By: Oakley H.B. No. 2402
73R5395 JJT-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to incentives for the recycling or proper disposal of
1-3 lead-acid batteries; providing civil penalties.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter O, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
1-6 Code, is amended by adding Sections 361.457-361.460 to read as
1-7 follows:
1-8 Sec. 361.457. PAYMENTS TO BATTERY RECYCLERS AND DISPOSAL
1-9 FACILITIES. (a) The commission each month shall pay an applicant
1-10 who meets the requirements provided by and adopted under this
1-11 section an amount equal to 50 cents for each used or discarded
1-12 lead-acid battery that is properly disposed of or recycled by the
1-13 applicant.
1-14 (b) To qualify for payments under this section the applicant
1-15 must:
1-16 (1) dispose of or recycle the lead-acid batteries in
1-17 accordance with commission rules; and
1-18 (2) be a:
1-19 (A) manufacturer of lead-acid batteries;
1-20 (B) person who owns or operates a secondary lead
1-21 smelter; or
1-22 (C) collection or recycling facility authorized
1-23 under state law or commission rules or by the United States
1-24 Environmental Protection Agency.
2-1 Sec. 361.458. APPLICATION FOR PAYMENTS. A person who
2-2 applies for a payment under Section 361.457 must:
2-3 (1) apply to the commission on forms prescribed by the
2-4 commission and include information required by commission rules;
2-5 (2) document that the used or discarded batteries for
2-6 which payment is applied:
2-7 (A) were lead-acid batteries; and
2-8 (B) were disposed of or recycled as provided by
2-9 commission rules for eligibility for payments under Section 361.457
2-10 and in accordance with commission rules for the disposal or
2-11 recycling of lead-acid batteries to prevent the pollution of
2-12 groundwater, soil, or air;
2-13 (3) document the source of the used or discarded
2-14 batteries, including whether the batteries were recovered from an
2-15 improper disposal site, a battery manufacturer, retailer, or
2-16 wholesaler, a collection or recycling facility, or consumers; and
2-17 (4) provide any other information required by the
2-18 commission to accomplish the purposes of this subchapter.
2-19 Sec. 361.459. OUT-OF-STATE BATTERIES. A person may not
2-20 apply for a payment under Section 361.457 for a used or discarded
2-21 battery received from an out-of-state source.
2-22 Sec. 361.460. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
2-23 Section 361.459 is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000
2-24 for each violation.
2-25 (b) The attorney general or the prosecuting attorney in the
2-26 county in which the alleged violation occurs may bring suit to
2-27 recover the civil penalty.
3-1 (c) A penalty collected under this section shall be
3-2 deposited to the credit of the hazardous and solid waste
3-3 remediation fee fund.
3-4 SECTION 2. Section 361.455, Health and Safety Code, is
3-5 amended to read as follows:
3-6 Sec. 361.455. Penalty. Any violation of Sections
3-7 361.451-361.454 <this subchapter> is a Class C misdemeanor. Each
3-8 battery improperly disposed of constitutes a separate violation and
3-9 offense.
3-10 SECTION 3. Sections 361.133(b) and (c), Health and Safety
3-11 Code, are amended to read as follows:
3-12 (b) The fund consists of money collected by the commission
3-13 from:
3-14 (1) fees imposed on the owner or operator of an
3-15 industrial solid waste or hazardous waste facility for commercial
3-16 and noncommercial management or disposal of hazardous waste under
3-17 Section 361.136 and fees imposed under Section 361.138;
3-18 (2) interest and penalties imposed under Section
3-19 361.140 for late payment of a fee or late filing of a report;
3-20 (3) money paid by a person liable for facility cleanup
3-21 and maintenance under Section 361.197;
3-22 (4) the interest received from the investment of this
3-23 fund, in accounts under the charge of the treasurer, to be credited
3-24 pro rata to the hazardous and solid waste remediation fee fund;
3-25 <and>
3-26 (5) monies transferred from other agencies under
3-27 provisions of this code or grants from any person made for the
4-1 purpose of remediation of facilities under this chapter; and
4-2 (6) penalties collected under Section 361.460.
4-3 (c) The commission may use the money collected and deposited
4-4 to the credit of the fund under this section, including interest
4-5 credited under Subsection (b)(4), only for:
4-6 (1) necessary and appropriate removal and remedial
4-7 action at sites at which solid waste or hazardous substances have
4-8 been disposed if funds from a liable person, independent third
4-9 person, or the federal government are not sufficient for the
4-10 removal or remedial action;
4-11 (2) necessary and appropriate maintenance of removal
4-12 and remedial actions for the expected life of those actions if:
4-13 (A) funds from a liable person have been
4-14 collected and deposited to the credit of the fund for that purpose;
4-15 or
4-16 (B) funds from a liable person, independent
4-17 third person, or the federal government are not sufficient for the
4-18 maintenance;
4-19 (3) expenses concerning compliance with:
4-20 (A) the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
4-21 Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et
4-22 seq.) as amended;
4-23 (B) the federal Superfund Amendments and
4-24 Reauthorization Act of 1986 (10 U.S.C. Section 2701 et seq.); and
4-25 (C) Subchapters F and I;
4-26 (4) expenses concerning the regulation and management
4-27 of household hazardous substances and the prevention of pollution
5-1 of the water resources of the state from the uncontrolled release
5-2 of hazardous substances; <and>
5-3 (5) expenses concerning the cleanup or removal of a
5-4 spill, release, or potential threat of release of a hazardous
5-5 substance where immediate action is appropriate to protect human
5-6 health and the environment; and
5-7 (6) payments for lead-acid batteries disposed of or
5-8 recycled under Section 361.457 or the commission's expenses under
5-9 Sections 361.457 and 361.458.
5-10 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
5-11 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.