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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

93

Introduced by Senator Allen

February 18, 2026

An act to add Sections 42040.5 and 42064.5 to the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (act), regulates certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food service ware, as provided. As part of its comprehensive statutory scheme, the act requires producers of covered materials to reduce and recycle covered plastic material and to ensure that covered materials that are offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state on or after January 1, 2032, are recyclable or compostable, as provided.

The act establishes, until January 1, 2037, the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, which consists of all environmental mitigation surcharges, interest, penalties, and other amounts collected pursuant to the act, as provided. The act requires, upon appropriation by the Legislature, that 60% of the moneys in the fund be expended to monitor and reduce the historical and current environmental justice and public health impacts of plastics, and that 40% of the moneys in the fund be expended to monitor and reduce the environmental impacts of plastics on terrestrial, aquatic, and marine life and human health.

This bill would, among other things, require each expenditure made upon appropriation from the fund to comply with specified requirements, including, among others, prioritizing programs, projects, and initiatives that benefit communities most burdened by the impacts of plastic pollution or demonstrate meaningful and durable partnership with California Native American tribes and that provide multiple benefits. The bill would require each of those expenditures to achieve one or more of specified purposes, including, among others, sustained mitigation of the potential adverse health impacts of plastics, supporting a reduction in plastic production, use, and disposal, and supporting research, data collection, and monitoring activities, as specified. The bill would require each department, agency, or entity implementing a grant program funded by the fund to take specified actions, such as providing technical assistance and using a single standardized, providing a simplified application across all of those entities. preapplication and application. The bill would require reimbursement of a grantee’s or subgrantee’s indirect costs by applying one of 4 enumerated rates. rates, not to exceed 35% of the total grant award. The bill would authorize moneys from the fund to be expended on implementing the bill and would prohibit moneys from the fund from being expended on specified purposes. The bill would expand the entities eligible to receive grants from the fund, as specified.

This bill would require the Secretary for Environmental Protection to annually publish a list of all program, project, and initiative expenditures made pursuant to the fund, as specified. The bill would authorize the secretary to request information from grant recipients, as provided.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 42040.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

42040.5.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Plastics, including microplastics and chemical additives used in plastic production, are increasingly present in drinking water, food systems, and the environment, and emerging scientific evidence indicates likely risks to public health, including reproductive, cardiovascular, and respiratory health, among others.

(b) Plastic pollution, including single-use packaging and plastic products, continues to pose significant and long-lasting harm to California’s natural environment, including waterways, coastal and marine ecosystems, wildlife, and land resources.

(c) Section 42064 establishes the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, a fund intended to augment the state’s efforts to prevent and reduce plastic pollution, mitigate environmental and public health impacts of plastic and plastic pollution, and advance the state’s waste reduction and recycling goals beyond the requirements that this chapter places on producers.

(d) Directing funding pursuant to Section 42064 toward pollution prevention, environmental restoration, public health protection, and related activities is necessary to address the statewide and disproportionate impacts of plastic pollution and pollution; to ensure that producer responsibility requirements result in measurable, durable, and transformative environmental and public health benefits. benefits; and to support equitable, community-driven approaches that benefit the communities, workers, and tribes most burdened by plastic pollution.

SEC. 2.

Section 42064.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

42064.5.

(a) Each expenditure from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (j) or (k) of Section 42064, shall do all of the following:

(1) Improve public or environmental health.

(2) Incorporate outreach efforts that inform the public of the purpose and scope of the funded program, project, or initiative. Where practicable, the outreach shall be tied to the funded mitigation activity. activity, including outreach to communities most burdened by plastic pollution and California Native American tribes, as appropriate.

(4) Prioritize programs, projects, and initiatives that do all of the following:

(A) Benefit communities most burdened by the impacts of plastic pollution. pollution or demonstrate meaningful and durable partnership with California Native American tribes.

(B) Align with or implement community-driven solutions.

(C) Provide multiple benefits.

(D) Demonstrate engagement with communities and California Native American tribes impacted by the program, project, or initiatives in planning, development, and implementation.

(b) Each expenditure from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (j) or (k) of Section 42064, shall achieve one or more of the following:

(1) Sustained mitigation of the potential adverse health impacts of plastics.

(2) Support a durable and significant reduction in plastic production, use, and disposal by supporting programs, projects, and initiatives that are tied to reduction of plastic waste, exposure, or pollution.

(3) Durably reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the environment, either as litter or microplastic pollution, including by advancing state strategies on microplastics and plastics in marine environments.

(4) Clean up or restore lands or waterways that have been negatively impacted by plastic pollution, including microplastics.

(5) Protect natural lands and waterways from plastic waste and pollution, including microplastics.

(6) (A) Support research, data collection, and monitoring activities that do any of the following:

(i) Identify and assess communities and regions disproportionately burdened by plastic pollution to inform the equitable targeting of expenditures from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund.

(ii) Establish baseline conditions of plastic pollution and impacts on lands, waterways, or communities to enable measurement of outcomes and evaluate ongoing environmental and community conditions over time.

(iii) Evaluate the effectiveness of programs, projects, or initiatives funded pursuant to this section in achieving one or more of the purposes described in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive.

