This measure would provide for the promotion and encouragement of solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

This measure would provide for the promotion and encouragement of solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

This measure would provide for the promotion and encouragement of solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

This measure would provide for the promotion and encouragement of solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

WHEREAS, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Patch) is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and it is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the worlds oceans; and

WHEREAS, The Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, consists of two distinct collections of spinning debris bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California; and

WHEREAS, The Patch contains approximately 1,800,000,000,000 plastic pieces, has a total mass of about 100,000 tons, and covers over 617,000 square miles, which is an area twice the size of Texas; and

WHEREAS, Nonbiodegradable debris accumulates in the Patch, including, but not limited to, plastics that break down into pieces called microplastics, which are too small to see without magnification; and

WHEREAS, The presence of the Patch is causing extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts; and

WHEREAS, Loggerhead sea turtles often eat plastic bags after mistaking them for jellyfish, and albatross mistake resin pellets for fish eggs and feed them to their chicks, which then die of starvation or ruptured organs; and

WHEREAS, Sea turtles caught in fisheries operating within and around the Patch can have up to 74 percent, by dry weight, of their diets composed of ocean plastics and Laysan albatross chicks from Kure Atoll and Oahu Island have around 45 percent of their wet mass composed of plastics; and

WHEREAS, Eighty-four percent of the Patchs plastics and microplastics contain at least one persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemical, such as bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches out when certain plastics break down through photodegradation, negatively impacting seawater; and

WHEREAS, PBTs, BPAs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other chemicals have entered our food supply through a process called bioaccumulation, where animals feeding on plastic ingest chemicals, and the chemicals are then passed up the food chain to humans, exposing animals and humans to the maleffects of the chemicals; and

WHEREAS, Marine plastic is estimated to have an annual economic cost of $6,000,000,000 to $19,000,000,000, stemming from impacts on tourism, cleanups, fisheries, and aquaculture, but not including the costs associated with the impacts on human health and the marine ecosystem; and

WHEREAS, The Patchs microplastic mass concentration is increasing exponentially, with an estimated 1,150,000 to 2,410,000 tons of plastic entering the worlds oceans each year from rivers; and

WHEREAS, Intercepting plastic in rivers is more cost effective than removing plastics once they are in the ocean waters; and

WHEREAS, Technology and innovation provide the best solutions to creatively capture plastic and trash that flow from rivers to the ocean; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Public Works for the County of Los Angeles has developed a pilot project to test in Marina del Rey a fully automated, solar powered trash collection device designed to capture floating plastic, trash, and litter before they reach the ocean; and

WHEREAS, In 2023, the State of California approved funding for the Newport Bay Pollution Control Project, which will remove human-made pollutants before they enter the Pacific Ocean; and

WHEREAS, Efforts to eliminate the Patch address the pressing need to safeguard our oceans and coastlines for future generations; and

WHEREAS, Central to these efforts is combating the pervasive threat posed by millions of tons of plastic pollution that inundates our oceans annually and that predominantly enter the oceans from rivers; and

WHEREAS, At the forefront of this crisis lies the Eastern Garbage Patch, situated between Hawaii and California; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that concerted action be taken to mitigate the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies, better technologies, and resources to protect and preserve our oceans and coastlines for posterity; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature promote and encourage solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

WHEREAS, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Patch) is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and it is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the worlds oceans; and

WHEREAS, The Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, consists of two distinct collections of spinning debris bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California; and

WHEREAS, The Patch contains approximately 1,800,000,000,000 plastic pieces, has a total mass of about 100,000 tons, and covers over 617,000 square miles, which is an area twice the size of Texas; and

WHEREAS, Nonbiodegradable debris accumulates in the Patch, including, but not limited to, plastics that break down into pieces called microplastics, which are too small to see without magnification; and

WHEREAS, The presence of the Patch is causing extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts; and

WHEREAS, Loggerhead sea turtles often eat plastic bags after mistaking them for jellyfish, and albatross mistake resin pellets for fish eggs and feed them to their chicks, which then die of starvation or ruptured organs; and

WHEREAS, Sea turtles caught in fisheries operating within and around the Patch can have up to 74 percent, by dry weight, of their diets composed of ocean plastics and Laysan albatross chicks from Kure Atoll and Oahu Island have around 45 percent of their wet mass composed of plastics; and

WHEREAS, Eighty-four percent of the Patchs plastics and microplastics contain at least one persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemical, such as bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches out when certain plastics break down through photodegradation, negatively impacting seawater; and

