Recycling: used mattresses.

(1) Existing law, the Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act, requires a mattress recycling organization to be established by a qualified industry association to develop, implement, and administer a mattress recycling program, including the development of a state plan by July 1, 2015, for recycling used mattresses in the state that includes specified goals and elements. The plan is required to include an element that ensures that urban and rural local governments and participating solid waste facilities that accept mattresses are provided with a mechanism for the recovery of illegally disposed used mattresses that is funded at no additional cost to the local government or solid waste facility, as provided. This bill would require that element to ensure that urban and rural local governments and participating permitted solid waste facilities and authorized solid waste operations that accept mattresses are provided with the above mechanism. Existing law also requires the plan to include a provision that allows an individual to drop off a mattress, at no charge, at a mattress recycling center, permitted solid waste facility, or other municipal facility that accepts mattresses, and for the payment of a reasonable amount to that municipal or solid waste facility. This bill would require the plan to allow an individual to also drop off a mattress at a recycler, renovator, authorized solid waste operation, or other municipal facility that accepts mattresses consistent with solid waste regulations. The bill would also require the payment amount to be determined as reasonable by the municipal facility or solid waste facility or operation and the mattress recycling organization. The bill would also, for purposes of the act, make a clarifying change to the definition of a solid waste facility. (2) The act requires, commencing 90 days after the date the department approves or conditionally approves the mattress recycling plan, each manufacturer, renovator, retailer, or distributor that sells a mattress to add a charge to the purchase price of the mattress, as provided. Existing law requires the department to approve or disapprove a final used mattress recycling program budget. This bill would instead require, commencing 90 days after the date the department approves the budget, each manufacturer, renovator, retailer, or distributor that sells a mattress to add a charge to the purchase price of the mattress, as provided. (3) The act requires the mattress recycling organization to arrange for an audit conducted by an independent certified public accountant to be delivered to the department, allows the mattress recycling organization to obtain copies of that audit, and prohibits the department from disclosing any confidential proprietary information in the audit. The department is authorized to conduct its own audit if it determines that an audit is necessary. The act also requires a mattress recycler or mattress renovator to submit a report by July 1, 2017, and each year thereafter to the department, which the department is required to make public. This bill would in addition prohibit the department from disclosing any confidential proprietary information in the audit that the department is authorized to conduct, would instead allow the mattress recycling organization to obtain copies of that audit, and would also prohibit the department from disclosing this confidential information in the annual report submitted by recyclers and renovators. The bill would require the report to be submitted by May 1, 2017, and each year thereafter and would require the report to also be submitted to the mattress recycling organization. (4) The act authorizes the department to impose an administrative civil penalty on a manufacturer, organization, recycler, renovator, or retailer in violation of the act and to take other specified enforcement actions. The department is required to deposit these penalties into the Mattress Recovery and Recycling Penalty Account, which is available for expenditure by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement and enforce the act and for offsetting certain costs reimbursed by the mattress recycling organization. This bill would additionally authorize the department to impose civil penalties on distributors and to take those specified enforcement actions against distributors and recyclers. The bill would delete the authorization for the expenditure of these penalties to offset those reimbursed costs. The bill would also make technical and clarifying changes. (5) Existing law authorizes the department to adopt emergency regulations relating to the used mattress recovery and recycling plan and the program budget. Existing law prohibits the department from adopting regulations with regard to any other provision of the act. This bill would prohibit the department from adopting emergency regulations with regard to any other provision of the act.