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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024

Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fee

Public Resources Code

Division 30. Waste Management
Part 3. State Programs
Chapter 8.5. Electronic Waste Recycling

Article 2. Definitions


42463. Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Account" means the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account created in the Integrated Waste Management Fund pursuant to Section 42476.

(b) "Authorized collector" means any of the following:

(1) A city, county, or district that collects covered electronic devices.

(2) A person or entity that is required or authorized by a city, county, or district to collect covered electronic devices pursuant to the terms of a contract, license, permit, or other written authorization.

(3) A nonprofit organization that collects or accepts covered electronic devices.

(4) A manufacturer or agent of the manufacturer that collects, consolidates, and transports covered electronic devices for recycling from consumers, businesses, institutions, and other generators.

(5) An entity that collects, handles, consolidates, and transports covered electronic devices and has filed applicable notifications with DTSC pursuant to Chapter 23 (commencing with Section 66273.1) of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

(c) "CalRecycle" means the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery."

(d) "CDTFA" means the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

(e) "Consumer" means a person who purchases a new or refurbished covered electronic device in a transaction that is a retail sale or in a transaction to which a use tax applies pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(f) (1) "Covered battery-embedded product" means a product containing a battery from which the battery is not designed to be easily removed from the product by the user of the product with no more than commonly used household tools.

(2) "Covered battery-embedded product" does not include any of the following:

(A) A medical device, as defined in Section 321(h) of Title 21 of the United States Code, if either of the following applies:

(i) It is a Class I device as defined in Section 360c of Title 21 of the United States Code, and either of the following applies:

(I) It is a device described in Section 414.202 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(II) Either of the following applies:

(ia) The device is predominantly used in a health care setting by a provider.

(ib) The device is predominantly prescribed by a health care provider.

(ii) It is a Class II or Class III device as defined in 360c of Title 21 of the United States Code.

(B) A covered electronic device, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g).

(C) An energy storage system, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 2835 of the Public Utilities Code.

(D) An electronic nicotine delivery system, as defined in Section 375(7) of Title 15 of the United States Code.

(3) CalRecycle may consult with other state agencies to determine if a product meets the definition of a covered battery-embedded product.

(4) "Covered battery-embedded waste recycling fee" means the fee imposed for covered electronic devices, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g), pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 42464).

(g)(1) "Covered electronic device" means either of the following:

(A) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a video display device containing a screen greater than four inches, measured diagonally, that is identified in the regulations adopted by DTSC pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code.

(B) Any covered battery-embedded product, as defined in subdivision (f).

(2) "Covered electronic device," as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), does not include any of the following:

(A) A video display device that is a part of a motor vehicle, as defined in Section 415 of the Vehicle Code, or any component part of a motor vehicle assembled by, or for, a vehicle manufacturer or franchised dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor vehicle.

(B) A video display device that is contained within, or a part of a piece of industrial, commercial, or medical equipment, including monitoring or control equipment.

(C) A video display device that is contained within a clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer, microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room air-conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier.

(D) An electronic device, on and after the date that it ceases to be a covered electronic device pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code.

(h) "Covered electronic waste" or "covered e-waste" means a covered electronic device that is discarded.

(i) "Covered electronic waste recycling fee" or "covered e-waste recycling fee" means the fee imposed for covered electronic devices, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g), pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 42464).

(j) "Covered electronic waste recycler" or "covered e-waste recycler" means any of the following:

(1) A person who engages in the manual or mechanical separation of covered electronic devices to recover components and commodities contained therein for the purpose of reuse or recycling.

(2) A person who changes the physical or chemical composition of a covered electronic device, in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code and the regulations adopted pursuant to that chapter, by deconstructing, size reduction, crushing, cutting, sawing, compacting, shredding, or refining for purposes of segregating components, for purposes of recovering or recycling those components, and who arranges for the transport of those components to an end user.

(3) A manufacturer who meets any conditions established by this chapter and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code for the collection or recycling of covered electronic waste.

(k) "Director" means the Director of Resources Recycling and Recovery.

(l) "Discarded" has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 25124 of the Health and Safety Code.

(m) "DTSC" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

(n)"Electronic waste recovery payment" means an amount established and paid by CalRecycle pursuant to Section 42477.

(o) "Electronic waste recycling payment" means an amount established and paid by CalRecycle pursuant to Section 42478.

(p) "Hazardous material" has the same meaning as set forth in Section 25501 of the Health and Safety Code.

(q) (1) (A) "Manufacturer" means a person who manufactures a covered electronic device and who owns or is the exclusive licensee of the brand or trademark under which the covered electronic device is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state.

(B) If there is no person in the state who is the manufacturer for purposes of subparagraph (A), the manufacturer of the covered electronic device is the owner or licensee of a brand or trademark under which a covered electronic device is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state.

(C) If there is no person in the state who is the manufacturer for purposes of subparagraph (A) or (B), the manufacturer of the covered electronic device is the person who sells, offers for sale, or distributes the covered electronic device into the state for sale, offer for sale, or distribution in the state.

(2) For purposes of this chapter, the sale of a covered electronic device shall be deemed to occur in the state if the covered electronic device is delivered to the purchaser in the state.

(r) "Person" means an individual, trust firm, joint stock company, business concern, and corporation, including, but not limited to, a government corporation, partnership, limited liability company, and association. Notwithstanding Section 40170, "person" also includes a city, county, city and county, district, commission, the state or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof, an interstate body, and the United States and its agencies and instrumentalities to the extent permitted by law.

