California Assembly Bill AB19 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 19AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ruskin DECEMBER 1, 2008 An act to add Division 27.5 (commencing with Section 44570) to the Health and Safety Code, relating to product labeling. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 19, as amended, Ruskin. Greenhouse gas emissions: consumer product labeling. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. This bill would enact the Carbon Labeling Act of 2009. The act would require the state board to develop and implement a program for the voluntary assessment, verification, and standardized labeling of the carbon footprint, as defined, of consumer products sold in this state. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Division 27.5 (commencing with Section 44570) is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: DIVISION 27.5. The Carbon Labeling Act of 2009 CHAPTER 1. TITLE 44570. This division shall be known, and may be cited as, the Carbon Labeling Act of 2009. CHAPTER 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS 44571. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Global warming poses a serious threat to the economic well-being, public health, natural resources, and the environment of California. (b) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) provides a regulatory framework to establish and enforce greenhouse gas emission reductions. (c) Consumer choice can play a significant role in helping California meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, but only if consumers have usable and reliable information about the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from their product choices. (d) It has been estimated that household consumption of consumer goods in the United States accounts for emissions of more than 15 metric tons of greenhouse gas equivalents, or about one-third of total household emissions, per year. (e) There are numerous attempts throughout the world to provide product information to consumers, any of which are not regulated. (f) The state should identify the best approach to standardizing product labeling to help businesses and to provide accurate information to consumers. (g) The methodological and technical challenges of measuring greenhouse gas emissions are already being addressed by researchers in California and across the world. Converting these measurement methods into a viable, practical greenhouse gas emission label involves crafting a compromise solution that is both accurate and precise, as well as feasible for producers to implement. (h) The development of a voluntary carbon or greenhouse gas emissions labeling program for consumer products can harness the power of the marketplace to create incentives for manufacturers to innovate and compete to reduce the carbon footprint of their products. CHAPTER 3. DEFINITIONS 44572. As used in this division the following terms have the following meanings: (a) "Carbon footprint" means the total amount of emissions of greenhouse  gas   gases , as defined in Section 38505, that occur as a result of a  consumer  product's life cycle  , or as determined by the state board to best implement this division  . (b) "State board" means the State Air Resources Board.  (c) "Life cycle" includes a consumer product's emissions boundaries such as raw material extraction, production, processing or manufacturing, transportation, distribution, storing, consumer use, and disposal.  CHAPTER 4. CARBON LABELING PROGRAM 44574.  (a)     The   (a)     (1)    In furtherance of the goals and objectives of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the  state board shall develop and implement a program for the voluntary assessment, verification, and labeling of the carbon footprint of consumer products sold in this state.  In order to create  As part of  this program, the state board shall  establish standard methodologies   adopt protocols  for assessing, verifying, and labeling the carbon  footprint of a consumer product. The state board shall only include a product category in a standard if it determines that it is feasible and practical to do so. The state board may choose to adopt a methodology for a single product category before expanding the scope of the adopted standard to other product categories.   footprint of a consumer product in order to provide a consumer with the information necessary to reliably compare greenhouse gas emissions of different consumer products   within or across a product category.   (2) The state board shall only develop a protocol if it determines that it is feasible and practical to do so.   (3) In determining which protocols to develop, the state board may use the following criteria:   (A) The total life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of a consumer product or consumer product category.   (B) The emissions impact of a consumer product category in California.   (C) The size or growth of the consumer product market.  (b) The program shall do both of the following: (1) Allow a consumer product manufacturer  or distributor  , on a voluntary basis, to determine the carbon footprint of the  consume   r  product by applying the  criteria and standards   protocol  developed by the state board, and to include that information on the  consumer  product, product packaging,  and   Internet Web site, product manual, or  product advertising, consistent with the labeling standards developed by the state board. (2) Develop a standardized, easily understandable, label that communicates to consumers relevant information about the carbon footprint of a consumer product. The label  may   shall only  be issued to a company that meets  , and continues to meet for the life of a label,  all of the obligations of the adopted  standard   protocol  for measuring a product's carbon footprint.  The state board may   specify a maximum life of a label in order to capture potential changes in emissions associated with evolving supply chains, technology, or other considerations.  (c) The state board may use data from outside sources to develop the  standards required to be created by subdivision (a)   protocols  , including the use of existing models and  labels   other carbon labeling standards  .  In order to minimize costs for manufacturers or distributors, the state board shall   consider aligning any protocols with other carbon labeling standards.  The state board may consult with  academics and research institutions,  representatives of consumer product manufacturers, consumer groups, and environmental groups, and conduct public hearings and workshops, to inform the development of the  standards   protocols  required to be established pursuant to subdivision (a).  (d) (1) The state board shall determine the appropriate boundaries in determining and assessing the carbon footprint of a consumer product, which may include raw material extraction, production processing or manufacturing, transportation, distribution, consumer use, and disposal. The state board may vary these boundaries by product category.   (2) The state board may develop a hybrid life cycle analysis methodology standard by relying on company measurements of energy use, other greenhouse gas emission sources, and national averages, or other available information for determining the carbon footprint.   (d) (1) The state board shall determine the appropriate life cycle boundaries in determining and assessing the carbon footprint of a consumer product. Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the state board may vary these boundaries, or exclude a boundary, by product category as it deems reasonable and necessary, but shall strive to ensure consistency and comparability between consumer product categories.   (2) The state board may develop a carbon footprint protocol that is based on a combination of life cycle assessment methodologies by relying on company measurements of energy use, fuel consumption, and other direct contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, and secondary or noncompany specific sources of greenhouse gas emissions for consumer product inputs or raw materials provided by company suppliers.  (e) If the state board determines that feasible measurement methodologies are not sufficiently accurate to allow for direct comparisons of the carbon footprint of two like products within a  product category, the state board may elect to develop standards   consumer product category, the state board may develop protocols  for communicating  any or  all of the following: (1) The average greenhouse gas emissions in a  consumer  product category in order to allow consumers to compare across categories. (2) Whether a  consumer  product has a lower carbon footprint than the average comparable  consumer  product available in that category. (3) A specific carbon footprint score that delineates the range of error produced by the  methodology   protocols  . 44575. The state board may adopt standardized criteria for third-party verification of the carbon footprint of a consumer product, if the state board determines that this kind of verification is necessary, or the state board may develop an alternative means of ensuring compliance with the  labeling standards created   protocols adopted  pursuant to this chapter.  44576. The state board may contract for cost-effective services necessary to implement this chapter.   44577.   44576.  Consumer product manufacturers that label their products in accordance with this chapter shall be responsible for all costs related to the review and validation of carbon label information required by the state board. The state board may charge an application fee to participating consumer product manufacturers to pay the costs of the program established pursuant to this chapter.