Climate change: short-lived climate pollutants: organic waste reduction.

Assembly Member Wilson's organic waste legislation expands local jurisdictions' options for meeting state procurement targets by allowing beneficial agricultural amendments to count toward compliance requirements. The bill modifies Section 42652.5 of the Public Resources Code to permit jurisdictions to include organic material as a qualifying procurement when it is processed at authorized facilities using approved technologies and licensed as agricultural fertilizer by the Department of Food and Agriculture.

The measure builds upon California's existing framework for reducing methane emissions through organic waste diversion, which requires jurisdictions to meet specific procurement targets for recovered organic materials. Under current law, jurisdictions can count certain compost products, including vermicompost and mushroom growing substrates, toward these targets when used for land application. The new provisions create an additional pathway for jurisdictions to achieve compliance through agricultural amendments while maintaining environmental and safety standards through facility authorization and licensing requirements.

Local governments retain the ability to charge fees to cover compliance costs and may face penalties for failing to meet procurement targets according to an established schedule - 30% by 2023, 65% by 2024, and 100% by 2025. The bill preserves existing exemptions for rural jurisdictions until 2037 and allows jurisdictions to pursue five-year procurement targets starting in 2027, providing flexibility in implementation approaches while working toward the state's organic waste reduction goals.