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SENATE BILL NO. 175
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY SENATORS TOBIN, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Claman
Introduced: 1/16/24
Referred: Resources, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
1 "An Act relating to an electronic product stewardship program; relating to collection,
2 recycling, and disposal of electronic equipment; establishing the electronics recycling
3 advisory council; and providing for an effective date."
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
5 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section
6 to read:
7 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. The activities authorized by
8 AS 46.06.200 - 46.06.290, added by sec. 12 of this Act, require collaboration among
9 manufacturers, manufacturer clearinghouses, and other entities that perform activities directly
10 related to manufacturer e-scrap programs. These activities will enable collection, recycling,
11 and disposal of covered electronic devices in a safe and effective manner, which is in the best
12 interest of the public. The benefits of collaboration, together with the active state supervision
13 provided by the Department of Environmental Conservation under AS 46.06.200 - 46.06.290,
14 outweigh potential adverse effects. Therefore, the legislature intends to provide immunity
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1 through the state action doctrine from federal antitrust laws for participating in manufacturer
2 e-scrap programs as required by AS 46.06.200 - 46.06.290.
3 * Sec. 2. AS 29.10.200 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:
4 (68) AS 29.35.142 (electronic device recycling).
5 * Sec. 3. AS 29.35 is amended by adding a new section to read:
6 Sec. 29.35.142. Regulation of electronic device recycling. (a) The authority
7 to regulate electronics recycling is reserved to the state, and, except as specifically
8 provided by statute, a municipality may not enact or enforce an ordinance governing
9 electronics recycling, including the collection or recycling of covered electronic
10 devices and eligible electronic devices under AS 46.06.200 - 46.06.290.
11 (b) This section applies to home rule and general law municipalities.
12 * Sec. 4. AS 45.50.572(b) is amended to read:
13 (b) AS 45.50.562 - 45.50.596 do not forbid actions or arrangements authorized
14 or regulated under the laws of the United States that exempt these actions or
15 arrangements from application of the antitrust laws of the United States or under the
16 following statutes of this state:
17 (1) AS 06.05.235 and 06.05.570;
18 (2) AS 10.15; [AND]
19 (3) AS 31.05.110; and
20 (4) AS 46.06.200 - 46.06.290.
21 * Sec. 5. AS 46.06.010 is amended to read:
22 Sec. 46.06.010. Powers of the department. The department shall
23 (1) serve as the coordinating agency among public and private
24 organizations in the state that are involved in the control, reduction, and recycling of
25 litter;
26 (2) assist local governments in the adoption and amendment of
27 ordinances relating to the control, reduction, and recycling of litter;
28 (3) promote voluntary local programs and information campaigns that
29 encourage the public to refrain from littering and to participate in efforts to clean up
30 and recycle litter;
31 (4) inform the public of, and encourage the public to comply with, the
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1 provisions of AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER] and regulations adopted
2 under AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER];
3 (5) encourage federal, state, and local agencies to assist programs for
4 the recycling of litter by allowing the use of publicly owned land, buildings, or
5 equipment for those programs whenever possible;
6 (6) apply for, receive, and expend grants, loans, and other monetary
7 and nonmonetary assistance for use in programs established under AS 46.06.010 -
8 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER];
9 (7) determine the types of materials or energy that may be profitably
10 recovered from litter, and adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative
11 Procedure Act) that require the recovery of the materials or energy;
12 (8) adopt other regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure
13 Act) necessary to implement AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER].
14 * Sec. 6. AS 46.06.031(c) is amended to read:
15 (c) This section does not diminish the responsibility of a person to comply
16 with AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER], AS 46.03, AS 46.04, or AS 46.09.
17 * Sec. 7. AS 46.06.100 is amended to read:
18 Sec. 46.06.100. Notice to public. The penalties imposed for littering shall be
19 posted along the public highways of the state, at visitor centers, at entrances to state
20 parks and recreational areas, at public beaches, and at other publicly owned public
21 places the commissioner determines necessary to accomplish the purposes of
22 AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER]. The state agency or municipality
23 responsible for litter removal from a public place shall post the notice required by this
24 section.