WHEREAS, PBTs, BPAs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other chemicals have entered our food supply through a process called bioaccumulation, where animals feeding on plastic ingest chemicals, and the chemicals are then passed up the food chain to humans, exposing animals and humans to the maleffects of the chemicals; and

WHEREAS, Marine plastic is estimated to have an annual economic cost of $6,000,000,000 to $19,000,000,000, stemming from impacts on tourism, cleanups, fisheries, and aquaculture, but not including the costs associated with the impacts on human health and the marine ecosystem; and

WHEREAS, The Patchs microplastic mass concentration is increasing exponentially, with an estimated 1,150,000 to 2,410,000 tons of plastic entering the worlds oceans each year from rivers; and

WHEREAS, Intercepting plastic in rivers is more cost effective than removing plastics once they are in the ocean waters; and

WHEREAS, Technology and innovation provide the best solutions to creatively capture plastic and trash that flow from rivers to the ocean; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Public Works for the County of Los Angeles has developed a pilot project to test in Marina del Rey a fully automated, solar powered trash collection device designed to capture floating plastic, trash, and litter before they reach the ocean; and

WHEREAS, In 2023, the State of California approved funding for the Newport Bay Pollution Control Project, which will remove human-made pollutants before they enter the Pacific Ocean; and

WHEREAS, Efforts to eliminate the Patch address the pressing need to safeguard our oceans and coastlines for future generations; and

WHEREAS, Central to these efforts is combating the pervasive threat posed by millions of tons of plastic pollution that inundates our oceans annually and that predominantly enter the oceans from rivers; and

WHEREAS, At the forefront of this crisis lies the Eastern Garbage Patch, situated between Hawaii and California; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that concerted action be taken to mitigate the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies, better technologies, and resources to protect and preserve our oceans and coastlines for posterity; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature promote and encourage solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

WHEREAS, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Patch) is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and it is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the worlds oceans; and

WHEREAS, The Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, consists of two distinct collections of spinning debris bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California; and

WHEREAS, The Patch contains approximately 1,800,000,000,000 plastic pieces, has a total mass of about 100,000 tons, and covers over 617,000 square miles, which is an area twice the size of Texas; and

WHEREAS, Nonbiodegradable debris accumulates in the Patch, including, but not limited to, plastics that break down into pieces called microplastics, which are too small to see without magnification; and

WHEREAS, The presence of the Patch is causing extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts; and

WHEREAS, Loggerhead sea turtles often eat plastic bags after mistaking them for jelly fish, jellyfish, and albatross mistake resin pellets for fish eggs and feed them to their chicks, which then die of starvation or ruptured organs; and

WHEREAS, Sea turtles caught in fisheries operating within and around the Patch can have up to 74 percent, by dry weight, of their diets composed of ocean plastics and Laysan albatross chicks from Kure Atoll and Oahu Island have around 45 percent of their wet mass composed of plastics; and

WHEREAS, Eighty-four percent of the Patchs plastics and microplastics contain at least one persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemical, such as bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches out when certain plastics break down through photodegradation, negatively impacting seawater; and

WHEREAS, PBTs, BPAs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other chemicals have entered our food supply through a process called bioaccumulation, where animals feeding on plastic ingest chemicals, and the chemicals are then passed up the food chain to humans, exposing animals and humans to the maleffects of the chemicals; and

WHEREAS, Marine plastic is estimated to have an annual economic cost of $6,000,000,000 to $19,000,000,000, stemming from impacts on tourism, cleanups, fisheries, and aquaculture, but not including the costs associated with the impacts on human health and the marine ecosystem; and

WHEREAS, The Patchs microplastic mass concentration is increasing exponentially, with an estimated 1,150,000 to 2,410,000 tons of plastic entering the worlds oceans each year from rivers; and

WHEREAS, Intercepting plastic in rivers is more cost effective than removing plastics once they are in the ocean waters; and

WHEREAS, Technology and innovation provide the best solutions to creatively capture plastic and trash that flow from rivers to the ocean; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Public Works for the County of Los Angeles has developed a pilot project to test in Marina del Rey a fully automated, solar powered trash collection device designed to capture floating plastic, trash, and litter before they reach the ocean; and

WHEREAS, In 2023, the State of California approved funding for the Newport Bay Pollution Control Project, which will remove human-made pollutants before they enter the Pacific Ocean; and

