By: Anchia, Bohac, Walle, Howard of Travis, H.B. No. 284
Lucio III, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reporting of international shipments of electronic
waste.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 361.954(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 361.9553, the [The]
collection, recycling, and reuse provisions of this subchapter
apply to 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.
SECTION 2. Subchapter Y, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 361.9553 to read as follows:
Sec. 361.9553. REPORTS ON INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS OF USED
ELECTRONICS. (a) This section is intended to provide consumers of
electronic equipment in this state and other residents of this
state who may give to a business entity in this state electronic
parts or electronic equipment for recycling, reuse, or disposal a
means to inform themselves of the probable destination of the parts
or equipment.
(b) A business entity that operates in this state and ships
for recycling, reuse, or disposal any sort of electronic parts or
electronic equipment to which this subchapter is applicable from
this state to an ultimate destination that is located outside of the
United States but is not located in a country that is a member of the
European Union or of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development shall provide a report to the commission annually. The
reporting requirement does not apply to electronic equipment that
is being shipped for reuse unless the equipment is not functional
and is packaged accordingly and does not apply to electronic
equipment that is being shipped for reuse by returning it to a
manufacturer or the manufacturer's agent. The commission shall
provide a means for the report to be filed electronically. The
report must include:
(1) the business entity's name, address, and telephone
number;
(2) the name of the chief executive officer or chief
financial officer of the business entity;
(3) the type and amount of each shipment of electronic
parts or electronic equipment transported;
(4) the date of each shipment's debarkation; and
(5) each shipment's destination country.
(c) The commission shall make the report's information
publicly available on the commission's website in a timely manner.
(d) The commission may adopt rules to implement this
section. The rules may provide for exemptions from compliance with
this section for shipments made for humanitarian reasons or for de
minimis shipments.
SECTION 3. (a) Section 361.9553, Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a shipment made on or after the
effective date of this Act. A shipment made before that date is
subject to the law in effect on the date the shipment was made, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) The first report required by Section 361.9553, Health
and Safety Code, as added by this Act, must cover the period
September 1, 2009, to August 31, 2010. That report must be
submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality not
later than September 30, 2010.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.