New Legislation Will Impose Higher Penalties on California Platers

California Governor Jerry Brown

Platers in California will face higher financial penalties for environmental violations under new legislation passed by the state assembly.

According to Moore Compliance and Training's Bernie Moore (also a board member of the Metal Finishing Association of Southern California), Governor Jerry Brown and the Democrat majority legislature in Sacramento passed and signed SB96, which among its other provisions, adopts new and higher penalties for general, repeat and willful violations.

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Moore says the current maximum penalty of $7,000 for general violations is increasing to $12,471. This new penalty level also will apply for CAL/OSHA posting, record keeping and notice requirement violations. Repeat and willful violations will have a new minimum penalty of $8,908, and the maximum penalty will grow from the current $70,000 to $124,709, an increase of almost 80 percent. Penalties for violations of the Use-of-Carcinogen Regulations for cadmium and hex chrome will jump from a current maximum of $2,000 to no limit.

“Here's the kicker: The maximum penalties could increase again as soon as January 1, 2018,” Moore says. “The bill permits increases based upon the Consumer Price Index for all consumers.”

He says the only good news is that there is no increase in the penalty for serious violations, which remain at a minimum of  $18,000 and maximum of $25,000.

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