programs, grants, and fee payments. This bill would prohibit the department from expending, for the 2010 and 2011 calendar years, funds annually authorized for grants for beverage container recycling and litter reduction programs, the statewide public education and information campaign, grants for recycling market development, and grants for certain programs. The bill would revise certain amounts that the department is authorized to expend from those moneys remaining in the funds. The bill would require the department, subject to the availability of funds, to retroactively pay in full any payments that have been proportionally reduced during the period of January 1, 2010, through June 30, 2010. Since the bill would revise the conditions under which funds are expended from a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. (3) Existing law continuously appropriates state and federal funds in the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund to the State Water Resources Control Board for loans and other financial assistance for the construction of publicly owned treatment works by a municipality, the implementation of management programs, the development and implementation of a conservation and management plan, and other related purposes in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act. Existing law, for the purposes of these provisions, defines "financial assistance" to include grants for eligible projects to the extent those grants are funded by a specified federal law. Existing law authorizes the state board to make loans for eligible projects at or below market interest rates. This bill would authorize the state board to make loans at negative interest rates and would allow for principal forgiveness to the extent authorized and funded by a federal capitalization grant. The bill would revise the term "financial assistance" to include other assistance that is authorized by a federal capitalization grant to the extent authorized and funded by that grant. By expanding the purposes for which moneys in the continuously appropriated revolving fund may be expended, the bill would make an appropriation. (4) 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. (5) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on January 8, 2010. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 8, 2010, pursuant to the California Constitution. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.