New Laws to Govern Recycling, Area Codes

Bills designed to expand California’s bottle recycling program, phase out a controversial gasoline additive and slow the need for new telephone area codes were signed into law Saturday by Gov. Gray Davis.

The three measures were among dozens Davis announced he had acted on as he faced a deadline of midnight tonight to complete his review of hundreds of bills sent to his desk in the final days of the legislative session last month.

Davis must either sign, veto or let them become law without his signature.

While many of the 100 or so remaining bills are minor, some would have major impacts on Californians, including legislation to overhaul the juvenile justice system and provide a low-cost auto insurance policy to motorists in Los Angeles County.

No measure was more heavily lobbied in 1999 than SB 332 by Sen. Byron Sher (D-Stanford) to broaden the number of drink containers that have a refund value under California’s landmark bottle law.

The recycling program requires a deposit on beer and soft drinks in aluminum, plastic and glass containers. Under the new law, almost all plastic drink containers--including those with noncarbonated water or fruit juice--will require a deposit, a move designed to promote more recycling. The deposit will be the same as current law, ranging from 2 1/2 to 5 cents, depending on the size of the bottle.

On another environmental front, Davis signed three measures--including one by Sher--intended to protect Californians “from the potential hazards of MTBE,” the controversial gasoline additive.

While credited with reducing auto emissions, MTBE has leaked from underground storage tanks and has contaminated water in Santa Monica and Lake Tahoe, among other communities. In March, the governor ordered it phased out by 2002.

Sher’s bill (SB 989), however, requires the removal of methyl tertiary butyl ether “at the earliest possible date.” That change has prompted some critics in Sacramento to say that by eliminating a firm deadline, Davis has weakened his stance on removing MTBE from gasoline.

Michael Bustamante, Davis’ press secretary, vigorously denied that the governor is softening his position, saying the change is intended “to allow us to do this [the phaseout] sooner rather than later.”

Davis signed two other MTBE-related measures: SB 529 by Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey) requiring a thorough environmental review of new fuel formulations, and SB 1001 by Sen. John Burton (D-San Francisco) to track the amount of the additive used by California refineries.

Other measures Davis signed include:

* AB 406 by Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles), which seeks stricter controls on area code overlays and splits. The number of area codes in California has jumped from 13 in 1992 to 25. If the current pace of expansion continues, the Public Utilities Commission estimates, there will be 41 area codes by the end of 2002.

* AB 34 by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) to encourage counties to set up programs to reduce homelessness among people with severe mental illnesses.

* AB 600 by Knox to require the Department of Insurance to set up a Holocaust Era Registry to provide assistance to Holocaust victims and their survivors.

* AB 110 by Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) that sets aside $620,000 in taxpayer funds to compensate Kevin Lee Green, a former Orange County man wrongly imprisoned for 16 years on murder charges.

The governor vetoed:

* AB 527 by Baugh that would have allowed people to have attorneys with them in grand jury proceedings.

* SB 305 by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-San Jose) that would have required students in grades 9 through 12 to receive parenting education.