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SB-1010 • 2026

Solid waste: Refrigerant Stewardship and Recovery Act.

Solid waste: Refrigerant Stewardship and Recovery Act.

Budget Crime Education
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Ashby
Last action
2026-04-24
Official status
Set for hearing May 4.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not specify exact penalties or the specific types of information that are restricted from public access.

Refrigerant Stewardship and Recovery Act

This act establishes a stewardship program for producers of household appliances containing refrigerants to join organizations that manage the recycling and disposal of these products.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires producers of certain household appliances containing refrigerants to form or join producer responsibility organizations (PROs).
  • Requires PROs to submit plans for managing covered products, including collection, transportation, dismantling, refrigerant recovery, recycling, reclamation, destruction, and safe management, to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for approval.
  • Establishes penalties for producers who do not comply with the program's requirements.
  • Sets up a fund in the State Treasury to collect fees from PROs and manage funds for implementing the program.
  • Restricts public access to certain information collected under this act.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Producers of household appliances containing refrigerants
  • Producer responsibility organizations (PROs)
  • The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery

Terms To Know

Covered products
Household appliances that contain refrigerants.
Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO)
An organization formed by producers to manage the recycling and disposal of covered products.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify when it will become effective.
  • It is unclear how much funding PROs will need to pay to the department for regulatory costs.
  • Public access to certain information collected under this act is restricted, but specific details about what information is restricted are not provided.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-24 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing May 4.

  2. 2026-04-22 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  3. 2026-04-21 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E.Q. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

  4. 2026-04-17 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 22 in E.Q. pending receipt.

  5. 2026-04-16 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 21.

  6. 2026-04-15 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Coms. on JUD. and E.Q.

  7. 2026-04-13 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  8. 2026-04-13 California Legislative Information

    Withdrawn from committee.

  9. 2026-04-01 California Legislative Information

    April 8 hearing postponed by committee.

  10. 2026-03-25 California Legislative Information

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

  11. 2026-03-10 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 8.

  12. 2026-03-03 California Legislative Information

    March 18 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.

  13. 2026-02-25 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing March 18.

  14. 2026-02-18 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on E.Q.

  15. 2026-02-11 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 13.

  16. 2026-02-10 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 1010, as amended, Ashby.
Solid waste:
Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act.
Refrigerant Stewardship and Recovery Act.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, generally regulates the disposal, management, and recycling of solid waste. The act establishes stewardship programs for various products, including, among others, carpet, mattresses, and pharmaceutical and sharps waste.
This bill would enact a stewardship program known as the Refrigerant Stewardship and Recovery Act, which would require a producer of certain household appliances containing refrigerants, known as “covered products,” to form and join a producer responsibility organization, or PRO. The bill would require the PRO to be approved by the department pursuant to the requirements of the bill, as provided. The bill would require the
department to adopt regulations to implement the program no later than January 1, 2029. The bill would require the PRO to submit to the department, for approval or disapproval, a complete plan for the collection, transportation, consolidation, dismantling, refrigerant recovery, recycling, reclamation, destruction, and the safe and proper management of covered products in the state. Upon approval of a plan, the bill would make a producer subject to specified civil penalties, unless the producer is a participant in a PRO and all covered products are accounted for in the plan. The bill would require the PRO to review the plan at least every 5 years after approval. The bill would also require a PRO to submit an annual report to the department, as provided. The bill would require all reports and records provided to the department to be provided under penalty of perjury. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would restrict public access to
certain information collected for the purpose of administering the program.
This bill would require the department to post on its internet website a list of producers that are in compliance with the requirements of the program. The bill would require PROs to pay fees to the department, not to exceed the department’s actual and reasonable regulatory costs to implement and enforce the act. The bill would establish the Refrigerant Stewardship Recovery Fund in the State Treasury for the deposit of all moneys received from PROs and would make the moneys in the fund available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. The bill would also authorize the department to impose administrative civil penalties for a violation of the program’s requirements, not to exceed $10,000 per day, or not to exceed $50,000 per day for an intentional or knowing violation, as specified. The bill would create the Refrigerant Stewardship Recovery
Penalty Account in the fund for the deposit of penalties, which would be available for expenditure upon appropriation by the Legislature, as specified.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
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.
The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act covers certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food service ware, as provided. As part of its comprehensive statutory scheme, the act requires producers of those covered materials to reduce and recycle the covered plastic material and to ensure that covered materials that are offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the
state on or after January 1, 2032, are recyclable or compostable, as provided. The act prohibits a producer from selling, offering for sale, importing, or distributing covered materials in the state unless the producer is approved to participate in the producer responsibility plan of a producer responsibility organization, as prescribed, for the source reduction, collection, processing, and recycling of covered material, except as provided. The act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adopt regulations necessary to implement and enforce the act, as specified. The act also requires the department to report to the Legislature, by January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the department’s progress in implementing the act, as specified.
This bill would instead require the department to make that report to the Legislature by January 2 of each odd-numbered year.

Current Bill Text

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