Lead-acid batteries.

(1) The Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016 prohibits a person from disposing, or attempting to dispose, of a lead-acid battery at a solid waste facility or on or in any land, surface waters, watercourses, or marine waters, but authorizes a person to dispose of a lead-acid battery at certain locations. The act requires, until March 31, 2022, a manufacturer battery fee of $1 to be imposed on a manufacturer of lead-acid batteries for each lead-acid battery it sells at retail to a person in California, or that it sells to a dealer, wholesaler, distributor, or other person for retail sale in California. The act requires the manufacturer battery fee to be paid to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and requires dealers and manufacturers of lead-acid batteries to register with the department. The act defines "manufacturer" for these purposes. This bill would, on and after April 1, 2022, increase the amount of the manufacturer battery fee to $2 and would provide that the fee would continue indefinitely. The bill, on and after January 1, 2020, would authorize a person who manufactures a lead-acid battery and is not subject to the jurisdiction of the state to agree in writing with the importer, as defined, of that lead-acid battery to pay the manufacturer battery fee on behalf of the importer. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit to the Legislature a report that includes, among other things, any regulations or policies adopted by the department for purposes of ensuring compliance with the registration, returns, reporting, payments, audits, refunds, or collection requirements related to the manufacturer battery fee. The bill would require a manufacturer, if a lead-acid battery is sold or will be used in a manner or for a purpose entitling the manufacturer to regard the purchase as not subject to the manufacturer battery fee, to obtain written documentation from the purchaser certifying that the lead-acid battery will be used in a manner or for a purpose entitling the manufacturer to regard the purchase as not subject to the manufacturer battery fee. The bill would make a purchaser who subsequently sells or uses the lead-acid battery, such that no exception to the requirement to pay the applicable fee or fees applies, liable for the payment of any applicable fees. The act requires manufacturer battery fees remitted pursuant to the act to be credited against amounts owed by the manufacturer to the state under a judgment or determination of liability under specific hazardous materials provisions or any other law for removal, remediation, or other response costs relating to a release of a hazardous substance from a lead-acid battery recycling facility. This bill would additionally require that manufacturer battery fees remitted pursuant to the act be credited to the account of the manufacturer remitting those fees. The bill would require that a person who agrees in writing to pay the manufacturer battery fee on behalf of an importer be credited for a payment of the manufacturer battery fee only if certain conditions are met, including that the person provide to the importer of a lead-acid battery a statement that includes specified information on the invoice, contract, or other record documenting the transaction. The bill would relieve an importer of a lead-acid battery who receives that statement in a timely manner from liability for the manufacturer battery fee that would otherwise be imposed on the sale of that battery, provided that the manufacturer remits payment of the manufacturer battery fee to the state for the sale of that battery. The bill would authorize an importer who has paid the manufacturer battery fee and who receives an untimely statement that the fee has been paid for that battery to file a claim for a refund of any overpaid fees. The bill would authorize the department to disclose the name, address, account number, and account status of a person registered with the department to pay the manufacturer battery fee. The bill would provide that account status does not include the amount of the manufacturer battery fee paid by any person, except as provided. (2) The act imposes a California battery fee on a person for specified types of replacement lead-acid batteries purchased from a dealer. This bill would provide, on and after January 1, 2020, if a new motor vehicle dealer sells or leases to a person a used vehicle into which the new motor vehicle dealer has incorporated a replacement lead-acid battery, that the California battery fee does not apply to the person with regard to that replacement lead-acid battery. The bill would require a dealer, if a lead-acid battery is sold or will be used in a manner or for a purpose entitling the dealer to regard the purchase as not subject to the California battery fee, to obtain written documentation from the purchaser certifying that the lead-acid battery will be used in a manner or for a purpose entitling the dealer to regard the purchase as not subject to the California battery fee. The bill would make a purchaser who subsequently sells or uses the lead-acid battery, such that no exception to the requirement to pay the applicable fee or fees applies, liable for the payment of any applicable fees. (3) This bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to establish a Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Facility Investigation and Cleanup Program, or LABRIC Program, which would be responsible for identifying areas of the state that are eligible for expenditure of moneys from the Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund for certain purposes. The bill would require the program to provide public notice of the initiation of the investigation or site evaluation of any area reasonably suspected to have been contaminated by the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility. The bill would require the department, upon completion of an investigation or site evaluation, to provide notice and an opportunity for comment on the proposed designation of a site as determined with reasonable certainty to have been contaminated by releases from the operation of a facility known to have been a lead-acid battery recycling facility. The bill would provide that expenditure from the fund for purposes of further investigation or evaluation for a site is no longer authorized if, within 2 years of a public notice of the initiation of the investigation or evaluation, the department is unable to designate a site as determined with reasonable certainty to have been contaminated by the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility. (4) The act creates in the State Treasury the Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund and requires that the fees collected pursuant to the act, except for specified administrative expenses, be deposited into the fund, and provides that moneys in the fund are available upon appropriation by the Legislature to the department for specified activities, including the investigation, site evaluation, cleanup, remedial action, removal, monitoring, or other response actions at any area of the state that is reasonably suspected to have been contaminated by the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility, and for the repayment of specified loans. This bill would revise the authorization for expenditure from the fund to permit expenditure for cleanup, remedial action, removal, monitoring, or other response actions to address contamination directly attributable to releases from a facility known to have been a lead-acid battery recycling facility at any area of the state that the department determines with reasonable certainty was contaminated by releases from the operation of that lead-acid battery recycling facility. The bill would authorize expenditure of moneys from the fund for the repayment of the loans described above only after the other specified activities have been fully funded in a given fiscal year. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.