Plain English Breakdown
The official source text does not provide a specific effective date for the law.
AB-978: Recycled Materials in Streets and Highways
This law requires local agencies to allow recycled materials in road projects at levels matching state standards indefinitely, removes a rule about using advanced green technologies, and adds steps for bidders if an agency rejects these materials.
What This Bill Does
- Requires local agencies' standard specifications to allow recycled materials at least as much as the Department of Transportation allows, without ending on January 1, 2027.
- Allows a person bidding on a contract to ask for reasons if an agency decides not to use enough recycled materials because it is not feasible.
- Requires local agencies to respond when asked why they decided that using certain levels of recycled materials was not feasible.
- Eliminates the existing rule requiring the Department of Transportation and local agencies to use advanced technologies or recycling techniques to lower costs or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Who It Names or Affects
- Local agencies with control over streets and highways
- The California Department of Transportation
- Companies bidding on contracts to supply road materials
Terms To Know
- Standard specifications
- Official rules that describe the quality and types of materials allowed in construction projects.
- Pervious backfill
- Material used to fill space behind structures or under roads, which is one type of material covered by this law's recycled content requirements.
Limits and Unknowns
- The official text does not list a specific effective date for when these new rules begin.
- Local agencies can still refuse to use higher levels of recycled materials if they determine it is not feasible, but they must explain their decision.