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Alabama House Bill HB180

Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB180 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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33 HB180
44 1NFCZZL-1
55 By Representative Ross
66 RFD: Military and Veterans Affairs
77 First Read: 05-Feb-25
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1212 5 1NFCZZL-1 01/31/2025 ZAK (L)ma 2025-443
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1414 First Read: 05-Feb-25
1515 SYNOPSIS:
1616 Under existing law, households whose sole source
1717 of income is Social Security benefits are exempt from
1818 paying solid waste collection fees.
1919 This bill would add households whose sole source
2020 of income is veterans' benefits to those exempt from
2121 paying these fees.
2222 This bill would also make nonsubstantive,
2323 technical revisions to update the existing code
2424 language to current style.
2525 A BILL
2626 TO BE ENTITLED
2727 AN ACT
2828 Relating to solid waste collection fees; to amend
2929 Section 22-27-3, Code of Alabama 1975, to add households whose
3030 sole source of income is veterans' benefits to those exempted
3131 from paying such fees; and to make nonsubstantive, technical
3232 revisions to update the existing code language to current
3333 style.
3434 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
3535 Section 1. Section 22-27-3, Code of Alabama 1975, is
3636 amended to read as follows:
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6666 amended to read as follows:
6767 (a) Generally. (1) The county commission or municipal
6868 governing body may , and is hereby authorized to, make
6969 available to the general public collection and disposal
7070 facilities for solid wastes in a manner acceptable to the
7171 department. The county commission or municipal governing body
7272 may provide such the collection or disposal services by
7373 contract with private or other controlling agencies and may
7474 include house-to-house service or the placement of regularly
7575 serviced and controlled bulk refuse receptacles within
7676 reasonable (generally less than eight miles) distance from the
7777 farthest affected household and the wastes managed in a manner
7878 acceptable to the department. For purposes of this section,
7979 "reasonable distance" means generally less than eight miles.
8080 (2) Any county commission or municipal governing body
8181 providing services to the public under this article shall have
8282 the power and authority may by resolution or ordinance to
8383 adopt rules and regulations providing for mandatory public
8484 participation in and subscription to such system of services.
8585 Such The governing body may , in its discretion, submit the
8686 question of requiring such mandatory public participation to a
8787 vote of the qualified electors of the county or municipality
8888 as the case may be . If such the governing body submits the
8989 question to the voters, then the governing body shall also
9090 provide for holding and canvassing the returns of the election
9191 and for the giving notice thereof for two consecutive weeks in
9292 a paper of general circulation in the county. Every person,
9393 household, business, industry, or property generating solid
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123123 household, business, industry, or property generating solid
124124 wastes, garbage, or ash as defi ned in this section shall
125125 participate in and subscribe to such the system of service
126126 unless granted a certificate of exception as provided in
127127 subsection (g). Provided , however, any individual person,
128128 household, business, industry, or property generating solid
129129 wastes that were was sharing service for a period of at least
130130 6 six months may continue to share service without filing for
131131 a certificate of exception. In the event such a person,
132132 household, business, industry, or property owner who has not
133133 been granted a certificate of exception refuses to participate
134134 in and subscribe to such the system of service, the county
135135 commission or municipal governing body may, in addition to any
136136 other remedy provided in this article , may bring an
137137 appropriate civil action in circuit court to compel such
138138 participation and subscription. Except as provided in
139139 subsection (g), any person , firm, or corporation violating
140140 such rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section
141141 shall be in violation of this article and shall be punished as
142142 provided in Section 22-27-7.
143143 (3)a. Any household whose sole source of income is
144144 Social Security benefits or veterans' benefits shall be
145145 granted an exemption from the payment of any fees required
146146 under this article, provided the household seeking to claim
147147 the exemption shall present proof of income to the county
148148 health officer no later than the first billing date of any
149149 year in which the exemption is desired. The county health
150150 officer or his or her designee shall forward the exemption
151151 request and proof of income to the solid waste officer or
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181181 request and proof of income to the solid waste officer or
182182 municipal governing body upon receipt. The exemption shall
183183 apply only so long as the household's sole source of income is
184184 Social Security benefits or veterans' benefits and shall be
185185 requested each year in which the exemption is desired.
186186 Additionally, the Legislature may, by local law, may authorize
187187 the county commission to grant additional exemptions to
188188 households whose total income does not exceed 75 percent of
189189 the federal poverty level. Any person who knowingly provides
190190 false or misleading information in order to obtain an
191191 exemption shall be subject to the provisions of Section
192192 22-27-7.
193193 b. For purposes of this section, the term "veterans'
194194 benefits" means an benefit, program, service, commodity,
195195 function, status, or entitlement that pertains to veterans,
196196 their dependents, their survivors, or any other individual
197197 eligible for such benefits under the laws and rules
198198 administered by the United Sates Department of Veterans
199199 Affairs and the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.
200200 (4) No county commission shall provide solid waste
201201 collection and disposal services within the corporate limits
202202 of a municipality without the express consent of the municipal
203203 governing body of such municipality nor shall any municipality
204204 provide solid waste collection and disposal services outside
205205 its corporate limits without the express consent of the county
206206 commission of the county in which it is situated.
207207 (5) Any county providing door-to-door solid waste
208208 collection shall not reduce such the service unless and until
209209 a letter has been sent to each resident or property or,
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239239 a letter has been sent to each resident or property or,
240240 business owner, or property owner receiving door to door
241241 door-to-door service stating that such the service will be
242242 reduced or changed and allowing at least 60 days for any
243243 resident, business owner, or property owner to call for a
244244 public hearing and for the county or municipality to hold such
245245 a public hearing upon request.