(s) "Recycling" has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 25121.1 of the Health and Safety Code.

(t) "Refurbished," when used to describe a covered electronic device, means a device that the manufacturer has tested and returned to a condition that meets factory specifications for the device, has repackaged, and has labeled as refurbished.

(u) "Retailer" means a person who makes a retail sale of a new or refurbished covered electronic device. "Retailer" includes a manufacturer of a covered electronic device who sells that covered electronic device directly to a consumer through any means, including, but not limited to, a transaction conducted through a sales outlet, catalog, or the Internet, or any other similar electronic means.

(v) (1) "Retail sale" has the same meaning as set forth in Section 6007 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(2) "Retail sale" does not include the sale of a covered electronic device that is temporarily stored or used in the state for the sole purpose of preparing the covered electronic device for use thereafter solely outside the state, and that is subsequently transported outside the state and thereafter used solely outside the state.

(w) "Vendor" means a person that makes a sale of a covered electronic device for the purpose of resale to a retailer who is the lessor of the covered electronic device to a consumer under a lease that is a continuing sale and purchase pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(x) "Video display device" means an electronic device with an output surface that displays, or is capable of displaying, moving graphical images or a visual representation of image sequences or pictures, showing a number of quickly changing images on a screen in fast succession to create the illusion of motion, including, if applicable, a device that is an integral part of the display, in that it cannot be easily removed from the display by the consumer, that produces the moving image on the screen. A video display device may use, but is not limited to, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), gas plasma, digital light processing, or other image projection technology.

History—Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 863 (SB 50), in effect September 29, 2004. Stats. 2005, Ch. 59 (AB 575), in effect July 18, 2005, added "diagonally" after "measured" in subdivision (f)(1), added new subdivision (t), and designated existing subdivision (t) as subdivision (u). Stats. 2006, Ch. 538 (SB 1852), in effect January 1, 2007, deleted quotation mark before "Except as provided in paragraph (2)," in paragraph (1) of subdivision (f). Stats. 2010, Ch. 654 (SB 1494), in effect January 1, 2011, deleted former subdivision (c) which read: ""Board" means the California Integrated Waste Management Board." and relettered former subdivisions (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), (p), (q), (r), (s), (t), and (u) as (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), (p), (q), (r), (s), (t), respectively. Stats. 2012, Ch. 523 (AB 549), in effect January 1, 2013, substituted "Notwithstanding Section 40118, "department"" for "Department" in subdivision (d), substituted "Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery" for "board" in subdivisions (j) and (k), and substituted "either" for "any" in first sentence of subdivision (m). Stats. 2022, Ch. 370 (SB 1215), in effect January 1, 2023, deleted "the" after "For" in the first sentence of the Section; substituted "pursuant to" for "under" before "Section" in subdivision (a); substituted "DTSC" for "the department" before "pursuant to" in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b); deleted former subdivision (d); added new subdivisions (c) and (d); relettered former subdivision (c) as new subdivision (e); added new subdivisions (f) and (g); added ""Covered electronic device" means either of the following:" to subdivision (g)(1), relettered former subparagraph (e)(1) as subparagraph (g)(1)(A), deleted ""covered electronic device" means" before "a video," substituted "DTSC" for "the department," and replaced the reference to subdivision (c) with subdivision (b) in subparagraph (g)(1)(A); added subparagraph (g)(1)(B); added a comma after "device" and added "as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1)," before "does not" in paragraph (g)(2); substituted "pursuant to" for "under" after "device" and replaced the reference to subdivision (e) with subdivision (f) before " of Section" in new subparagraph (g)(1)(D); relettered subdivisions (f) – (h) as subdivisions (h) – (j), respectively; added "for covered … of subdivision (g)" after "imposed" in relettered subdivision (i); added new subdivision (k); relettered subdivisions (i) as subdivisions (l); substituted "set forth" for "defined" after "meaning as" in relettered subdivision (l); added new subdivision (m); relettered subdivisions (j) – (l) as subdivisions (n) – (p), respectively; substituted "CalRecycle" for "the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery" after "paid for" in relettered subdivisions (n) and (o); substituted "set forth" for "defined" after "meaning as" in relettered subdivision (p); deleted ""Manufacturer" means either of the following:" from former subdivision (m), relettered paragraph (m)(1) as subparagraph (q)(1)(A), added ""Manufacturer" means a" before "person" and replaced "sold in this" with "and who owns … distributed in the" before "state" in relettered subparagraph (q)(1)(A); relettered former paragraph (m)(2) as subparagraph (q)(1)(B), replaced "A person who sells a" with "If there … under which a," and replaced "in this state under that person’s brand name" with "is sold, … distributed in the state."; added subparagraph (q)(1)(C) and paragraph (q)(2)’; relettered subdivisions (n) – (t) as subdivisions (r) – (x), respectively; substituted "set forth" for "defined" after "meaning as" in relettered subdivision (s); substituted "set forth in" for "defined under" after "meaning as" in relettered subdivision (v); and substituted "the state" for "California" after "used in" in paragraph (2) of relettered subdivision (v). Stats. 2023, Ch. 131 (AB 1754), in effect January 1, 2024, substituted "(g)," for "(g)" after "subdivision" in paragraph (4) of subdivision (f); substituted "(g)," for "(g)" after "subdivision" in subdivision (i).