25 * Sec. 8. AS 46.06.110 is amended to read:
26 Sec. 46.06.110. Enforcement authority. (a) The following persons are
27 authorized to enforce the provisions of AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER]:
28 (1) a state employee authorized by the commissioner; and
29 (2) a peace officer.
30 (b) The department shall prescribe a citation form, which shall be used by all
31 peace officers and persons in the state who are authorized to enforce the provisions of
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1 AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER]. The citation form must meet the
2 requirements of AS 12.25.175 - 12.25.230.
3 * Sec. 9. AS 46.06.120 is amended to read:
4 Sec. 46.06.120. Grants. The department may make grants to state agencies, to
5 municipalities, and to private organizations including nonprofit organizations for the
6 establishment and operation of programs authorized under AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150
7 [THIS CHAPTER]. A grant under this section may not exceed 18 months. A program
8 qualifying for a grant under this section may include
9 (1) courses of instruction at, or the distribution of informative
10 materials to, elementary and secondary schools;
11 (2) purchase and erection of roadside signs;
12 (3) organization and operation of litter removal activities conducted by
13 municipalities, private organizations or, service groups using volunteer help;
14 (4) a public information program to inform the public concerning the
15 reduction of litter using the media including use of the electronic media;
16 (5) expansion of existing, and planning, design, and construction of
17 new, facilities for the recovery of materials and energy from litter;
18 (6) research and evaluation of markets for the materials and energy
19 recovered from litter;
20 (7) advice and assistance, including information and consultation on
21 available technology, operating procedures, organizational arrangements, markets for
22 materials or energy obtained from litter, transportation alternatives, and publicity
23 techniques;
24 (8) surveys by public agencies or recognized research organizations to
25 assess the amount and composition of litter [,] and rates of littering;
26 (9) the purchase of litter receptacles;
27 (10) the creation or expansion of litter law enforcement programs;
28 (11) the initial purchase or lease of recycling equipment, the cost of
29 operating that equipment, and the cost of storing and transporting materials before and
30 after those materials are recycled.
31 * Sec. 10. AS 46.06.130(a) is amended to read:
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1 (a) The department shall adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative
2 Procedure Act) that establish
3 (1) eligibility requirements for applicants for a grant under
4 AS 46.06.120;
5 (2) standards for the evaluation of proposals submitted by applicants
6 for grants under AS 46.06.120; and
7 (3) other conditions for the receipt of a grant under AS 46.06.120 that
8 are necessary to achieve the purposes of AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS
9 CHAPTER].
10 * Sec. 11. AS 46.06.140 is amended to read:
11 Sec. 46.06.140. Federal requirements. If a federal department or agency
12 issues a formal ruling that a section of AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER]
13 will prevent the state from receiving federal financial participation in a program or
14 activity established under AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER], the section
15 does not apply to the extent that it causes the program or activity to lose federal
16 funding.