246246 (6) Any provision of this article to the contrary
247247 notwithstanding, no person, household, business, industry, or
248248 property owner shall be required to pay any solid waste
249249 collection exemption or disposal fee chargeable under this
250250 article unless solid waste collection and disposal services
251251 for which such the charge was made were actually made
252252 available to such the person, household, business, industry,
253253 or property owner.
254254 (b) Solid waste officer. As used in this article, solid
255255 waste officer shall mean means any county official or county
256256 employee or any official or employee of a solid waste disposal
257257 authority authorized under Section 11-89A-1 et seq. designated
258258 by the county commission to exercise the authority and perform
259259 the duties delegated by this article to such the official, and
260260 such the officer shall have the same powers of enforcement
261261 against persons violating this article as do license
262262 inspectors with regard to persons violating revenue laws as
263263 provided under Section 40-12-10 (i), (j), (k), and (n).
264264 (c) As used in this article, the terms "solid wastes",
265265 "garbage", "solid wastes," "garbage," and "ash" do not include
266266 any drilling discharges from oil or natural gas operations.
267267 (d) Garbage disposal. Garbage and rubbish containing
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297297 (d) Garbage disposal. Garbage and rubbish containing
298298 garbage shall be disposed of by sanitary landfill, approved
299299 incineration, composting, or by other means now available or
300300 which may later become available as approved by the
301301 department. The method chosen and used shall also meet the
302302 requirements of the health department for sanitation and the
303303 protection of public health.
304304 (e) Burning. No garbage or rubbish containing garbage
305305 or other putrescible materials or hazardous wastes shall be
306306 burned except in approved incinerators meeting the necessary
307307 temperature requirements and air pollution controls as now
308308 established or as may later be established. The open burning
309309 of rubbish shall be permitted only under sharply controlled
310310 circumstances where sanitary landfill or landfill is not
311311 feasible and not in proximity to sanitary landfill or landfill
312312 operations where spread of fire to these operations may be a
313313 hazard in the opinion of the department.
314314 (f) Haulage. Trucks or other vehicles engaged in the
315315 business of hauling garbage and rubbish shall be so covered,
316316 secured, or sealed that there will be no loss during haulage
317317 to cause littering of streets and highways, or cause a
318318 nuisance or hazard to the public health.
319319 (g) Exception. (1) a. A person, household, business,
320320 industry, or any property owner may store, haul, and dispose
321321 of his or her own solid wastes on his or her land or
322322 otherwise, provided such storage, haulage, or disposal is
323323 accomplished pursuant to a certificate of exception as
324324 provided in this subsection. In order to obtain a certificate
325325 of exception, an application, an application fee, and plan
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355355 of exception, an application, an application fee, and plan
356356 must be filed with the county health officer or his or her
357357 designee in the case of household solid waste or with the
358358 department in the case of solid waste from a business or
359359 industry, setting out the proposed method of storing, hauling,
360360 and disposing of solid waste so as to comply with rules and
361361 regulations adopted by the state or county boards of health or
362362 the department as appropriate , and not create a public
363363 nuisance or hazard to the public health.
364364 b. The certification of exception application fee shall
365365 be established by the State Board Committee of Public Health
366366 or the department, as the case may be, except that with regard
367367 to an individual household such the fee shall be ten dollars
368368 ($10). The proceeds from such application the fees are hereby
369369 appropriated to the State Board Committee of Public Health or
370370 the department, as the case may be, to be used for the
371371 administration of this article.
372372 c. The county health officer or his or her designee or
373373 the department as appropriate shall investigate such the
374374 application and plan and issue a certificate of exception
375375 within the time set by the State Board Committee of Public
376376 Health or the department, as the case may be (, not to exceed
377377 sixty 60 days in the case of an individual household ), if such
378378 the proposal will, in such the officer's or, designee's, or
379379 the department's judgment, comply with such the rules and
380380 regulations and adequately prevent a public nuisance or hazard
381381 to public health. A certificate of exception granted under
382382 authority of this section subsection shall be valid for the
383383 period established by the department, except that in the case
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413413 period established by the department, except that in the case
414414 of an individual household such the period shall not exceed
415415 one year. The county health officer , or his or her designee ,
416416 or the department shall notify the county commission or
417417 municipal governing body in writing of the intention to grant
418418 a certificate of exception and no such certificate of
419419 exception shall be granted for an individual household without
420420 prior written approval of the county commission or municipal
421421 governing body as the case may be.
422422 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter
423423 to the contrary, no exception, exception fee, or any other
424424 review, approval, or payment shall be required of any
425425 generator for the collection, handling, or disposal of its own
426426 solid waste using facilities or equipment owned by the
427427 generator, its corporate parent, affiliate, or subsidiary and
428428 duly permitted for such use by the Alabama Department of
429429 Environmental Management department or its successor in
430430 function.
431431 (h) Coal combustion by-products. Upon the adoption and
432432 implementation of a federal regulatory program to govern the
433433 disposal of coal combustion by-products pursuant in whole or
434434 in part to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42
435435 U.S.C. ยง6941 et seq., the department is authorized to develop
436436 and adopt rules as necessary to implement a state regulatory
437437 program consistent with the federal requirements. Until such
438438 the federal program requirements take effect, the disposal of
439439 coal combustion by-products shall be subject to the applicable
440440 requirements of this article; provided, however, that a
441441 facility permitted by the department pursuant to Chapter 22 of
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471471 facility permitted by the department pursuant to Chapter 22 of
472472 this title as of May 25, 2011, and thereafter may continue to
473473 operate without additional authorization by the department
474474 until federal requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act
475475 take effect. To the extent permissible under the federal
476476 program, the department shall allow beneficial uses of coal
477477 combustion by-products as an alternative to disposal as part
478478 of any adopted state program."
479479 Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
480480 1, 2025.
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