81R4989 KJM-D
By: Guillen H.B. No. 1355
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a program for the recycling of electronic equipment of
consumers and certain other entities in this state; providing
administrative penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter Y, Chapter 361, Health
and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER Y. ELECTRONIC [COMPUTER] EQUIPMENT RECYCLING PROGRAM
SECTION 2. Section 361.951, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.951. SHORT TITLE. This subchapter may be cited as
the Manufacturer Responsibility and Consumer Convenience
Electronic [Computer] Equipment Collection and Recovery Act.
SECTION 3. Section 361.952, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a), (2-a), (2-b), (3-a), (4-a),
(4-b), and (4-c) and amending Subdivisions (2), (3), and (4) to read
as follows:
(1-a) "Camera" means a device used to capture images
as still photographs or as a sequence of moving images also known as
videos or movies.
(2) "Computer equipment" means a desktop or notebook
computer and includes:
(A) a computer monitor or other display device
that does not contain a tuner; and
(B) a peripheral device such as a computer mouse
or computer keyboard.
(2-a) "Computer keyboard" means a peripheral input
device that uses an arrangement of buttons or keys as electronic
switches.
(2-b) "Computer mouse" means a hand-operated
electronic device that controls the coordinates of a cursor on the
computer screen.
(3) "Consumer" means an individual, small business,
not-for-profit organization, or school that purchases covered
electronic [who uses computer] equipment:
(A) [that is purchased] primarily for the
individual's personal or home business use; or
(B) for internal use by a:
(i) business with 10 or fewer employees;
(ii) not-for-profit organization with 50 or
fewer employees; or
(iii) public or private elementary or
secondary school.
(3-a) "Covered electronic equipment" means:
(A) computer equipment;
(B) televisions;
(C) personal digital assistants;
(D) electronic cameras;
(E) mobile telephones; and
(F) pagers.
(4) "Manufacturer" means a person:
(A) who manufactures or manufactured covered
electronic [computer] equipment under a brand that:
(i) the person owns or owned; or
(ii) the person is or was licensed to use,
other than under a license to manufacture covered electronic
[computer] equipment for delivery exclusively to or at the order of
the licensor;
(B) who sells or sold covered electronic
[computer] equipment manufactured by others under a brand that:
(i) the person owns or owned; or
(ii) the person is or was licensed to use,
other than under a license to manufacture covered electronic
[computer] equipment for delivery exclusively to or at the order of
the licensor;
(C) who manufactures or manufactured covered
electronic [computer] equipment without affixing a brand;
(D) who manufactures or manufactured covered
electronic [computer] equipment to which the person affixes or
affixed a brand that:
(i) the person does not or has not owned; or
(ii) the person is not or was not licensed
to use; or
(E) who imports or imported covered electronic
[computer] equipment manufactured outside the United States into
the United States unless at the time of importation the company or
licensee that sells or sold the covered electronic [computer]
equipment to the importer has or had assets or a presence in the
United States sufficient to be considered the manufacturer.
(4-a) "Mobile telephone" includes a cellular
telephone or similar wireless communications device that can be
used as a telephone.
(4-b) "Pager" means a personal wireless
communications device for short messages. The term includes:
(A) one-way numeric pagers; and
(B) two-way pagers that can send and receive
e-mail, numeric pages, and short message service messages.
(4-c) "Personal digital assistant" means a handheld
computer also known as a palmtop computer.
SECTION 4. Section 361.953, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.953. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a)
Computers and other electronic equipment [related display devices]
are critical elements to the strength and growth of this state's
economic prosperity and quality of life. Many of those products can
be refurbished and reused, and many contain valuable components
that can be recycled.
(b) The purpose of this subchapter is to establish a
comprehensive, convenient, and environmentally sound program for
the collection, recycling, and reuse of covered electronic
[computer] equipment that has reached the end of its useful life.
The program is based on individual manufacturer responsibility and
shared responsibility among consumers, retailers, and the
government of this state.
SECTION 5. Section 361.954, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.954. APPLICABILITY. (a) The collection,
recycling, and reuse provisions of this subchapter apply to covered
electronic [computer] equipment used and returned to the
manufacturer by a consumer in this state and do not impose any
obligation on an owner or operator of a solid waste facility.
(b) This subchapter does not apply to:
(1) [a television,] any part of a motor vehicle[, a
personal digital assistant, or a telephone];
(2) a consumer's lease of covered electronic
[computer] equipment or a consumer's use of covered electronic
[computer] equipment under a lease agreement; or
(3) the sale or lease of covered electronic [computer]
equipment to an entity when the manufacturer and the entity enter
into a contract that effectively addresses the collection,
recycling, and reuse of covered electronic [computer] equipment
that has reached the end of its useful life.
