By: Parker S.B. No. 1051
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the reduction of solid waste by creating markets for
1-2 recycled materials and otherwise promoting the use of recycled
1-3 materials.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 481, Government Code, is amended by
1-6 adding Subchapter AA to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER AA. RECYCLING MARKET DEVELOPMENT
1-8 Sec. 481.371. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
1-9 develop and diversify the economy of this state and develop and
1-10 expand commerce in this state through sustaining and promoting
1-11 recycling enterprises.
1-12 Sec. 481.372. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter, "enterprise
1-13 zone" and "governing body" have the meanings assigned by the Texas
1-14 Enterprise Zone Act (Article 5190.7, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-15 Statutes).
1-16 Sec. 481.373. DESIGNATION AS RECYCLING MARKET DEVELOPMENT
1-17 ZONE. On application by the governing body of an enterprise zone,
1-18 the department may designate the enterprise zone as a recycling
1-19 market development zone for the development of local business and
1-20 industry in the zone to recycle materials that have served their
1-21 intended use or that are scrapped, discarded, used, surplus, or
1-22 obsolete by collecting, separating, or processing the materials for
1-23 use in the production of new products.
2-1 Sec. 481.374. RECYCLING MARKET DEVELOPMENT LOANS AND GRANTS.
2-2 (a) The department may make a loan or grant to the governing body
2-3 of an enterprise zone designated as a recycling market development
2-4 zone to fund an activity that sustains or increases recycling
2-5 efforts.
2-6 (b) A grant recipient under this section must match the
2-7 amount of the state grant with an equal amount of money from
2-8 another source.
2-9 (c) A grant under this section may not exceed $30,000.
2-10 (d) The department may make loans or grants from
2-11 appropriated funds or from any special fund.
2-12 Sec. 481.375. RULEMAKING. The department shall adopt
2-13 necessary rules to implement and administer this subchapter in
2-14 accordance with the purposes of this subchapter, including rules
2-15 on:
2-16 (1) criteria for designating a recycling market
2-17 development zone;
2-18 (2) designation applications, loan applications, and
2-19 grant applications;
2-20 (3) the minimum and maximum amount of a loan made
2-21 under this subchapter;
2-22 (4) application fees; and
2-23 (5) operational guidelines for loan and grant
2-24 disbursement.
2-25 SECTION 2. Article 11, State Purchasing and General Services
3-1 Act (Article 601b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by
3-2 adding Sections 11.07 and 11.08 to read as follows:
3-3 Sec. 11.07. RECYCLING BY PRIVATE ENTERPRISES THAT CONTRACT
3-4 WITH STATE. A private enterprise that contracts with the state
3-5 shall exert its best efforts to recycle all materials that are
3-6 capable of being recycled, including paper products.
3-7 Sec. 11.08. INTERSTATE COMPACTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS
3-8 FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF RECYCLED PRODUCTS. The commission shall
3-9 enter into compacts and cooperative agreements with other states
3-10 and government entities for the procurement of products made of
3-11 recycled materials.
3-12 SECTION 3. Section 382.002, Local Government Code, is
3-13 amended to read as follows:
3-14 Sec. 382.002. Purpose. The primary purpose of this chapter
3-15 is to create county research and development authorities to promote
3-16 scientific research and development and commercialization of
3-17 research in affiliation with public and private institutions of
3-18 research, higher education, or health science centers. Research to
3-19 be promoted, developed, and commercialized includes research in
3-20 recycling processes and recyclable materials.
3-21 SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 481.078, Government Code,
3-22 is amended to read as follows:
3-23 (a) The department may develop and plan programs for the
3-24 purpose of promoting and encouraging the location and expansion of
3-25 major industrial, <and> manufacturing, and recycling enterprises
4-1 within this state and may coordinate, with the consent of local
4-2 governments, the activities of the local governments related to the
4-3 programs, including financing options available under existing law
4-4 and this section for that purpose.