(B) (i) Notwithstanding any other law, the aggregate amount allocated or expended for projects, programs, or initiatives for the sole purpose of research, data collection, and monitoring activities pursuant to this section shall not exceed 20 percent of the total amount appropriated from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund in any fiscal year.

(c) Each department, agency, or entity implementing a grant program funded in whole or in part by the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund shall do all of the following in implementing the grant program:

(1) Provide technical assistance to eligible grant applicants.

(2) Use Provide a single standardized, simplified preapplication to be used by all implementing departments, agencies, and entities to provide that may be used for the purpose of providing technical assistance, determine determining the appropriateness of the project for the grant program or other sources of funding, or determine determining eligibility before an applicant prepares a full proposal.

(3) To the extent practicable, use provide a single standardized, simplified application to that may be used by all implementing departments, agencies, and entities. an applicant.

(4) Consider the use of discretionary awards, block grants, and categorical grant opportunities in addition to competitive grants.

(5) Provide advanced payments in accordance with Section 11019.3 of the Government Code to initiate programs, projects, or initiatives in a timely manner.

(6) (A) When awarding a grant, reimburse the grantee’s and any subgrantee’s indirect costs, as defined by Section 200.1 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, by applying one of the following rates as requested by the grantee and any subgrantee:

(i) The grantee’s or subgrantee’s negotiated indirect cost rate pursuant to its negotiated indirect cost rate agreement.

(ii) The de minimis indirect cost rate specified in Part 200 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(iii) A rate negotiated by the grantee or subgrantee with another state agency or department within the last five years.

(iv) A rate proposed by the grantee in the grantee’s program application with the administering state agency or department if the grantee does not have an existing state rate.

(7) Establish clear, objective criteria for evaluating and awarding grants, including, where applicable, the extent to which proposed programs, projects, and initiatives demonstrate reductions in plastic waste or pollution.

(8) Require grant applicants to demonstrate a nexus between the proposed programs, projects, and initiatives and the mitigation of environmental or potential public health impacts associated with plastic.

(d) State administrative and program support costs, exclusive of technical assistance, shall not exceed 10 percent of funds allocated pursuant to this section in any fiscal year.

(e) (1) Consistent with subdivision (g) of Section 42064, moneys from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund shall not be expended on either of the following:

(A) Any obligations of a producer responsibility organization.

(B) To fulfill any environmental mitigation requirements or compliance obligations imposed by any law other than this section or Section 42064.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 42064, moneys from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund may be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (j) or (k) of Section 42064, to implement this section.

(f) (1) In addition to the entities listed in paragraph (3) of subdivision (j) of, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (k) of, Section 42064, the following entities are eligible for grants under this section and Section 42064:

(A) Public agencies.

(B) Nonprofit organizations.

(C) Special districts.

(D) Joint powers authorities.

(E) Public utilities.

(F) Local publicly owned utilities.

(G) Mutual water companies.

(H) Public or private universities, school districts, and community colleges.

(2) An entity listed in paragraph (1) shall be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this section only for programs, projects, or initiatives with the primary and direct purpose of mitigation, prevention, or remediation of plastic pollution consistent with the purposes enumerated in subdivisions (a) and (b). Entities listed in paragraph (1) that demonstrate collaboration with one or more of the entities eligible for funds identified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (j) of, or paragraph (3) of subdivision (k) of, Section 42064 shall be prioritized for funding. Incidental benefits to other environmental objectives shall not disqualify an expenditure, but no funds shall be used to finance new or existing infrastructure, operations, or maintenance serving purposes unrelated to plastic pollution mitigation.

(g) (1) The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall publish a list of all program, project, and initiative expenditures pursuant to this section and Section 42064 not less than annually, in written form, and shall post that list on the California Environmental Protection Agency’s internet website in a downloadable format.

(2) The Secretary of Environmental Protection may request information from grant recipients in a manner and format determined by the Secretary of Environmental Protection. secretary. To the extent feasible, a standardized and simplified reporting template or format shall be used for grant recipients. For each program, project, and initiative that has received moneys from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, the Secretary of Environmental Protection secretary shall publish information on the internet, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) The location and geographic scope of the program, project, or initiative.

(B) The objectives and anticipated outcomes of the program, project, or initiative.

(C) The status of the program, project, or initiative.

(D) A description of the outreach and engagement performed by the fund recipient to develop the program, project, or initiative.

(E) The public benefits to be derived from the program, project, or initiative, including whether the program, project, or initiative delivers meaningful and direct benefits to populations described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (j) of, or paragraph (3) of subdivision (k) of, Section 42064, or populations otherwise demonstrated to be impacted by plastic pollution.

(F) The total cost of the program, project, or initiative, if known.

(G) The amount of funding provided from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund to the program, project, or initiative.

(H) Any matching funds provided by any grant recipient or other partners to the program, project, or initiative.

(I) Evaluation of measurable reductions in plastic pollution accomplished by the program, project, or initiative, as applicable.

(J) A description of the nexus between the program, project, or initiative and the mitigation of environmental or potential public health impacts associated with plastic.