SECTION 6. Section 361.955, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (h),
(i), and (j) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(a) Before a manufacturer may offer covered electronic
[computer] equipment for sale in this state, the manufacturer must:
(1) adopt and implement a recovery plan; and
(2) affix a permanent, readily visible label to the
covered electronic [computer] equipment with the manufacturer's
brand.
(b) The recovery plan must enable a consumer to recycle
covered electronic [computer] equipment without paying a separate
fee at the time of recycling and must include provisions for:
(1) the manufacturer's collection from a consumer of
any covered electronic [computer] equipment that has reached the
end of its useful life and is labeled with the manufacturer's brand;
and
(2) recycling or reuse of covered electronic
[computer] equipment collected under Subdivision (1).
(c) The collection of covered electronic [computer]
equipment provided under the recovery plan must be:
(1) reasonably convenient and available to consumers
in this state; and
(2) designed to meet the collection needs of consumers
in this state.
(c-1) The recovery plan must provide for reasonably
convenient collection without charge of the manufacturer's covered
electronic equipment that is collected from consumers at a
collection site a county or municipality may provide for that
purpose.
(d) Examples of collection methods that alone or combined
meet the convenience requirements of this section include:
(1) a system by which the manufacturer or the
manufacturer's designee offers the consumer a system for returning
covered electronic [computer] equipment by mail;
(2) a system using a physical collection site that the
manufacturer or the manufacturer's designee keeps open and staffed
and to which the consumer may return covered electronic [computer]
equipment; and
(3) a system using a collection event held by the
manufacturer or the manufacturer's designee at which the consumer
may return covered electronic [computer] equipment.
(e) Collection services under this section may use existing
collection and consolidation infrastructure for handling covered
electronic [computer] equipment and may include electronic
recyclers and repair shops, recyclers of other commodities, reuse
organizations, not-for-profit corporations, retailers, recyclers,
and other suitable operations.
(f) The recovery plan must include information for the
consumer on how and where to return the manufacturer's covered
electronic [computer] equipment. The manufacturer:
(1) shall include collection, recycling, and reuse
information on the manufacturer's publicly available Internet
site;
(2) shall provide collection, recycling, and reuse
information to the commission; and
(3) may include collection, recycling, and reuse
information in the packaging for or in other materials that
accompany the manufacturer's covered electronic [computer]
equipment when the equipment is sold.
(h) Each manufacturer shall submit a report to the
commission not later than January 31 of each year that includes:
(1) the weight of covered electronic [computer]
equipment collected, recycled, and reused during the preceding
calendar year; and
(2) documentation verifying the collection,
recycling, and reuse of that covered electronic [computer]
equipment in a manner that complies with Section 361.964 regarding
sound environmental management.
(i) If more than one person is a manufacturer of a certain
brand of covered electronic [computer] equipment as defined by
Section 361.952, any of those persons may assume responsibility for
and satisfy the obligations of a manufacturer under this subchapter
for that brand. If none of those persons assumes responsibility or
satisfies the obligations of a manufacturer for the covered
electronic [computer] equipment of that brand, the commission may
consider any of those persons to be the responsible manufacturer
for purposes of this subchapter.
(j) The obligations under this subchapter of a manufacturer
who manufactures or manufactured covered electronic [computer]
equipment, or sells or sold covered electronic [computer] equipment
manufactured by others, under a brand that was previously used by a
different person in the manufacture of the covered electronic
[computer] equipment extends to all covered electronic [computer]
equipment bearing that brand regardless of its date of manufacture.
SECTION 7. Sections 361.956(a) and (c), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A person who is a retailer of covered electronic
[computer] equipment may not sell or offer to sell new covered
electronic [computer] equipment in this state unless the equipment
is labeled with the manufacturer's label and the manufacturer is
included on the commission's list of manufacturers that have
recovery plans.
(c) A retailer is not required to collect covered electronic
[computer] equipment for recycling or reuse under this subchapter.
SECTION 8. Section 361.957(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A manufacturer or retailer of covered electronic
[computer] equipment is not liable in any way for information in any
form that a consumer leaves on covered electronic [computer]
equipment that is collected, recycled, or reused under this
subchapter.
SECTION 9. Section 361.958, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.958. COMMISSION'S EDUCATION RESPONSIBILITIES.
(a) The commission shall educate consumers regarding the
collection, recycling, and reuse of covered electronic [computer]
equipment.
(b) The commission shall host or designate another person to
host an Internet site providing consumers with information about
the recycling and reuse of covered electronic [computer] equipment,
including best management practices and information about and links
to information on:
(1) manufacturers' collection, recycling, and reuse
programs, including manufacturers' recovery plans; and
(2) covered electronic [computer] equipment
collection events, collection sites, and community covered
electronic [computer] equipment recycling and reuse programs.
