By: RodrÃguez, et al. S.B. No. 570
(In the Senate - Filed January 20, 2017; February 8, 2017,
read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources &
Economic Development; March 23, 2017, reported adversely, with
favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7,
Nays 3; March 23, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 570 By: RodrÃguez
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of the retention, storage,
transportation, disposal, processing, and reuse of used or scrap
tires; providing a civil penalty; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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; CERTAIN REUSE OF SCRAP TIRES.
SECTION 2. Section 361.112, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (n) and (o) to read as follows:
(n) A used or scrap tire generator, including a tire dealer,
junkyard, or fleet operator, who stores used or scrap tires
outdoors on its business premises shall store the used or scrap
tires in a locked, secured, or contained manner that protects the
tires from theft.
(o) The commission shall adopt rules to require a person who
uses more than 1,000 used or scrap tires in a construction project
to obtain approval from the commission before the use of the tires
in the project. In evaluating a project for approval under rules
adopted under this section, the commission shall consider potential
effects on human health and the environment.
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Sections 361.1121 and 361.1122 to read as
follows:
Sec. 361.1121. USED OR SCRAP TIRE GENERATORS. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Generator" means a fleet operator, an automotive
dismantler, a tire recapper or retreader, or a retailer,
wholesaler, or manufacturer of whole new or used tires. The term
does not include a scrap tire energy recovery facility or a scrap
tire recycling facility.
(2) "Retailer" means a person who is engaged in the
business of selling or otherwise placing tires in the stream of
commerce for use on a vehicle, trailer, or piece of equipment.
(3) "Scrap tire" has the meaning assigned by Section
361.112. The term does not include a tire:
(A) in or on a vehicle, including a vehicle that
has been crushed; or
(B) that is mounted on a metal wheel that is
intended to be recycled.
(4) "Used tire" means a tire that:
(A) has been used as a tire on a vehicle, trailer,
or piece of equipment;
(B) has tire tread at least one-sixteenth inch
deep;
(C) can still be used for its original intended
purpose; and
(D) meets the visual and tread depth requirements
for used tires established by the Department of Public Safety.
(b) A customer may not retain a scrap tire removed from the
customer's vehicle during the purchase of a tire from a retailer.
(c) A retailer who takes possession of a scrap tire from a
customer during a transaction described by Subsection (b) shall
store or dispose of the scrap tire according to local and state
laws, including Section 361.112.
(d) A customer may retain a used tire removed from the
customer's vehicle during the purchase of a tire.
(e) A retailer shall post a sign in a location readily
visible to the customer that specifies the requirements for the
disposal of scrap and used tires.
(f) The commission shall develop the language and
specifications for the sign described by Subsection (e) and make
the language and specifications available on the commission's
Internet website.
(g) A generator may contract for the transportation of used
or scrap tires only with a transporter who:
(1) is registered as described by Section 361.1122(b);
and
(2) has filed evidence of financial assurance
according to Sections 361.1122(d) and (e).
(h) A generator who contracts for the transportation of used
or scrap tires with a transporter the generator knows to be
unregistered is:
(1) jointly and severally liable for any civil penalty
imposed on the transporter under Subchapter D, Chapter 7, Water
Code, for the illegal disposal of the tires; and
(2) criminally responsible, under Chapter 7, Penal
Code, for an offense involving the tires under Section 365.012 of
this code committed by the transporter.
(i) Notwithstanding Sections 7.102 and 7.103, Water Code,
the amount of a civil penalty for a violation of this section may
not be less than $1,000 a day for each violation. A separate
penalty may be imposed for each day a violation occurs.
Sec. 361.1122. USED OR SCRAP TIRE TRANSPORTERS AND CERTAIN
TIRE PROCESSORS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Scrap tire" and "used tire" have the meanings
assigned by Section 361.1121.
(2) "Transporter" means a person who collects used or
scrap tires from another person for the purpose of removal to a used
tire dealer, scrap tire processor, end user, or disposal facility.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a person shall
register annually with the commission if the person is:
(1) a transporter; or
(2) a tire processor that is not required to register
as a storage site under Section 361.112.
