republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20112012/ab-837.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Solid waste: plastic products."
description: "Existing law requires rigid plastic packaging containers sold or offered for sale in this state to meet specified criteria, including, but not limited to, that the container be made from 25% postconsumer material. Existing law prohibits a person, on and after January 1, 2013, from selling a plastic product that is labeled as \"biodegradable,\" \"compostable,\" \"degradable,\" or as otherwise specified, unless, at the time of the sale, the product meets the applicable ASTM standard specification or other specified certification requirements. These provisions are generally administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and a city, a county, or the state may impose civil liability for a violation."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20112012"
identifier: "AB 837"
citation: "California AB 837 (20112012)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Solid waste: plastic products."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Nestande"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 27
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2011-02-17"
last_action: "2012-09-25"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/cb7b3a52-3cb4-4a59-8b6b-f8b7a2298bd0"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837"
source_hash: "726b13b14c6b9dc2287f0cfc1e34acda8ed182b1d19eefb3646e8c3aff2788d2"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 837 (20112012) — Solid waste: plastic products.

Existing law requires rigid plastic packaging containers sold or offered for sale in this state to meet specified criteria, including, but not limited to, that the container be made from 25% postconsumer material. Existing law prohibits a person, on and after January 1, 2013, from selling a plastic product that is labeled as "biodegradable," "compostable," "degradable," or as otherwise specified, unless, at the time of the sale, the product meets the applicable ASTM standard specification or other specified certification requirements. These provisions are generally administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and a city, a county, or the state may impose civil liability for a violation.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/17/11 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837&version=20110AB83799INT)
2. **03/31/11 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837&version=20110AB83798AMD)
3. **05/11/11 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837&version=20110AB83797AMD)
4. **06/07/12 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837&version=20110AB83795AMD)
5. **06/20/11 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837&version=20110AB83796AMD)
6. **09/25/12 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837&version=20110AB83793CHP)
7. **AB837** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837)
8. **08/29/12 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB837&version=20110AB83794ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations. — **7–0** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading AB837 Nestande By Lowenthal — **21–19** (pass) · upper
- Do pass. — **11–3** (pass) · lower
- AB 837 NESTANDE Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **53–20** (pass) · lower
- Do pass, but re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations. — **5–0** (pass) · upper
- AB 837 NESTANDE Assembly Third Reading — **57–14** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Nestande — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2011-02-17** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2011-02-18** From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.
- **2011-03-31** Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. `referral-committee`
- **2011-03-31** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. Read second time and amended. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2011-04-04** Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. `referral-committee`
- **2011-05-10** From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (May 2). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2011-05-11** Read second time and amended. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2011-05-12** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee`
- **2011-05-27** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 3.) (May 27). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2011-05-27** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2011-06-02** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 57. Noes 14. Page 1780.) `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2011-06-02** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2011-06-16** Referred to Com. on E.Q. `referral-committee`
- **2011-06-20** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E.Q. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, reading-1, amendment-passage, referral-committee`
- **2011-06-27** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2011-07-06** In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2012-05-08** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- **2012-06-07** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E.Q. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, reading-1, amendment-passage, referral-committee`
- **2012-06-19** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 18). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2012-07-02** From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. `committee-passage`
- **2012-07-03** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2012-08-20** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 21. Noes 19. Page 4583.). `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2012-08-20** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 22 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
- **2012-08-24** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 53. Noes 20. Page 6272.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2012-08-31** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m.
- **2012-09-25** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2012-09-25** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 525, Statutes of 2012.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/cb7b3a52-3cb4-4a59-8b6b-f8b7a2298bd0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).