WHEREAS, Efforts to eliminate the Patch address the pressing need to safeguard our oceans and coastlines for future generations; and

WHEREAS, Central to these efforts is combating the pervasive threat posed of by millions of tons of plastic pollution that inundates our oceans annually and that predominantly enter the oceans from rivers; and

WHEREAS, At the forefront of this crisis lies the Eastern Garbage Patch, situated between Hawaii and California; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that concerted action be taken to mitigate the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies, better technologies, and resources to protect and preserve our oceans and coastlines for posterity; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature promote and encourage solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

WHEREAS, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Patch) is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and it is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the worlds oceans; and

WHEREAS, The Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, consists of two distinct collections of spinning debris bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California; and

WHEREAS, The Patch contains approximately 1,800,000,000,000 plastic pieces, has a total mass of about 100,000 tons, and covers over 617,000 square miles, which is an area twice the size of Texas; and

WHEREAS, Nonbiodegradable debris accumulates in the Patch, including, but not limited to, plastics that break down into pieces called microplastics, which are too small to see without magnification; and

WHEREAS, The presence of the Patch is causing extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts; and

WHEREAS, Loggerhead sea turtles often eat plastic bags after mistaking them for jelly fish, and albatross mistake resin pellets for fish eggs and feed them to their chicks, which then die of starvation or ruptured organs; and

WHEREAS, Sea turtles caught in fisheries operating within and around the Patch can have up to 74 percent, by dry weight, of their diets composed of ocean plastics and Laysan albatross chicks from Kure Atoll and Oahu Island have around 45 percent of their wet mass composed of plastics; and

WHEREAS, Eighty-four percent of the Patchs plastics and microplastics contain at least one persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemical, such as bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches out when certain plastics break down through photodegradation, negatively impacting seawater; and

WHEREAS, PBTs, BPAs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other chemicals have entered our food supply through a process called bioaccumulation, where animals feeding on plastic ingest chemicals, and the chemicals are then passed up the food chain to humans, exposing animals and humans to the maleffects of the chemicals; and

WHEREAS, Marine plastic is estimated to have an annual economic cost of $6,000,000,000 to $19,000,000,000, stemming from impacts on tourism, cleanups, fisheries, and aquaculture, but not including the costs associated with the impacts on human health and the marine ecosystem; and

WHEREAS, The Patchs microplastic mass concentration is increasing exponentially, with an estimated 1,150,000 to 2,410,000 tons of plastic entering the worlds oceans each year from rivers; and

WHEREAS, Intercepting plastic in rivers is more cost effective than removing plastics once they are in the ocean waters; and

WHEREAS, Technology and innovation provide the best solutions to creatively capture plastic and trash that flow from rivers to the ocean; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Public Works for the County of Los Angeles has developed a pilot project to test in Marina del Rey a fully automated, solar powered trash collection device designed to capture floating plastic, trash, and litter before they reach the ocean; and

WHEREAS, In 2023, the State of California approved funding for the Newport Bay Pollution Control Project, which will remove human-made pollutants before they enter the Pacific Ocean; and

WHEREAS, Efforts to eliminate the Patch address the pressing need to safeguard our oceans and coastlines for future generations; and

WHEREAS, Central to these efforts is combating the pervasive threat posed of millions of tons of plastic pollution that inundates our oceans annually and that predominantly enter the oceans from rivers; and

WHEREAS, At the forefront of this crisis lies the Eastern Garbage Patch, situated between Hawaii and California; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that concerted action be taken to mitigate the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies, better technologies, and resources to protect and preserve our oceans and coastlines for posterity; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature promote and encourage solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:ACR 182

Author:(Dixon)

As Amended Ver:August 8, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Promotes and encourages solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Senate Amendments

Made technical, clarifying changes and added coauthors.

COMMENTS

According to the Author

Ensuring our oceans are clean is incredibly important. It is our job to protect our coastline, and ACR 182 provides us an opportunity to make that commitment. We must reduce the amount of trash flowing into our oceans. There is much to do when it comes to protecting our beautiful coastline, and I am committed to working with all stakeholders to help prevent pollution.

Arguments in Support

The City of Huntington Beach writes in support: "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains approximately 1 .8 billion plastic pieces, has a total mass of about 100,000 tons, and covers over 617,000 square miles, which is an area twice the size of Texas. This results in extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts for our oceans, coastline and marine life. The removal of this trash is essential to the State's environment and economy. Concerted action must be taken to mitigate the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies, better technologies and resources to protect and preserve our oceans and coastlines for posterity."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file

FISCAL COMMENTS

No fiscal impact. This resolution is keyed non-fiscal by Legislative Counsel.

