Food facilities: single-use plastic straws.

Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for, and provides for regulation by the State Department of Public Health of, retail food facilities, as defined. Existing law defines "enforcement officer," for purposes of enforcing these provisions, to mean certain appointees of the State Public Health Officer, and all local health officers, directors of environmental health, and their duly authorized registered environmental health specialists and environmental health specialist trainees. Existing law prohibits certain stores from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer at the point of sale. This bill would prohibit a full-service restaurant, as specified, from providing single-use plastic straws, as defined, to consumers unless requested by the consumer. The bill would specify that the first and 2nd violations of these provisions would result in a notice of violation and any subsequent violation would be an infraction punishable by a fine of $25 for each day the full-service restaurant is in violation, but not to exceed an annual total of $300. The provisions would be enforced by the same officers authorized to enforce the California Retail Food Code. By creating a new crime and imposing additional enforcement duties on local health agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.