SECTION 10. Sections 361.959(b), (c), and (e), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission and the attorney general, as
appropriate, shall enforce this subchapter and, except as provided
by Subsections (d) and (e), take enforcement action against any
manufacturer, retailer, or person who recycles or reuses covered
electronic [computer] equipment for failure to comply with this
subchapter.
(c) The attorney general may file suit under Section 7.032,
Water Code, to enjoin an activity related to the sale of covered
electronic [computer] equipment in violation of this subchapter.
(e) A retailer who receives a warning notice from the
commission that the retailer's inventory violates this subchapter
because it includes covered electronic [computer] equipment from a
manufacturer that has not submitted the recovery plan required by
Section 361.955 must bring the inventory into compliance with this
subchapter not later than the 60th day after the date the warning
notice is issued.
SECTION 11. Section 361.962, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.962. FEES NOT AUTHORIZED. This subchapter does
not authorize the commission to impose a fee, including a recycling
fee or registration fee, on a consumer, manufacturer, retailer, or
person who recycles or reuses covered electronic [computer]
equipment.
SECTION 12. Section 361.963, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.963. CONSUMER RESPONSIBILITIES. (a) A consumer
is responsible for any information in any form left on the
consumer's covered electronic [computer] equipment that is
collected, recycled, or reused.
(b) A consumer is encouraged to learn about recommended
methods for recycling and reuse of covered electronic [computer]
equipment that has reached the end of its useful life by visiting
the commission's and manufacturers' Internet sites.
SECTION 13. Section 361.964, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.964. SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. (a) All
covered electronic [computer] equipment collected under this
subchapter must be recycled or reused in a manner that complies with
federal, state, and local law.
(b) The commission shall adopt as standards for recycling or
reuse of covered electronic [computer] equipment in this state the
standards provided by "Electronics Recycling Operating Practices"
as approved by the board of directors of the Institute of Scrap
Recycling Industries, Inc., April 25, 2006, or other standards from
a comparable nationally recognized organization.
SECTION 14. Sections 361.965(b), (c), and (d), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A person who submits a bid for a contract with a state
agency for the purchase or lease of covered electronic [computer]
equipment must be in compliance with this subchapter.
(c) A state agency that purchases or leases covered
electronic [computer] equipment shall require each prospective
bidder to certify the bidder's compliance with this subchapter.
Failure to provide that certification renders the prospective
bidder ineligible to participate in the bidding.
(d) In considering bids for a contract for covered
electronic [computer] equipment, in addition to any other
preferences provided under other laws of this state, the state
shall give special preference to a manufacturer that has a program
to recycle the covered electronic [computer] equipment of other
manufacturers, including collection events and manufacturer
initiatives to accept covered electronic [computer] equipment
labeled with another manufacturer's brand.
SECTION 15. Section 361.966(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) If federal law establishes a national program for the
collection and recycling of covered electronic [computer]
equipment and the commission determines that the federal law
substantially meets the purposes of this subchapter, the commission
may adopt an agency statement that interprets the federal law as
preemptive of this subchapter.
SECTION 16. Section 7.052(b-1), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b-1) The amount of the penalty assessed against a
manufacturer that does not label its covered electronic [computer]
equipment or adopt and implement a recovery plan as required by
Section 361.955, Health and Safety Code, may not exceed $10,000 for
the second violation or $25,000 for each subsequent violation. A
penalty under this subsection is in addition to any other penalty
that may be assessed for a violation of Subchapter Y, Chapter 361,
Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 17. (a) In this section, "covered electronic
equipment" has the meaning assigned by Section 361.952, Health and
Safety Code, as amended by this Act. The term includes computer
peripheral devices such as a computer mouse or computer keyboard as
those terms are defined by Section 361.952, Health and Safety Code,
as amended by this Act. For purposes of this section only, "covered
electronic equipment" does not include a desktop or notebook
computer or computer monitor or other display device that does not
contain a tuner.
(b) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
adopt any rules required to implement the amendments made by this
Act to Subchapter Y, Chapter 361, Health and Safety Code, not later
than May 1, 2010.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality may not
enforce the change in law made by this Act applicable to covered
electronic equipment under Subchapter Y, Chapter 361, Health and
Safety Code, before September 1, 2010.
(d) The reports required under Sections 361.955 and
361.961, Health and Safety Code, to the extent that they apply to
covered electronic equipment, are not required to be prepared or
submitted for the first time before the dates specified by those
sections in 2012.
(e) Notwithstanding the 60-day limit under Section
361.959(d) or (e), Health and Safety Code, a retailer may sell any
covered electronic equipment inventory accrued before the
effective date of this Act without incurring a penalty.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.