83R28964 SLB-D
By: Rodriguez, et al. S.B. No. 459
(Isaac, Raymond)
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 459: No.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sale, installation, storage, transportation, and
disposal of scrap, unsafe, or used tires; providing a civil
penalty; creating an offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 6, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 205 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 205. SALE AND TRANSPORTATION OF SCRAP, UNSAFE, OR USED
TIRES
Sec. 205.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Scrap tire" and "used tire" have the meanings
assigned to those terms by Section 361.112l, Health and Safety
Code.
(2) "Unsafe tire" has the meaning assigned by Section
547.201(c), Transportation Code.
Sec. 205.002. RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF SCRAP OR UNSAFE
TIRES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a customer may
not retain a scrap tire or an unsafe tire removed from the
customer's vehicle during the purchase of a tire from a retail
seller.
(b) A retail seller who takes possession of a scrap tire or
unsafe tire from a customer during a transaction described by
Subsection (a) shall dispose of the scrap tire or unsafe tire
according to local and state laws, including Section 361.112(c),
Health and Safety Code.
(c) A customer may retain a scrap tire or unsafe tire
removed from the customer's vehicle during the purchase of a tire if
the customer certifies on a form prescribed by the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality that the customer assumes liability for
the disposal of the tire.
(d) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
develop the form described by Subsection (c) and shall make that
form available on the commission's Internet website.
(e) This section does not apply to an entity that purchases
scrap or salvage vehicles for the purpose of recycling.
Sec. 205.003. TRANSPORTATION OF SCRAP, UNSAFE, OR USED
TIRES. A retail seller of tires may contract for the transportation
of scrap tires, unsafe tires, or used tires only with a scrap tire
transporter or used tire transporter who:
(1) is registered as described by Section 361.1121(b),
Health and Safety Code; and
(2) has filed evidence of financial assurance
according to Section 361.085(m), Health and Safety Code.
Sec. 205.004. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
this chapter is subject to a civil penalty in an amount determined
by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality not to exceed $500
for each violation. A separate penalty may be imposed for each day
a violation occurs. The commission by rule shall adopt criteria for
determining the amount of a civil penalty under this subsection.
(b) The attorney general or the appropriate district or
county attorney may bring an action against a person under this
section in the name of the state in a district court in the county in
which:
(1) the person resides; or
(2) the person's principal place of business is
located.
SECTION 2. Section 361.085, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
(m) A scrap tire transporter or used tire transporter, as
those terms are defined by Section 361.1121(a), who is required to
register with the commission shall provide financial assurance as
determined by the commission in an amount appropriate for the
quantity of tires transported. Money that the commission receives
from financial assurance obtained to meet the requirements of this
subsection may be used for the cleanup of abandoned tire storage
sites.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 361.112, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.112. STORAGE[, TRANSPORTATION,] AND DISPOSAL OF
USED OR SCRAP TIRES.
SECTION 4. Section 361.112, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (n) to read as follows:
(n) A scrap tire generator or used tire generator, including
a tire dealer, junkyard, or fleet operator, who stores scrap tires
or used tires outdoors on its business premises shall store the
scrap tires or used tires in a manner that may be made secure by
locking. This subsection does not apply to the Texas Department of
Transportation.
SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 361.1121 to read as follows:
Sec. 361.1121. SCRAP AND USED TIRE TRANSPORTERS. (a) In
this section:
(1) "Scrap tire" means a tire that can no longer be
used for its original intended purpose.
(2) "Scrap tire transporter" means a person who
collects scrap tires from another person for the purpose of removal
to a scrap tire processor, end user, or disposal facility.
(3) "Used tire" means a tire that:
(A) has been used as a tire on a vehicle;
(B) has tire tread at least one-sixteenth inch
deep; and
(C) can still be used for its original intended
purpose.
(4) "Used tire transporter" means a person who
collects used tires from another person for the purpose of removal
to a scrap tire processor, end user, or disposal facility.
(b) A scrap tire transporter or used tire transporter shall
register with the commission unless the scrap tire transporter or
used tire transporter is:
(1) a retreader who transports retreadable casings;
(2) a person who transports scrap tires or used tires
that are intended for use in that person's agricultural business
and who does not transport at one time a number of scrap tires or
used tires that exceeds a number determined by commission rule;
(3) a person who transports scrap tires to the
manufacturer or the manufacturer's representative for adjustment,
provided that the generator of the tires complies with the
recordkeeping and manifest requirements under Subsection (c);
(4) a person who:
(A) is registered with the commission as an
on-site sewage disposal system installer;
(B) transports used or scrap tires or tire pieces
for the construction of an on-site sewage disposal system; and
(C) complies with the recordkeeping and manifest
requirements under Subsection (c);
(5) a person engaged in the collection of incidental
amounts of scrap tires, used tires, or tire pieces during the course
of household or commercial waste collection for a municipal solid
waste facility or a commercial landfill;
(6) a person engaged on behalf of a political
subdivision in the transport of scrap or used tires to another site,
provided that the person complies with the recordkeeping and
manifest requirements under Subsection (c);
(7) a tire retailer who transports the retailer's own
tires in the ordinary course of business as a tire retailer,
including the transportation of tires between places of business
owned by the retailer; or
(8) a person who transports scrap tires or used tires
that are intended for recycling.
(c) The commission shall require a scrap tire transporter or
used tire transporter to maintain records and use a manifest or
other appropriate system to assure that those tires are transported
to a storage site that is registered or to a site or facility
authorized by the commission.
SECTION 6. Section 547.201, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) to read as
follows:
(c) A person may not sell and install an unsafe tire. In this
subsection, "unsafe tire" means a passenger car or light truck tire
for which a visual or tactile inspection of the tire exterior and
inner liner indicates that the tire:
(1) has tire tread less than one-sixteenth inch deep;
(2) has chunking, bumps, knots, or bulges evidencing
cord, ply, or tread separation from the casing or other adjacent
material;
(3) has exposed tire cords or belting material as a
result of damage to the tire;
(4) has a repair to the tire in the tread shoulder,
sidewall, bead area, or belt edge area;
(5) has a puncture that has not been sealed or patched
on the inside with a cured rubber stem or plug that extends through
to the outside surface;
(6) does not clearly show the United States Department
of Transportation tire identification number located on the
sidewall of the tire;
(7) is subject to a manufacturer's safety recall;
(8) has a puncture larger than one-quarter inch; or
(9) does not otherwise meet department safety
standards under Section 547.101.
(d) Subsection (c) does not apply to a mounted tire sold
with a used vehicle.
(e) A person commits an offense under Subsection (f) for the
sale and installation of an unsafe tire described by Subsection
(c)(7) only if the seller of the tire knew or had reason to know that
the tire was subject to a manufacturer's safety recall at the time
of the sale and installation.
(f) A person who violates Subsection (c) commits an offense.
An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
(g) This section does not limit any liability.
SECTION 7. Section 7.303(a), Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) This section applies to a license, certificate, or
registration issued:
(1) by the commission under:
(A) Section 26.0301;
(B) Chapter 37;
(C) Section 361.0861, 361.092, [or] 361.112, or
361.1121, Health and Safety Code;
(D) Chapter 366, 371, or 401, Health and Safety
Code; or
(E) Chapter 1903, Occupations Code;
(2) by a county under Subchapter E, Chapter 361,
Health and Safety Code; or
(3) under a rule adopted under any of those
provisions.
SECTION 8. Section 361.112(g), Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 9. A person is not required to comply with the
requirements of Section 361.085(m), Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, before the 180th day after the date that the
rules adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to
implement that section take effect, or as otherwise required by the
commission.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.