Hazardous waste: electronic waste.

(1) Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt regulations to prohibit an electronic device from being sold or offered for sale in this state if the electronic device is prohibited from being sold or offered for sale in the European Union on and after its date of manufacture, due to the presence of certain heavy metals. Existing law requires these regulations to take effect January 1, 2007, or on or after the date that the Directive 2002/95/EC, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on January 27, 2003 (Directive 2002/95/EC) , takes effect, whichever date is later. Existing law defines the term "electronic device," for purposes of those provisions, to have the same meaning, with reference to the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, as "covered electronic device" which is defined as a video display device that is identified by the department, pursuant to specified regulations, as a presumed hazardous waste when discarded. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws, including a regulation adopted pursuant to those laws, is a crime. This bill would require a manufacturer of an electronic device, at the request of the department, based on the department's reasonable cause, as the bill would define that term, to believe that a specific electronic device identified by the department is prohibited from sale, to prepare and submit to the department within 28 days of receipt of the request, documentation or other information typically maintained by the manufacturer's industry under Directive 2002/95/EC, showing that the electronic device specifically identified by the department and sold or offered for sale by that manufacturer is not prohibited from sale. The bill would authorize the department to extend the 28-day response time at the request of the manufacturer. The bill would require the department to treat as confidential any information that is a trade secret, as defined, that is provided to the department pursuant to the bill's requirements, and that is identified as a trade secret at the time of submission, in the same manner as the procedures adopted by the department with regard to hazardous waste handling and disposal. The department would be required to make available, pursuant to the California Public Records Act, any information that is not a trade secret or that is not identified as a trade secret. Because a violation of the bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. (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.