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		<ns0:Id>20250SB__023597AMD</ns0:Id>
		<ns0:VersionNum>97</ns0:VersionNum>
		<ns0:History>
			<ns0:Action>
				<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
				<ns0:ActionDate>2025-01-29</ns0:ActionDate>
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				<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_SENATE</ns0:ActionText>
				<ns0:ActionDate>2025-03-04</ns0:ActionDate>
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				<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_SENATE</ns0:ActionText>
				<ns0:ActionDate>2025-03-20</ns0:ActionDate>
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		<ns0:LegislativeInfo>
			<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
			<ns0:SessionNum>0</ns0:SessionNum>
			<ns0:MeasureType>SB</ns0:MeasureType>
			<ns0:MeasureNum>235</ns0:MeasureNum>
			<ns0:MeasureState>AMD</ns0:MeasureState>
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		<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Senator McNerney</ns0:AuthorText>
		<ns0:Authors>
			<ns0:Legislator>
				<ns0:Contribution>LEAD_AUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
				<ns0:House>SENATE</ns0:House>
				<ns0:Name>McNerney</ns0:Name>
			</ns0:Legislator>
		</ns0:Authors>
		<ns0:Title>An act to add and repeal Division 31.5 (commencing with Section 55000) of the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling.</ns0:Title>
		<ns0:RelatingClause>recycling</ns0:RelatingClause>
		<ns0:GeneralSubject>
			<ns0:Subject>Recycling: precious metals and critical minerals: report.</ns0:Subject>
		</ns0:GeneralSubject>
		<ns0:DigestText>
			<html:p>Existing law establishes in the California Environmental Protection Agency the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, which administers various solid waste management and recycling programs.</html:p>
			<html:p>This bill would require the department to draft and submit a report to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2028, relating to the in-state collection, recycling, reuse, and stockpiling for domestic consumption of precious metals, critical minerals, as defined, and other similar valuable materials as reasonably decided by the department, contained within products in the state, as specified. The bill would require the department to provide opportunities for public input and to perform outreach to potentially interested parties, as specified. The bill also would authorize the department to make recommendations to
			 promote a circular economy for precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials within products, including, but not limited to, best practices for product design to optimize the ability to recycle precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials at the product’s end of life.</html:p>
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			<ns0:VoteRequired>MAJORITY</ns0:VoteRequired>
			<ns0:Appropriation>NO</ns0:Appropriation>
			<ns0:FiscalCommittee>YES</ns0:FiscalCommittee>
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	<ns0:Bill id="bill">
		<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
		<ns0:BillSection id="id_FE92B8DD-5F42-4DE4-B603-5E8EC85EF156">
			<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
			<ns0:Content>
				<html:p>The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:</html:p>
				<html:p>
					(a)
					<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
					As a result of prior legislation, including Senate Bill 20 of the 2003–04 Regular Session (Sher), which enacted the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (Chapter 526 of the Statutes of 2003), Assembly Bill 2440 of the 2021–22 Regular Session (Irwin), which enacted the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022 (Chapter 351 of the Statutes of 2022), and Senate Bill 1215 of the 2021–22 Regular Session (Newman), which expanded the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 to include battery-embedded products (Chapter 370 of the Statutes of 2022), hundreds of thousands of cell phones,
				LED lights, fluorescent lights, computers, printers, televisions, batteries, battery-embedded products, and other forms of electronic waste are now being collected from California consumers and diverted from landfills.
				</html:p>
				<html:p>
					(b)
					<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
					Many of these electronic waste items and other waste items contain precious metals and critical materials, including rare earth elements (REEs). These materials are necessary for many green technologies, including electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines. These green technologies are essential to meeting California’s climate goals and are essential
				to the world in helping to mitigate climate change.
				</html:p>
				<html:p>
					(c)
					<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
					Currently, many of these materials are mined. According to the United States Geological Survey, about 70 percent of REEs come from China.
				</html:p>
				<html:p>
					(d)
					<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
					The mining of these materials is energy intensive, relies on fossil fuels for extraction and shipping, and can be environmentally destructive to the communities where they are mined.
				</html:p>
				<html:p>
					(e)
					<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
					Further, there is not enough inground supply of many REEs to meet demand. Researchers estimate that, “Among the leading global REE consumers—China, the European Union and the United States—China is projected to be the only nation capable of fulfilling its domestic demand....” (P. Wang, et al., “Regional Rare-Earth Element Supply and Demand Balanced with Circular Economy Strategies” (Jan. 4, 2024) 17 Nature Geoscience 94–102.).
				</html:p>
				<html:p>
					(f)
					<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
					However, current research also reveals that recycling and reusing REEs from old cell phones, hard drives, electric motors, and turbines could meet as much as 40 percent of the demand for REEs in the United States, China, and Europe by 2050, and that the United States, the European Union, and Japan could eventually accumulate REE stockpiles in their old electronics and other products that
				far exceed what they would find mining the earth.