4-5 SECTION 5. Subdivision (2), Subsection (a), Section 4B,
4-6 Development Corporation Act of 1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas
4-7 Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
4-8 (2) "Project" means land, buildings, equipment,
4-9 facilities, and improvements included in the definition of that
4-10 term under Section 2 of this Act, including recycling facilities,
4-11 and land, buildings, equipment, facilities, and improvements found
4-12 by the board of directors to be required or suitable for use for
4-13 professional and amateur (including children's) sports, athletic,
4-14 entertainment, tourist, convention, and public park purposes and
4-15 events, including stadiums, ball parks, auditoriums, amphitheaters,
4-16 concert halls, learning centers, parks and park facilities, open
4-17 space improvements, municipal buildings, museums, exhibition
4-18 facilities, and related store, restaurant, concession, and
4-19 automobile parking facilities, related area transportation
4-20 facilities, and related roads, streets, and water and sewer
4-21 facilities, and other related improvements that enhance any of
4-22 those items.
4-23 SECTION 6. Subsections (a) and (e), Section 361.013, Health
4-24 and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
4-25 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the department
5-1 shall charge a fee on solid waste that is disposed of within this
5-2 state. The fee is the greater of 50 cents per ton or, for
5-3 compacted solid waste, 50 cents per cubic yard or, for uncompacted
5-4 solid waste, 10 cents per cubic yard received for disposal at a
5-5 landfill. The department shall set the fee for sludge or similar
5-6 waste applied to the land for beneficial use on a dry weight basis
5-7 and for solid waste received at an incinerator <or a shredding and
5-8 composting facility> at half the fee set for solid waste received
5-9 for disposal at a landfill. The department may charge comparable
5-10 fees for other means of solid waste disposal that are used.
5-11 (e)(1) The department may not charge a fee under Subsection
5-12 (a) for scrap tires that are deposited in a designated recycling
5-13 collection area at a landfill permitted by the commission or the
5-14 department or licensed by a county or by a political subdivision
5-15 exercising the authority granted by Section 361.165 and that are
5-16 temporarily stored for eventual recycling, reuse, or energy
5-17 recovery.
5-18 (2) No fee may be charged under Subsection (a) for
5-19 materials received at a composting facility, including a composting
5-20 facility located at a permitted landfill site, that are converted
5-21 to compost through the composting process. Any compost that is not
5-22 used as compost and is deposited in a landfill is not exempt from
5-23 the fee.
5-24 SECTION 7. Section 361.422, Health and Safety Code, is
5-25 amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
6-1 (d) Before January 1, 1994, the commission shall determine
6-2 whether the goal established in Subsection (a) is being achieved.
6-3 If the commission finds that the goal is not being achieved, it
6-4 shall convene an advisory task force consisting of representatives
6-5 of the commission, the General Land Office, local governments, the
6-6 Municipal Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Advisory
6-7 Council, and the commercial solid waste disposal industry and shall
6-8 institute a phased-in ban on the disposal of yard waste in a
6-9 landfill after adoption of rules for that purpose and beginning no
6-10 earlier than January 1, 1996. The task force shall recommend a
6-11 plan to the commission for implementing the ban, after taking the
6-12 following factors into consideration:
6-13 (1) how the ban will affect the state's disposal
6-14 capacity;
6-15 (2) how the ban will affect the economy of the state;
6-16 (3) how the ban will affect local governments; and
6-17 (4) how the ban will be accepted and adhered to by the
6-18 citizens of the state.
6-19 SECTION 8. Section 361.423, Health and Safety Code, is
6-20 amended to read as follows:
6-21 Sec. 361.423. RECYCLING MARKET DEVELOPMENT BOARD <STUDY> AND
6-22 IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM. (a) The Commissioner of the General Land
6-23 Office<, in cooperation with the department>, the chairman of the
6-24 Texas Water Commission, the executive director of the General
6-25 Services <Railroad> Commission <of Texas>, and the executive
7-1 director of the Texas Department of Commerce<,> shall constitute
7-2 the Recycling Market Development Board. The Commissioner of the
7-3 General Land Office serves as the chair of the Recycling Market
7-4 Development Board initially, and the position of chair shall rotate
7-5 among the members annually thereafter. The Recycling Market
7-6 Development Board may designate chief executives of additional
7-7 agencies as members of the board if it identifies the agencies as
7-8 agencies needed to assist the board in performing its duties as
7-9 outlined in Subsection (b). The Recycling Market Development Board
7-10 shall provide support to and coordinate the recycling activities of
7-11 member agencies and shall pursue <initiate, coordinate, and conduct
7-12 a comprehensive market development study that quantifies the
7-13 potential benefits and costs of recycling in order to provide the
7-14 groundwork for> an economic development strategy that focuses on
7-15 the state's waste management priorities established by Section
7-16 361.022 and that includes development of recycling industries and
7-17 markets as an integrated component.
