Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act: California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not specify how the remaining 40% of the fund will be allocated or what specific actions companies must take to reduce plastic pollution after January 1, 2032.

California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund Act

This act establishes the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund to monitor and reduce environmental justice and public health impacts of plastics, and to support research and monitoring activities.

What This Bill Does

• Establishes the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund until January 1, 2037.
• Requires at least 60% of the fund's money to be used for programs that monitor and reduce environmental justice and public health impacts of plastics.
• Ensures that projects funded by the fund must benefit communities most impacted by plastic waste and provide multiple benefits.
• Expands eligibility for grants from the fund, including more types of organizations and businesses.
• Requires reimbursement of indirect costs at one of four specified rates.

Who It Names or Affects

• Companies that make single-use plastics
• Communities affected by plastic pollution
• Organizations receiving grants from the fund

Terms To Know

Single-use packaging

Containers or wrapping used once and then thrown away.

Environmental justice

The fair treatment of all people regarding environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify how the remaining 40% of the fund will be used.
• It is unclear what specific actions companies must take to reduce plastic pollution after January 1, 2032.
• The bill does not detail all indirect costs that can be reimbursed from the fund.

Official Summary Text

SB 1180, as amended, Allen.
Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act: California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund.
Existing law, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (act), regulates 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 covered materials to reduce and recycle 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 establishes, until January 1, 2037, the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, which consists of all environmental mitigation surcharges, interest, penalties, and other amounts collected pursuant to the act, as provided. The act requires, upon appropriation by the Legislature, that 60% of the moneys in the fund be expended
to monitor and reduce the historical and current environmental justice and public health impacts of plastics, and that 40% of the moneys in the fund be expended to monitor and reduce the environmental impacts of plastics on terrestrial, aquatic, and marine life and human health.
This bill would, among other things, require each expenditure made upon appropriation from the fund to comply with specified requirements, including, among others, prioritizing programs and projects that benefit communities most burdened by the impacts of plastic pollution and that provide multiple benefits. The bill would require each of those expenditures to achieve one or more of specified purposes, including, among others, catalyzing mitigation of the adverse health impacts of plastics, creating or accelerating a transformative shift away from plastic production, use, and disposal, and supporting research, data collection, and monitoring activities, as specified. The bill would require
each department, agency, or entity implementing a grant program funded by the fund to take specified actions, such as providing technical assistance and using a single standardized, simplified application across all of those entities. The bill would require reimbursement of a grantee’s or subgrantee’s indirect costs by applying one of 4 enumerated rates. The bill would authorize moneys from the fund to be expended on implementing the bill and would prohibit moneys from the fund from being expended on specified purposes. The bill would expand the entities eligible to receive grants from the fund, as specified.
The bill would require the Secretary for Environmental Protection to annually publish a list of all program and project expenditures made pursuant to the fund, as specified.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF