Cal. PRC § 42372 — California Code / Code prc / Division 30 / Part 3 / Chapter 6.1 / Section 42372
Section 42372
Status: in_force

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Hosted rental” means a house, apartment, or other livable space where the person providing sleeping accommodations is a permanent resident who lives on the premises.

(2) “Lodging establishment” means an establishment that contains one or more sleeping room accommodations that are rented or otherwise provided to the public, including, but not limited to, a hotel, motel, resort, bed and breakfast inn, or vacation rental. “Lodging establishment” does not include a hospital, nursing home, residential retirement community, prison, jail, homeless shelter, boarding school, worker housing, long-term rental, or hosted rental.

(3) “Personal care product” means a product intended to be applied to or used on the human body in the shower, bath, or any part thereof and shall include only shampoo, hair conditioner, and bath soap.

(4) “Plastic” means any synthetic material made from organic polymers, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or nylon, that can be molded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form. “Plastic” includes all materials identified with resin codes 1 to 7, inclusive, as provided in Section 18015.

(5) “Small plastic bottle” means a plastic bottle or container with less than a 6-ounce capacity that is intended to be nonreusable by the end user.

(b) Commencing January 1, 2023, for lodging establishments with more than 50 rooms, and January 1, 2024, for lodging establishments with 50 rooms or less, a lodging establishment shall not provide a small plastic bottle containing a personal care product to a person staying in a sleeping room accommodation, in any space within the sleeping room accommodation, or within bathrooms shared by the public or guests.

(c) A lodging establishment is encouraged to use bulk dispensers of personal care products to reduce plastic waste and lower operating costs, mindful of the health and safety of a person.

(d) A lodging establishment may provide personal care products in small plastic bottles to a person at no cost, upon request, at a place other than a sleeping room accommodation, a space within the sleeping room accommodation, or within bathrooms shared by the public or guests.

(e) A local agency with authority to inspect sleeping accommodations in a lodging establishment may issue a citation for a violation of subdivision (b). Upon a first violation, the local agency shall issue a written warning, which shall recite the violation and advise that subsequent violations may result in citations. Upon a second or subsequent violation, the local agency may impose a penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for each day the lodging establishment is in violation, but not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) annually.

(f) A lodging establishment in violation of subdivision (b) is liable for a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation and two thousand dollars ($2,000) for a second or subsequent violation. The Attorney General or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney may bring an action to impose a civil penalty pursuant to this subdivision.

(g) (1) On and after January 1, 2020, a city, county, or city and county shall not pass or enforce an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule relating to personal care products in plastic bottles provided at lodging establishments, except as provided in paragraph (2).

(2) A city, county, or city and county that, before January 1, 2020, passed an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule relating to personal care products in plastic bottles provided at lodging establishments may enforce that ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule, if it is at least as stringent as, and not in conflict with, this section.

(3) The Legislature finds and declares that the prohibition of personal care products in plastic bottles as specified in this section is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, this section applies to all cities, counties, and cities and counties, including charter cities.