7-18 (b) The Recycling Market Development Board, on an ongoing
7-19 basis, <study> shall:
7-20 (1) identify existing economic and regulatory
7-21 incentives and disincentives for creating an optimal market
7-22 development strategy;
7-23 (2) analyze the market development implications of:
7-24 (A) the state's waste management policies and
7-25 regulations;
8-1 (B) existing and potential markets for plastic,
8-2 glass, paper, lead-acid batteries, tires, compost, scrap gypsum,
8-3 and other recyclable materials; and
8-4 (C) the state's tax structure and overall
8-5 economic base;
8-6 (3) examine and make policy recommendations regarding
8-7 the need for changes in or the development of:
8-8 (A) economic policies that affect
8-9 transportation, such as those embodied in freight rate schedules;
8-10 (B) tax incentives and disincentives;
8-11 (C) the availability of financial capital
8-12 including grants, loans, and venture capital;
8-13 (D) enterprise zones;
8-14 (E) managerial and technical assistance;
8-15 (F) job-training programs;
8-16 (G) strategies for matching market supply and
8-17 market demand for recyclable materials, including intrastate and
8-18 interstate coordination;
8-19 (H) the state recycling goal;
8-20 (I) public-private partnerships;
8-21 (J) research and development;
8-22 (K) government procurement policies;
8-23 (L) educational programs for the public,
8-24 corporate and regulated communities, and government entities; and
8-25 (M) public health and safety regulatory
9-1 policies; <and>
9-2 (4) establish a comprehensive statewide strategy to
9-3 expand markets for recycled products in Texas; and
9-4 (5) provide information and technical assistance to
9-5 small and disadvantaged businesses, business development centers,
9-6 chambers of commerce, educational institutions, and nonprofit
9-7 associations on market opportunities in the area of recycling.
9-8 (c) In carrying out this section <preparing the study>, the
9-9 responsible agencies may obtain research and development and
9-10 technical assistance from the Hazardous Waste Research Center at
9-11 Lamar University at Beaumont or other similar institutions.
9-12 (d) The General Land Office shall provide ongoing research
9-13 and assistance to the Recycling Market Development Board in the
9-14 carrying out of its responsibilities.
9-15 (e) The Texas Water Commission shall develop and carry out a
9-16 program designed to implement the recommendations of the
9-17 comprehensive market development study completed pursuant to
9-18 Section 1, Chapter 303, Acts of the 72nd Legislature, Regular
9-19 Session, 1991, and the comprehensive statewide strategy established
9-20 pursuant to Subsection (b)(4).
9-21 SECTION 9. Subchapter N, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
9-22 Code, is amended by adding Section 361.4261 to read as follows:
9-23 Sec. 361.4261. STATE AGENCY EXPENDITURES FOR RECYCLED
9-24 MATERIALS. State agencies shall expend a minimum of five percent
9-25 of their procurement budget in fiscal year 1994 and eight percent
10-1 of their procurement budget for each fiscal year thereafter for
10-2 materials, supplies, and equipment that have recycled material
10-3 content or are remanufactured or environmentally sensitive, as
10-4 those terms are defined by the General Services Commission. A
10-5 report of the total expenditures in these areas and the amount
10-6 expended in each category for the previous fiscal year shall be
10-7 delivered to the governor, the Legislative Budget Board, the
10-8 lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
10-9 representatives not later than January 1 of each year.
