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p ,4-rf Legislative Bill Action ................................ ............................... The following are summaries of just a few of the legislative bills that are currently being acted upon by the League of California Cities. For more information about these and other bills, please visit the League website's new "Issues and Advocacy" page (www.cacities.ora/ issuesandadvocacv) — a one -stop location to access information about legislation, policy issues and related developments. You can track information on bills (www.cacities.org /legtracking), locate legislators and legislative committees, send letters to legislators or the media through the online Advocacy Center, research League policy positions, access useful related links, and much more. ENVIRONMENTAL SB 20 (Sher Electronic Waste, The eagerly awaited amendments to SB 20 are now in print and available. 532Q would establish a statewide program to collect and recycle electronic wastes. It would bifurcate this responsibility between collection and recycling of hazardous electronic devices. The newly amended bill, which the League is still studying, includes the following main elements. SB 20 would cover all cathode ray tubes (i.e., televisions and computer monitors) and any other video display device (i.e., notebook computers) with a screen size of four inches or more. It would require manufacturers, retailers, consumers, local govern- ments, non - profit organizations and waste haulers would share the responsibility for developing, financ- ing and operating a -waste collection programs that are "free and convenient' for consumers. It is impor- tant to note that while local governments would be involved in this process, SB 20 does not mandate direct involvement of cities in the collection infrastruc- ture. As amended, SB 20 would impose a point of sale e -waste collection fee, ranging until January 1, 2006, from $3 to $10, depending upon the size of the CRT. After that date, the waste board would establish the collection fee based at a level that is sufficient to generate revenues to cover the costs of an autho- rized collector for collecting, consolidating and transportating the a -waste in a manner that is cost - free and convenient to the consumers. Funds from this fee would be used to provide payments to local governments, non - profit groups and others for the collection and consolidation of e- waste. Cities would be required, at the next revision of their AB 939 household hazardous waste element, to "...identify those actions the city is taking to promote the collec- tion, consolidation, recovery, and recycling of hazard- ous electronic waste." SB 20 would also require manufacturers of CRTs to develop a plan that demonstrates how they will establish a system to accept, process and safely recycle a -waste from "collectors." These plans would be approved by the California Integrated Waste Management Board. As an alternative, manufacturers would have the option of paying a fee to cover the cost of recycling devices that are sold in California. Local agencies would be eligible to receive funds from the Waste Board to cover the cost of collection and consolidation and to dean up illegally disposed e- waste. Funds would also be available to manufac- turers to encourage consumers to return the devices for processing or recycling. The bill also includes provisions to phase out the use of hazardous materials in electronic consumer devices, to prohibit manufacturers not in compliance with the provisions of SS 20 from selling to the State of California, and to prohibit the export of a -waste that is not properly recycled. Interested cities should review the July 29 version of SB 20 carefully and send their comments to the author and the League's Sacramento office. The League will continue to study the amendments, suggest modifications to the author as needed, and work with interested stakeholders as the bill moves forward. League Staff: Yvonne Hunter, Status: AsApps, Position: Support. Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS /PAGE 15