By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1127
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to rules adopted by the Texas Board of Health regarding
1-2 the transportation and routing of radioactive material and waste.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 401.052, Health and Safety Code, is
1-5 amended to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 401.052. RULES <AND GUIDELINES> FOR TRANSPORTATION AND
1-7 ROUTING. (a) The board shall adopt rules <and guidelines> that
1-8 provide for transportation and routing of radioactive material and
1-9 waste in this state.
1-10 (b) Rules adopted under this section for radioactive waste
1-11 shall:
1-12 (1) to the extent practicable, be compatible with
1-13 United States Department of Transportation and United States
1-14 Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations relating to the
1-15 transportation of radioactive waste;
1-16 (2) require each shipper and transporter of
1-17 radioactive waste to adopt an emergency plan for responding to
1-18 transportation accidents;
1-19 (3) require the notification and reporting of
1-20 accidents to the department and to local emergency planning
1-21 committees in the county where the accident occurs;
1-22 (4) require each shipper to adopt a quality control
1-23 program to verify that shipping containers are suitable for
2-1 shipment to a licensed disposal facility; and
2-2 (5) assess a fee on shippers for shipments to a Texas
2-3 low-level radioactive waste disposal facility of radioactive waste
2-4 originating in Texas or out of state.
2-5 (c) In promulgating rules under this section, the board
2-6 shall consult with the advisory board and the Texas Natural
2-7 Resource Conservation Commission.
2-8 (d)(1) Fees assessed under Subsection (b)(5) shall be based
2-9 on:
2-10 (A) the relative degree of the radiological and
2-11 nonradiological hazards posed by a waste classification
2-12 considering, among other factors, the half-life of the radioactive
2-13 waste;
2-14 (B) the distance within the state that each
2-15 shipment travels; and
2-16 (C) the level of radioactivity of and the volume
2-17 of radioactive waste contained in each shipment.
2-18 (2) The fees shall be deposited in the state treasury
2-19 to the credit of the low-level waste fund and shall be used
2-20 exclusively for impact assistance under Section 402.251.
2-21 (e) In this section, "shipper" means a person who generates
2-22 low-level radioactive waste and ships or arranges with others to
2-23 ship the waste to a disposal site.
2-24 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
2-25 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-4 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-5 passage, and it is so enacted.