10-10 SECTION 10. Section 361.428, Health and Safety Code, is
10-11 amended to read as follows:
10-12 Sec. 361.428. Composting Program. (a) <The Municipal Solid
10-13 Waste Management and Resource Recovery Advisory Council of the
10-14 department shall develop recommendations for the 73rd Legislature
10-15 regarding the development of a state composting program. In
10-16 developing these recommendations, the council shall, at a minimum,
10-17 consider:>
10-18 <(1) the development of local yard waste separation
10-19 programs;>
10-20 <(2) the commercial application of composting
10-21 activities;>
10-22 <(3) the potential beneficial uses of compost; and>
10-23 <(4) the necessary changes to existing law and
10-24 regulations required to facilitate conversion of yard waste to
10-25 compost.>
11-1 <(b)> The commission <department> shall put in place a
11-2 composting program that is capable of achieving at least a 15
11-3 percent reduction in the amount of the municipal solid waste stream
11-4 that is disposed of in landfills by January 1, 1994.
11-5 (b) The commission shall adopt rules establishing minimum
11-6 standards and guidelines for the issuance of permits for processes
11-7 or facilities which produce compost that is the product of material
11-8 from the typical mixed solid waste stream generated by residential,
11-9 institutional, commercial, or industrial sources. A reduction in
11-10 the mixed solid waste stream that occurs as a result of the
11-11 beneficial reuse of compost produced by a facility permitted under
11-12 this subsection shall be used in achieving the goal established
11-13 under Section 361.422. The minimum standards must include
11-14 end-product standards and a definition of beneficial reuse. The
11-15 commission shall consider regulations issued by the United States
11-16 Environmental Protection Agency in developing minimum standards.
11-17 Beneficial reuse does not include landfilling or the use of compost
11-18 as daily landfill cover.
11-19 (c) A composting facility may not accept mixed municipal
11-20 solid waste from a governmental unit without ensuring that
11-21 residents have access to household hazardous waste collection and
11-22 source-separated recycling programs. The commission shall
11-23 establish standards for household hazardous waste collection
11-24 programs and source-separated recycling programs that qualify under
11-25 this section.
12-1 SECTION 11. Section 361.452, Health and Safety Code, is
12-2 amended to read as follows:
12-3 Sec. 361.452. Collection for Recycling. A person selling
12-4 lead-acid batteries at retail or offering lead-acid batteries for
12-5 retail sale in this state shall:
12-6 (1) accept <from customers>, if offered, at least one
12-7 but not more than three <the point of transfer, used> lead-acid
12-8 batteries for recycling <of the type and in a quantity at least
12-9 equal to the number of new batteries purchased>; and
12-10 (2) post written notice, which must be at least 8-1/2
12-11 inches by 11 inches in size, containing the universal recycling
12-12 symbol and the following language:
12-13 (A) "It is illegal to discard or improperly
12-14 dispose of a motor-vehicle battery or other lead-acid battery.";
12-15 (B) "Recycle your used batteries."; and
12-16 (C) "State law requires us to accept used
12-17 motor-vehicle batteries or other lead-acid batteries for recycling
12-18 <in exchange for new batteries purchased>."
12-19 SECTION 12. Section 361.454, Health and Safety Code, is
12-20 amended to read as follows:
12-21 Sec. 361.454. LEAD-ACID BATTERY WHOLESALERS. Any person
12-22 selling new lead-acid batteries at wholesale shall accept from
12-23 customers, at the point of transfer, used lead-acid batteries for
12-24 recycling <of the type and in a quantity at least equal to the
12-25 number of new batteries purchased>, if offered by customers. A
13-1 person accepting batteries in transfer from a battery retailer
13-2 shall remove batteries from the retail point of collection within
13-3 90 days after acceptance.
13-4 SECTION 13. Section 63.071, Agriculture Code, is amended by
13-5 adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
13-6 (h) A person is not required to pay an inspection fee on
13-7 compost as defined by Section 361.421, Health and Safety Code.
13-8 SECTION 14. Section 481.295, Government Code, is amended by
13-9 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
13-10 (c) The department and the advisory board may make a loan or
13-11 a loan guarantee to the governing body of an enterprise zone
13-12 designated as a recycling market development zone under Subchapter
13-13 AA to fund an activity that sustains or increases recycling
13-14 efforts.
13-15 SECTION 15. The Texas Natural Resource Conservation
13-16 Commission shall adopt the rules required by Subsection (b),
13-17 Section 361.428, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, not
13-18 later than six months after the effective date of this Act.
13-19 SECTION 16. The importance of this legislation and the
13-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
13-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
13-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
13-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
13-24 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
13-25 passage, and it is so enacted.