CA SB 279

enacted

Solid waste: compostable materials.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

Description

Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adopt and revise regulations setting forth minimum standards for composting, in accordance with law. Existing regulations require all compostable materials handling activities to obtain a permit prior to commencing operations and to comply with specified requirements. Existing regulations specify 4 regulatory tiers for composting operations, with different requirements for each tier. The 4 tiers are excluded, enforcement agency notification, registration permit, and full solid waste facility permit. In the excluded tier, existing regulations specify the "excluded activities" that do not constitute compostable material handing operations or facilities and, therefore, are not subject to permit requirements or other regulatory requirements. One of the excluded activities is the composting of green material, agricultural material, food material, and vegetative food material, alone or in combination, if the total amount of feedstock and compost onsite at any one time does not exceed 100 cubic yards and 750 square feet. This bill would expand this excluded activity exemption for composting activities by eliminating the maximum square-foot condition and authorizing a total amount of feedstock and compost onsite at any one time of up to 200 cubic yards, or 500 cubic yards for a composting activity owned by a public agency, as defined. The bill would also authorize the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to further increase those amounts by regulation. The bill would also make the composting of agricultural materials and residues that are from a large-scale biomass management event at an agricultural facility that does not otherwise operate as a solid waste facility an excluded activity, as specified. Existing regulations prohibit a composting operation from giving away or selling more than 1,000 cubic yards of compost product annually if it is in the excluded tier or if it is an agricultural material composting operation in the enforcement agency notification tier, its feedstock is both green material and agricultural material, and the operation is located on land zoned for agricultural uses. This bill would authorize composting activities to give away or sell up to 5,000 cubic yards of compost product annually. The bill would authorize the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to increase, by regulation, that amount when the composting is of agricultural materials and residues that are from a large-scale biomass management event at an agricultural facility.

Introduced: 2025-02-05
Status date: —
Latest action: 2025-10-11 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 651, Statutes of 2025.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-02-05
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
introduction,reading-1,referral-committee
2025-02-06
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 8.
2025-02-14
Referred to Com. on E.Q.
referral-committee
2025-03-07
Set for hearing March 19.
2025-03-19
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 421.) (March 19).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-03-20
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-03-28
Set for hearing April 7.
2025-04-07
April 7 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-05-12
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-05-16
Set for hearing May 23.
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 1194.) (May 23).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-23
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-05-29
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1336.) Ordered to the Assembly.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-05-29
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
reading-1
2025-06-05
Referred to Com. on NAT. RES.
referral-committee
2025-06-30
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-07-08
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (July 7). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-08-20
August 20 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-08-29
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 29).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-02
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-09-03
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-08
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 3000.) Ordered to the Senate.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-08
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
2025-09-09
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2712.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-16
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
executive-receipt
2025-10-11
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-10-11
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 651, Statutes of 2025.
became-law

Versions

02/05/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-05Compare
03/20/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-03-20Compare
05/12/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-05-12Compare
05/23/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-05-23Compare
06/30/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-06-30Compare
09/02/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-09-02Compare
09/12/25 - Enrolled — 2025-09-12Compare
10/11/25 - Chaptered — 2025-10-11Compare
SB279Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-03-19 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (8)
- Padilla: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Menjivar: other
Placed on suspense file
2025-04-07 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Richardson: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Dahle: yes
Do pass as amended
2025-05-23 · pass · 5-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Caballero: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Dahle: other
- Seyarto: other
3rd Reading SB279 McNerney et al.
2025-05-29 · pass · 38-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Grove: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Jones: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Stern: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Pérez: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Laird: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Choi: yes
- Valladares: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Niello: yes
- Allen: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Becker: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Limón: other
- Reyes: other
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-07-07 · pass · 14-0
Member-level votes (14)
- Hoover: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Flora: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Haney: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Wicks: yes
Do pass as amended.
2025-08-29 · pass · 11-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Elhawary: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Solache: yes
- Sanchez: other
- Ta: other
- Tangipa: other
- Dixon: other
SB 279 McNerney Senate Third Reading By Soria
2025-09-08 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Addis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Berman: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Zbur: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Patel: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Hart: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Soria: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Papan: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Davies: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Krell: yes
- Chen: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Bains: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Lee: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ta: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Macedo: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Ward: yes
- Fong: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Flora: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Nguyen: other
Unfinished Business SB279 McNerney et al. Concurrence
2025-09-09 · pass · 40-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Richardson: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Jones: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Stern: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Becker: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Grove: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Laird: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Limón: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Reyes: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Niello: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Allen: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Choi: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Blakespear: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB279

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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