1989 LEGISLATIVE SESSION: THE FINAL HOURS : Legislature Approves an Ambitious Solid Waste Program

After weeks of back-room negotiations, an ambitious solid waste program designed to rid California of half the garbage it dumps in landfills passed the Legislature on Friday just hours before lawmakers adjourned for the year.

The bill, part of a package of solid waste legislation, encourages expanded use of recycling as a means of reducing the state’s dependence on landfills.

Carried by Assemblyman Byron D. Sher (D-Palo Alto), chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, the measure would require cities and counties to reduce waste going into landfills by at least 25% by 1995 and 50% by the year 2000. The bill, which passed the Senate on a 22-15 vote and was given final Assembly approval 42 to 25, would create a powerful six-member state solid waste management board with broad authority over solid waste management.

Incineration Provision

The bill’s most controversial provision--one insisted on by Gov. George Deukmejian--would allow up to 5% of the state’s garbage to be burned in incinerators, after a five-year moratorium, if recycling and other measures fail. Environmentalists opposed the provision, contending that incineration produces air pollution and creates potentially toxic ash that itself will create a new waste disposal problem.

Opponents, however, were given little time to rally their opposition. Deukmejian and legislative leaders worked out key provisions of the Sher bill during a series of closed-door meetings and did not release the final set of amendments outlining the deal until late Thursday night.

Critics complained bitterly that they were deliberately kept in the dark. Los Angeles activist Sue Nelson, a spokeswoman for the California Alliance for the Defense of Residential Environments, which helped defeat the Lancer garbage incineration project in South-Central Los Angeles, said: “This is no environmental bill. It’s a big log-rolling bill to promote incineration. The bill was amended with no public input. We’re outraged.”

Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the Senate Toxics and Solid Waste Management Committee, and Sen. Dan McCorquodale (D-San Jose), chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee, tried unsuccessfully to refer the final version of the Sher bill back to their committees for hearings. But opponents defeated these maneuvers, contending that they could have killed the bills given the Legislature’s Friday midnight deadline for adjournment.

Supporters of the bills argued that recycling, landfills, incineration and other issues contained in the bills have been argued exhaustively in recent years by both the Senate and Assembly. In fact, both houses of the Legislature passed earlier versions of three of the bills last year, only to have them vetoed by Deukmejian. But the governor now is expected to sign the measures, since he was involved in the negotiating.

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) said the package was put together in the governor’s office because that was the only way the deal could come together.

During an impassioned speech on the Senate floor late Thursday night, Roberti said he went along with some things he did not agree with, such as the use of incineration in the waste disposal plan, because “give and take” was required.

New State Agency

“I wish the world were composed of 100% liberal Democrats. It would be great. I could solve all the problems my way without having to negotiate with Gov. Deukmejian. My life would be perfect. Except it’s not the real world,” Roberti said.

Overseeing the program would be a new state agency to be called the California Integrated Waste Management Board, made up of six full-time members paid annual salaries of $85,000. It would replace the part-time California Solid Waste Management Board, which has been criticized for being dominated by the waste-hauling industry and for favoring the dumping of waste into landfills rather than promoting alternatives, such as recycling.

Tax Credit Program

As for other bills in the package, the Legislature passed a bill by Assemblywoman Lucy Killea (D-San Diego) establishing a tax credit program for those who invest in machinery used in recycling. The credits would be limited to $250,000 for each piece of equipment. The credit would be spread out over three years. An example of the kind of machinery that would qualify is de-inking equipment used to extract ink from recycled paper.

The Killea measure won Senate approval on a 28-2 vote and the Assembly sent it to the governor on a 77-0 vote.

Another bill in the package, carried by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), is aimed at reducing the number of tires going into landfills or being stockpiled. The measure creates economic incentives for disposing of tires in other ways. The Assembly gave final approval to the bill Friday and sent it to the governor on a 49-0 vote.

25-Cent Fee

The Brown bill establishes a 25-cent fee on each used tire that is sold or exchanged, with the money going into a pool to finance cash grants, subsidies or loans to businesses and public entities that devise uses for tires other than dumping or stockpiling them. The California Department of General Services will also be required to give recycled tires a preference when making tire purchases for the state.

The Legislature also approved a bill by Assemblywoman Delaine Eastin (D-Union City) requiring purchasing agents for the state and California State University to give preference to supplies of recycled paper when making paper purchases. Additionally, the legislation also encourages the state to purchase compost, recycled glass, oil, plastic, paint and tires when possible.

New State Agencies

The Senate passed the bill on a 28-3 vote. It was approved and sent to the governor by the Assembly 65 to 7.

Passed by the Assembly on a 71-0 vote and still pending in the Senate late Friday was yet another part of the package, a bill by Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) setting up two new state agencies to promote recycling and cut down on waste materials generated by manufacturers.

The Bergeson bill creates the Source Reduction Advisory Agency to promote a reduction in garbage through the use of improved packaging, development of more durable goods and creation of new technology. It would also create the California Recycling Markets Development Commission to study and analyze problems related to creating commercial markets for recycled products.

Promote Recycling

Among the bills already passed in recent days was a measure by Killea designed to promote recycling in the newspaper industry. That measure now awaits the governor’s signature.

The bill would require that, beginning in 1991, printers and publishers use newsprint containing at least 25% recycled paper. A series of steps would bring the requirement up to 50% recycled paper in newsprint by the year 2000. The requirements would be suspended if publishers cannot buy recycled newsprint at the same price they pay for virgin newsprint, or paper that contains no waste paper.

Another bill in the package, also by Killea, has already been signed. It allows companies to float tax-exempt industrial development bonds to raise money to buy recycling equipment.