(a) State agency procurement and contracting officers, or their designees, from all agencies shall participate in annual mandatory training that is conducted by CalRecycle. The training may be web-based and shall provide a complete review of the benefits of SABRC purchases, how to locate qualifying products, how to report information, and how to explain benefits and requirements to other employees making purchasing decisions.

(b) If a state agency does not meet SABRC purchasing requirements in each product category, CalRecycle shall report the state agency to the department.

(c) In determining purchasing specifications, with the exception of any specifications that have been established to preserve the public health and safety, all state purchasing specifications shall be established in a manner that results in the maximum state purchase of recycled products.

(d) (1) If a recycled product, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 12200, costs more than the same product made with virgin material, the state agency shall, if feasible, purchase fewer of those more costly products or apply the cost savings, if any, gained from buying other recycled products towards the purchase of those more costly products to meet the solid waste diversion goals of Section 41780.

(2) If a recycled product, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 12200 has special performance requirements necessary for the protection of public safety, as defined by the Department of General Services, the state agency may purchase that product made with virgin material. For the purposes of this paragraph, public safety includes, but is not limited to, structural steel coatings, traffic paint applications, and roadway safety devices.

(e) Each state agency shall establish purchasing practices that ensure the purchase of goods and materials that may be recycled or reused. Each state agency shall continue activities for the collection, separation, and recycling of recyclable materials and may appoint a recycling coordinator to assist in implementing this section. Alternatively, a state contract may require that the vendor take back the product for proper management after it has been used. Upon request by a state agency, CalRecycle shall offer advice and recommendations regarding products and situations in which a take-back requirement is appropriate.

(f) To assist the state in meeting the requirements of this article, each state agency, and the department, in consultation with CalRecycle, may also establish recycled product-only bids, cooperative purchasing arrangements, or other mechanisms to meet the requirements for recycled products and to encourage the maximum state purchase of recycled products.

(g) The department, in consultation with CalRecycle, shall review and revise the purchasing specifications and contract documents used by state agencies in order to eliminate restrictive specifications and discrimination against the purchase of remanufactured or recycled products and to ensure that they are drafted in a manner that results in the maximum state purchase of remanufactured recycled products. All contract provisions impeding the consideration of recycled products shall be deleted in favor of performance standards. Remanufactured products shall conform to performance standards to ensure they are essentially equivalent to new products that perform the same function.

(h) (1) In order for state agencies to easily procure SABRC-compliant products, ensure their success in the program, and support the recycled content industry, the department and the Prison Industry Authority shall prioritize the use of recycled content products.

(2) The department shall continue to make products that meet the SABRC postconsumer minimum percentage requirements available through statewide contracts, and provide information to state agencies regarding contracted products that meet these requirements.

(3) The Prison Industry Authority, in collaboration with CalRecycle, shall make every attempt to procure parts that meet the SABRC postconsumer minimum percentage requirements for the products it creates and sells to state agencies.

(i) Any state agency that is required to submit an SABRC report to CalRecycle, pursuant to Section 12211, is subject to a review conducted by CalRecycle or its designee.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 517, Sec. 12. (AB 661) Effective January 1, 2023.)