				</html:p>
				<html:p>
					(g)
					<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
					Although California collects and recycles products containing precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials, collectors here do not extract this material. Instead, components containing these materials are shipped to other countries, including Korea and Japan, for foreign entities to extract and reuse
				them in new products.
				</html:p>
				<html:p>
					(h)
					<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
					Because critical minerals and REEs are combined with other materials in products, extracting these materials has historically been a highly toxic process. However, there are scientific breakthroughs being made to use nontoxic techniques so that REEs can be retained as part of a green, circular economy.
				</html:p>
			</ns0:Content>
		</ns0:BillSection>
		<ns0:BillSection id="id_BD6E3932-0F3E-47AF-AAAE-F19305CFD6BA">
			<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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				Division 31.5 (commencing with Section 55000) is added to the 
				<ns0:DocName>Public Resources Code</ns0:DocName>
				, to read:
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			<ns0:Fragment>
				<ns0:LawHeading id="id_3221D048-045F-47F2-B0BD-3451CA59A174" type="DIVISION">
					<ns0:Num>31.5.</ns0:Num>
					<ns0:LawHeadingVersion id="id_6B1B3E23-CCA9-428B-AF51-FB39CD291ACF">
						<ns0:LawHeadingText>Critical Materials in the State: Recycling</ns0:LawHeadingText>
					</ns0:LawHeadingVersion>
					<ns0:LawSection id="id_162A951F-25C0-44FA-B4A5-561D06C45B84">
						<ns0:Num>55000.</ns0:Num>
						<ns0:LawSectionVersion id="id_F689B2AA-D290-4A14-9019-79833695E902">
							<ns0:Content>
								<html:p>
									(a)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									On or before January 1, 2028, the department shall draft and submit a report to the Legislature relating to the in-state collection, recycling, reuse, and stockpiling for domestic consumption of precious metals, critical minerals, as defined by the 2022 list of critical minerals released by the United States Geological Survey, and other similar valuable materials as reasonably decided by the department, contained within products in the state. The department may perform this duty as part of its current duties, using current funding, to the extent feasible. The department may, but is not required to, consult with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development or the Department of Toxic Substances Control to the
						  extent that those agencies have relevant or useful information.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(b)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The department shall provide opportunities for public input and shall perform outreach to potentially interested parties, including, but not limited to, researchers, academics, scientists, the business community, manufacturers, and environmental organizations.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(c)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The report shall discuss all of the following:
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(1)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									Precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials available in products collected in state programs that address electronic waste.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(2)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The existing methods and those under development to extract these precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials from products described in paragraph (1).
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(3)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The existence of current in-state processes to extract and separate these materials, whether that extraction is being used on recycled consumer goods or in mining operations.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(4)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The ability of California
						  to recycle these materials in products sold, used, and disposed in the state to facilitate the transition away from fossil fuels.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(5)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The benefits to California from recycling these materials in products sold, used, and disposed in the state.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(6)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The potential for revenue to the state in extracting and creating a stockpile of these materials for
						  domestic manufacturing of green technology.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(7)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The current barriers that need to be addressed to create, expand, and incentivize within California the ability to recycle and reuse these
						  materials from products.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(8)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									Policy recommendations to further California’s ability to recycle and reuse these materials in products in California.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(d)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									The report may discuss the environmental, economic, and social implications of the existing methods to extract precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials from products at a commercial scale.
								</html:p>
							</ns0:Content>
						</ns0:LawSectionVersion>
					</ns0:LawSection>
					<ns0:LawSection id="id_2F4143AE-7645-4AAC-9DE8-016B8DBA485D">
						<ns0:Num>55001.</ns0:Num>
						<ns0:LawSectionVersion id="id_FB2B409F-5D81-41E4-882D-B20ECE8E930D">
							<ns0:Content>
								<html:p>The department may make recommendations to promote a circular economy for precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials within products, including, but not limited to, best practices for product design to optimize the ability to recycle precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials at the product’s end of life.</html:p>
							</ns0:Content>
						</ns0:LawSectionVersion>
					</ns0:LawSection>
					<ns0:LawSection id="id_2FB6E3D9-708E-4A9D-9288-5363355EED44">
						<ns0:Num>55002.</ns0:Num>
						<ns0:LawSectionVersion id="id_16BE7A38-66CE-4B65-A0C6-DC29DCE0979B">
							<ns0:Content>
								<html:p>
									(a)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									A report to be submitted pursuant to this division shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
								</html:p>
								<html:p>
									(b)
									<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
									Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this division is repealed on January 1, 2032.
								</html:p>
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