VOTES:

ASM RULES: 6-0-5

YES: Pacheco, Flora, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Maienschein, Dixon

ABS, ABST OR NV: Cervantes, Friedman, Low, Ting, Waldron

SENATE FLOOR: 37-0-3

YES: Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

ABS, ABST OR NV: Allen, Newman, Umberg

UPDATED

VERSION: August 8, 2024

CONSULTANT: Michael Erke / RLS. / (916) 319-2800 FN: 0004068

 THIRD READING 

Bill No: ACR 182

Author: Dixon (R), et al.

Amended: 8/8/24 in Senate

Vote: 21

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Read and adopted, 6/10/24

SUBJECT: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This resolution promotes and encourages solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative findings:

1. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Patch) is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and it is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans.
2. The Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, consists of two distinct collections of spinning debris bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California.
3. The presence of the Patch is causing extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts. Eighty-four percent of the Patch’s plastics and microplastics contain at least one persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemical, such as bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches out when certain plastics break down through photodegradation, negatively impacting seawater.
4. PBTs, BPAs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other chemicals have entered our food supply through a process called bioaccumulation, where animals feeding on plastic ingest chemicals, and the chemicals are then passed up the food chain to humans, exposing animals and humans to the maleffects of the chemicals.
5. The Patch’s microplastic mass concentration is increasing exponentially, with an estimated 1,150,000 to 2,410,000 tons of plastic entering the world’s oceans each year from rivers. Intercepting plastic in rivers is more cost effective than removing plastics once they are in the ocean waters.
6. In 2023, the State of California approved funding for the Newport Bay Pollution Control Project, which will remove human-made pollutants before they enter the Pacific Ocean.
7. Efforts to eliminate the Patch address the pressing need to safeguard our oceans and coastlines for future generations. Central to these efforts is combating the pervasive threat posed by millions of tons of plastic pollution that inundates our oceans annually and that predominantly enter the oceans from rivers.

This resolution promotes and encourages solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Comments

According to the Author, “Ensuring our oceans are clean is incredibly important. It is our job to protect our coastline, and ACR 182 provides us an opportunity to make that commitment. We must reduce the amount of trash flowing into our oceans. There is much to do when it comes to protecting our beautiful coastline, and I am committed to working with all stakeholders to help prevent pollution”

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/8/24)

City of Huntington Beach

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/8/24)

None received

Prepared by: Aizenia Randhawa / SFA / (916) 651-1520

8/14/24 14:03:17

**** END ****

 THIRD READING 

Bill No: ACR 182

Author: Dixon (R), et al.

Introduced: 4/22/24

Vote: 21

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Read and adopted, 6/10/24

SUBJECT: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This resolution promotes and encourages solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative findings:

1. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Patch) is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and it is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans.
2. The Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, consists of two distinct collections of spinning debris bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California.
3. The presence of the Patch is causing extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts. Eighty-four percent of the Patch’s plastics and microplastics contain at least one persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemical, such as bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches out when certain plastics break down through photodegradation, negatively impacting seawater.
4. PBTs, BPAs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other chemicals have entered our food supply through a process called bioaccumulation, where animals feeding on plastic ingest chemicals, and the chemicals are then passed up the food chain to humans, exposing animals and humans to the maleffects of the chemicals.
5. The Patch’s microplastic mass concentration is increasing exponentially, with an estimated 1,150,000 to 2,410,000 tons of plastic entering the world’s oceans each year from rivers. Intercepting plastic in rivers is more cost effective than removing plastics once they are in the ocean waters.
6. In 2023, the State of California approved funding for the Newport Bay Pollution Control Project, which will remove human-made pollutants before they enter the Pacific Ocean.
7. Efforts to eliminate the Patch address the pressing need to safeguard our oceans and coastlines for future generations. Central to these efforts is combating the pervasive threat posed of millions of tons of plastic pollution that inundates our oceans annually and that predominantly enter the oceans from rivers.

