81R375 KJM-D
By: Watson S.B. No. 761
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a program for the recycling of electronic equipment of
consumers 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 amending Subdivisions (3) and (4) and adding Subdivision
(3-a) to read as follows:
(3) "Consumer" means an individual who uses electronic
[computer] equipment that is purchased primarily for personal or
home business use.
(3-a) "Electronic equipment" means computer equipment
or televisions.
(4) "Manufacturer" means a person:
(A) who manufactures or manufactured 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 electronic [computer]
equipment for delivery exclusively to or at the order of the
licensor;
(B) who sells or sold 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 electronic [computer]
equipment for delivery exclusively to or at the order of the
licensor;
(C) who manufactures or manufactured electronic
[computer] equipment without affixing a brand;
(D) who manufactures or manufactured 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 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 electronic [computer] equipment to
the importer has or had assets or a presence in the United States
sufficient to be considered the manufacturer.
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 [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 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
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 electronic [computer]
equipment or a consumer's use of electronic [computer] equipment
under a lease agreement; or
(3) the sale or lease of 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 electronic [computer] equipment that has
reached the end of its useful life.
SECTION 6. Sections 361.955(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f),
(h), (i), and (j), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as
follows:
(a) Before a manufacturer may offer 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
electronic [computer] equipment with the manufacturer's brand.
(b) The recovery plan must enable a consumer to recycle
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 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 electronic [computer]
equipment collected under Subdivision (1).
(c) The collection of 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.
(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
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 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 electronic [computer] equipment.
(e) Collection services under this section may use existing
collection and consolidation infrastructure for handling
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 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 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 electronic [computer] equipment
collected, recycled, and reused during the preceding calendar year;
and
(2) documentation verifying the collection,
recycling, and reuse of that 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 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 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 electronic [computer] equipment,
or sells or sold electronic [computer] equipment manufactured by
others, under a brand that was previously used by a different person
in the manufacture of the electronic [computer] equipment extends
to all 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 electronic [computer]
equipment may not sell or offer to sell new 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 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 electronic [computer]
equipment is not liable in any way for information in any form that
a consumer leaves on 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 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 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) electronic [computer] equipment collection
events, collection sites, and community 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 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 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 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 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 electronic [computer] equipment that is collected,
recycled, or reused.
(b) A consumer is encouraged to learn about recommended
methods for recycling and reuse of 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
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 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 electronic [computer] equipment
must be in compliance with this subchapter.
(c) A state agency that purchases or leases 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 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
electronic [computer] equipment of other manufacturers, including
collection events and manufacturer initiatives to accept
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 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 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, "television" has the
meaning assigned by Section 361.952, Health and Safety Code.
(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 televisions
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
televisions, 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, as amended by this Act, a
retailer may sell any television inventory accrued before the
effective date of this Act without incurring a penalty.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.