17 * Sec. 12. AS 46.06.150 is amended to read:
18 Sec. 46.06.150. Definitions. In AS 46.06.010 - 46.06.150 [THIS CHAPTER],
19 (1) "beverage container" means the individual, separate, sealed glass,
20 metal or plastic bottle, can, jar or carton containing beer or other malt beverages or
21 carbonated soft drinks, in liquid form;
22 (2) "commissioner" means the commissioner of environmental
23 conservation;
24 (3) "degradable" means a characteristic of a material that allows the
25 material to be broken down by biological, chemical, photochemical, or other physical
26 processes
27 (A) within two years upon exposure to natural elements; and
28 (B) to a particle size and chemical composition that may be
29 assimilated harmlessly and aesthetically into the environment without
30 producing a residue or by-product determined by the department to be
31 hazardous;
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1 (4) "department" means the Department of Environmental
2 Conservation;
3 (5) "litter" means all waste material including disposable packages or
4 containers disposed of in a manner prohibited by AS 46.06.080, but does not include
5 the wastes of the primary processes of mining or other extraction process, logging,
6 sawmilling, farming, or manufacturing;
7 (6) "litter bag" means a bag, sack, or other container made of any
8 material that [WHICH] is large enough and suitable to serve as a receptacle for litter
9 inside a vehicle or vessel;
10 (7) "public place" means public or private property that is used or held
11 out for use by the public, whether owned or operated by public or private interests,
12 including [BUT NOT LIMITED TO] highways or other roads on [UPON] which
13 vehicles are moved, parks, campgrounds, trailer parks, drive-in and fast food
14 restaurants, gasoline service stations, marinas, boat launching areas, boat moorage and
15 fueling stations, public and private piers, beaches, bathing areas, school grounds,
16 sporting event sites with seating capacity for more than 200 spectators, business
17 district sidewalks, parking lots for taverns, shopping centers and grocery stores, and
18 other parking lots if they have a capacity for more than 50 vehicles;
19 (8) "vehicle" means a mechanically driven device of any kind that is
20 used for the transportation of a person or property on a public highway, trail, or path;
21 (9) "vessel" means all descriptions of watercraft used or capable of
22 being used as a means of transportation on the water.
23 * Sec. 13. AS 46.06 is amended by adding new sections to read:
24 Article 2. Electronic Product Stewardship Program.
25 Sec. 46.06.200. Manufacturer registration. (a) By June 30, 2027, and
26 annually thereafter, a manufacturer of covered electronic devices sold in the state shall
27 register with the department, for a period to cover the upcoming calendar year, by
28 completing and submitting to the department the registration form prescribed by the
29 department. The registration must include
30 (1) a list of all brands and labels under which the manufacturer's
31 covered electronic devices are offered for sale in the state;
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1 (2) the weight of all individual covered electronic devices by covered
2 electronic device category sold or offered for sale under any of the manufacturer's
3 brands or labels in the United States during the previous two calendar years before the
4 applicable calendar year; and
5 (3) any other information required by the department to implement
6 AS 46.06.200 - 46.06.290.
7 (b) If a manufacturer's covered electronic devices are sold or offered for sale
8 in the state during a calendar year under a brand that is not listed in the manufacturer's
9 registration, the manufacturer shall amend the registration to add the brand within 30
10 days after the first sale or offer for sale under that brand.
11 (c) A manufacturer subject to this section shall pay the program administration
12 fee established under AS 46.06.230(e) to the department at the time of submission of
13 the manufacturer's registration under (a) of this section.
14 Sec. 46.06.210. Manufacturer e-scrap program plans; manufacturer and
15 manufacturer clearinghouse responsibilities. (a) Beginning in 2027, a manufacturer
16 of covered electronic devices in the state shall submit a proposed manufacturer e-scrap
17 program plan to the electronics recycling advisory council by March 31 for the
18 upcoming calendar year. Upon receiving feedback from the council, the manufacturer
19 shall make any necessary changes based on the feedback and submit a manufacturer e-
20 scrap program plan to the department at the time of submission of the manufacturer's
21 registration under AS 46.06.200. A manufacturer may satisfy the requirements of this
22 subsection through a manufacturer clearinghouse. A manufacturer e-scrap program
23 plan must include
24 (1) contact information for the manufacturer or manufacturer
25 clearinghouse and a comprehensive list of all manufacturers participating in the plan
26 for the upcoming calendar year and the contact information for all participants;
27 (2) a description of the transportation and recycling systems, service
28 providers, collectors, and processors used, including a description of how the
29 manufacturer or manufacturer clearinghouse will
30 (A) seek to use businesses or organizations in the state,
31 including retailers, charities, processors, local or tribal organizations, local
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