Pub. Resources Code, § 14591 · Chapter 8. Severability and Enforcement
Pub. Resources Code, § 14591
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), in addition to any other applicable civil or criminal penalties, a person convicted of a violation of this division, or a regulation adopted pursuant to this division, is guilty of an infraction, which is punishable by a fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for each initial separate violation and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent separate violation per day.
(b) (1) Every person who, with intent to defraud, knowingly takes any of the following actions is guilty of a crime:
(A) Submits a false or fraudulent claim for payment pursuant to Section 14573 or 14573.5.
(B) Fails to accurately report the number of beverage containers sold, as required by subdivision (b) of Section 14550.
(C) Fails to make payments as required by Section 14574.
(D) Redeems out-of-state containers, rejected containers, line breakage, or containers that have already been redeemed.
(E) Returns redeemed containers to the California marketplace for redemption.
(F) Brings out-of-state containers, rejected containers, or line breakage to the California marketplace for redemption.
(G) Submits a false or fraudulent claim for handling fee payments pursuant to Section 14585.
(2) If the money obtained or withheld pursuant to paragraph (1) exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), a person convicted of a crime pursuant to paragraph (1) is subject to punishment by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years, by a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or twice the late or unmade payments plus interest, whichever is greater, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the money obtained or withheld pursuant to paragraph (1) equals, or is less than, nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), the person is subject to punishment by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) For purposes of this section and Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 14595), “line breakage” and “rejected container” have the same meanings as defined in the regulations adopted or amended by the department pursuant to this division.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 356, Sec. 21. (SB 96) Effective September 26, 2013.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PRC§ionNum=14591.
- Text hash
- sha256 9cfe7f2c86189d6347f13c444ac0379a9c3cd49d83ed4a554477ac1f49ad1fe7
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Public Resources Code
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14550Printed as Section 14550
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14573Printed as Section 14573 or 14573.5
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14573.5Printed as Section 14573 or 14573.5
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14574Printed as Section 14574
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14585Printed as Section 14585
- Pub. Resources Code, div. 12.1, ch. 8.5Reporting Requirements and Payment Prohibitions Related to Out-of-State and Other Ineligible ContainersPrinted as Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 14595)
Cited by 4 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pub. Resources Code, § 14591. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Public Resources Code
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14536Printed as Sections 14538, 14539, 14541, 14549.1, 14549.2, 14549.7, 14550, 14561, 14574, 14575, 14585, 14588.1, 14588.2, and 14591
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14552.5Printed as Sections 14591 and 14591.1
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14560.5Printed as Sections 14591 and 14591.1
- Pub. Resources Code, § 14596Printed as Section 14591
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.