This resolution promotes and encourages solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Comments

According to the Author, “Ensuring our oceans are clean is incredibly important. It is our job to protect our coastline, and ACR 182 provides us an opportunity to make that commitment. We must reduce the amount of trash flowing into our oceans. There is much to do when it comes to protecting our beautiful coastline, and I am committed to working with all stakeholders to help prevent pollution”

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/17/24)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/17/24)

None received

Prepared by: Aizenia Randhawa / SFA / (916) 651-1520

6/19/24 14:16:36

**** END ****

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:ACR 182

Author:(Dixon)

As Introduced Ver:April 22, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Provides for the promotion and encouragement of solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Major Provisions

1. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Patch) is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and it is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world's oceans.
2. The Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, consists of two distinct collections of spinning debris bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California.
3. The presence of the Patch is causing extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts. Nonbiodegradable debris accumulates in the Patch, including, but not limited to, plastics that break down into pieces called microplastics, which are too small to see without magnification.
4. 84% of the Patch's plastics and microplastics contain at least one persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemical, such as bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches out when certain plastics break down through photodegradation, negatively impacting seawater.
5. The Patch's microplastic mass concentration is increasing exponentially, with an estimated 1.15 to 2.41 million tons of plastic entering the world's oceans each year from rivers. Intercepting plastic in rivers is more cost effective than removing plastics once they are in the ocean waters. Technology and innovation provide the best solutions to creatively capture plastic and trash that flow from rivers to the ocean.
6. The Department of Public Works for the County of Los Angeles has developed a pilot project to test in Marina del Rey, a fully automated, solar-powered trash collection device designed to capture floating plastic, trash, and litter before they reach the ocean.
7. In 2023, the State of California approved funding for the Newport Bay Pollution Control Project, which will remove human-made pollutants before they enter the Pacific Ocean.
8. Efforts to eliminate the Patch address the pressing need to safeguard our oceans and coastlines for future generations. It is imperative that concerted action be taken to mitigate the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies, better technologies, and resources to protect and preserve our oceans and coastlines for posterity.

COMMENTS

According to the Author

Ensuring our oceans are clean is incredibly important. It is our job to protect our coastline, and ACR 182 provides us an opportunity to make that commitment. We must reduce the amount of trash flowing into our oceans. There is much to do when it comes to protecting our beautiful coastline, and I am committed to working with all stakeholders to help prevent pollution.

Arguments in Support

None on file.

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

No fiscal impact. This resolution is keyed non-fiscal by Legislative Counsel.

VOTES

ASM RULES: 6-0-5

YES: Pacheco, Flora, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Maienschein, Dixon

ABS, ABST OR NV: Cervantes, Friedman, Low, Ting, Waldron

UPDATED

VERSION: April 22, 2024

CONSULTANT: Michael Erke / RLS. / (916) 319-2800 FN: 0003487

Date of Hearing: June 3, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES

Blanca Pacheco, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:ACR 182 (

Author:Dixon) – As Introduced Ver:April 22, 2024

SUBJECT: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

SUMMARY: Provides for the promotion and encouragement of solutions and resources for keeping the oceans and coastlines healthy and eliminating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Specifically, this resolution makes the following legislative findings:

1. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Patch) is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and it is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans.
2. The Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, consists of two distinct collections of spinning debris bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California.
3. The presence of the Patch is causing extensive environmental, ecological, and economic impacts. Nonbiodegradable debris accumulates in the Patch, including, but not limited to, plastics that break down into pieces called microplastics, which are too small to see without magnification.
4. Eighty-four percent of the Patch’s plastics and microplastics contain at least one persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemical, such as bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches out when certain plastics break down through photodegradation, negatively impacting seawater.
5. The Patch’s microplastic mass concentration is increasing exponentially, with an estimated 1.15 to 2.41 million tons of plastic entering the world’s oceans each year from rivers. Intercepting plastic in rivers is more cost effective than removing plastics once they are in the ocean waters. Technology and innovation provide the best solutions to creatively capture plastic and trash that flow from rivers to the ocean.
6. The Department of Public Works for the County of Los Angeles has developed a pilot project to test in Marina del Rey, a fully automated, solar-powered trash collection device designed to capture floating plastic, trash, and litter before they reach the ocean.
7. In 2023, the State of California approved funding for the Newport Bay Pollution Control Project, which will remove human-made pollutants before they enter the Pacific Ocean.
8. Efforts to eliminate the Patch address the pressing need to safeguard our oceans and coastlines for future generations. It is imperative that concerted action be taken to mitigate the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies, better technologies, and resources to protect and preserve our oceans and coastlines for posterity.

FISCAL EFFECT: This resolution is keyed non-fiscal by Legislative Counsel.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Michael Erke / RLS. / (916) 319-2800