(c) The following persons are not required to register under
this section:
(1) a person who ships used or defective tires back to
the manufacturer or the manufacturer's representative for
adjustment, provided that the person retains, until the third
anniversary of the shipment date, written records of the shipments
indicating the date of shipment, the destination, and the number of
tires in each shipment and makes those records available to the
commission on request;
(2) an on-site sewage facility installer who is
registered with the commission and who transports used or scrap
tires or tire pieces for construction of an on-site sewage disposal
system, provided that the installer complies with the commission's
manifest and recordkeeping requirements;
(3) a retreader who hauls tires from customers for the
purpose of retreading the tires or who returns tires to customers
after retreading or recapping, provided that the retreader does not
haul tires to an authorized facility for used or scrap tire
collection;
(4) a person who owns or operates a truck for municipal
solid waste collection or commercial route collection and handles
incidental loads of used or scrap tires or tire pieces as part of
normal household or commercial collection activities;
(5) a municipality, county, or other governmental
entity that owns or operates a transport vehicle used to transport
used or scrap tires to an authorized facility or to a facility used
by a governmental entity to collect used or scrap tires, provided
that each load of used or scrap tires is manifested as required by
the commission;
(6) a generator, as that term is defined in Section
361.1121, transporting the generator's used or scrap tires:
(A) between business locations owned or
controlled by the generator; or
(B) to a facility authorized by the commission to
receive used or scrap tires;
(7) a person transporting five or fewer used or scrap
tires; and
(8) a person exempt from registration requirements
under commission rules.
(d) A transporter or tire processor who is required to
register with the commission shall provide financial assurance by
filing with the commission:
(1) a surety bond obtained from a surety company
authorized to transact business in this state;
(2) evidence of an established trust account; or
(3) an irrevocable letter of credit.
(e) The bond, trust account, or irrevocable letter of credit
described by Subsection (d) must be in favor of the state and:
(1) for a transporter, in an amount of $25,000 or more;
and
(2) for a tire processor, in an amount adequate to
ensure proper cleanup and closure of the site.
(f) Money that the commission receives from a bond, trust
account, or irrevocable letter of credit obtained by a transporter
to meet the requirements of Subsections (d) and (e) must be used for
the cleanup of unauthorized tire sites where the transporter has
delivered tires.
(g) The commission shall require a transporter and a
generator who transports used or scrap tires to maintain records
and use a manifest or other appropriate system to assure that tires
are transported to a storage site that is registered or to a site or
facility authorized by the commission.
(h) The commission shall require a transporter to submit to
the commission in an electronic format an annual report on the
records maintained by the transporter under this subsection. A
transporter who fails to submit an annual report under this
subsection is not eligible to renew the transporter's registration.
(i) The commission shall annually issue a registration
insignia to each transporter. The transporter shall display the
insignia on each vehicle used to transport tires under the
registration. The insignia expires annually on a date specified by
the commission. The commission may adopt rules for issuing
duplicate and multiple insignia.
SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 7, Water Code, is amended
by adding Sections 7.1855 and 7.1856 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.1855. RECKLESS VIOLATIONS RELATING TO USED OR SCRAP
TIRES. (a) A person commits an offense if the person recklessly
violates:
(1) Section 361.112, 361.1121, or 361.1122, Health and
Safety Code; or
(2) a rule adopted under or the terms of an order,
permit, or exception granted or issued under Chapter 361, Health
and Safety Code, relating to used or scrap tires.
(b) An offense under this section is punishable for an
individual under Section 7.187(a)(1)(B) or 7.187(a)(2)(D) or both.
(c) An offense under this section is punishable for a person
other than an individual under Section 7.187(a)(1)(C).
Sec. 7.1856. INTENTIONAL OR KNOWING VIOLATIONS RELATING TO
USED OR SCRAP TIRES. (a) A person commits an offense if the person
intentionally or knowingly violates:
(1) Section 361.112, 361.1121, or 361.1122, Health and
Safety Code; or
(2) a rule adopted under or the terms of an order,
permit, or exception granted or issued under Chapter 361, Health
and Safety Code, relating to used or scrap tires.
(b) An offense under this section is punishable for an
individual under Section 7.187(a)(1)(C) or Section 7.187(a)(2)(E)
or both.
(c) An offense under this section is punishable for a person
other than an individual under Section 7.187(a)(1)(D).
SECTION 5. 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
361.1122, 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 6. Sections 361.112(g) and (k), Health and Safety
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 7. Not later than March 1, 2018, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules necessary to
implement the changes in law made by this Act.
SECTION 8. Notwithstanding Section 361.1122, Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act, a person is not required to
register under that section until September 1, 2018.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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