By Gallego H.B. No. 3164
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to an use of solid waste fee revenues for the assessment
1-3 and response to abandoned or closed municipal solid waste disposal
1-4 sites.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 361.014, Health and Safety Code, is
1-7 amended to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 361.014. Use of Solid Waste Fee Revenue. (a) Revenue
1-9 received by the commission under Section 361.013 shall be deposited
1-10 in the state treasury to the credit of the commission. Half of the
1-11 revenue is dedicated to the commission's municipal solid waste
1-12 permitting and enforcement programs and related support activities
1-13 and to pay for activities that will enhance the state's solid waste
1-14 management program, including:
1-15 (1) provision of funds for the municipal solid waste
1-16 management planning fund and the municipal solid waste resource
1-17 recovery applied research and technical assistance fund established
1-18 by the Comprehensive Municipal Solid Waste Management, Resource
1-19 Recovery, and Conservation Act (Chapter 363);
1-20 (2) conduct of demonstration projects and studies to
1-21 help local governments of various populations and the private
1-22 sector to convert to accounting systems and set rates that reflect
2-1 the full costs of providing waste management services and are
2-2 proportionate to the amount of waste generated;
2-3 (3) provision of technical assistance to local
2-4 governments concerning solid waste management;
2-5 (4) establishment of a solid waste resource center in
2-6 the commission and an office of waste minimization and recycling;
2-7 (5) provision of supplemental funding to local
2-8 governments for the enforcement of this chapter, the Texas Litter
2-9 Abatement Act (Chapter 365), and Chapter 741, Acts of the 67th
2-10 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 4477-9a, Vernon's Texas
2-11 Civil Statutes);
2-12 (6) conduct of a statewide public awareness program
2-13 concerning solid waste management;
2-14 (7) provision of supplemental funds for other state
2-15 agencies with responsibilities concerning solid waste management,
2-16 recycling, and other initiatives with the purpose of diverting
2-17 recyclable waste from landfills;
2-18 (8) conduct of research to promote the development and
2-19 stimulation of markets for recycled waste products;
2-20 (9) provision of funds to ensure that the threats to
2-21 public health and safety that may be posed by closed or abandoned
2-22 [creation of a state] municipal solid waste disposal sites,
2-23 including unauthorized tier dumps, are adequately assessed, and to
2-24 provide for the immediate response to closed or abandoned solid
2-25 waste disposal sites, including unauthorized tire dumps, that have
2-26 been demonstrated to represent an imminent threat to public health
2-27 and safety [superfund for:]
3-1 [(A) the cleanup of unauthorized tire dumps and
3-2 solid waste dumps for which a responsible party cannot be located
3-3 or is not immediately financially able to provide the cleanup; and]
3-4 [(B) the cleanup or proper closure of abandoned
3-5 or contaminated municipal solid waste sites for which a responsible
3-6 party is not immediately financially able to provide the cleanup];
3-7 (10) provision of funds to mitigate the economic and
3-8 environmental impacts of lead-acid battery recycling activities on
3-9 local governments; and
3-10 (11) provision of funds for the conduct of research by
3-11 a public or private entity to assist the state in developing new
3-12 technologies and methods to reduce the amount of municipal waste
3-13 disposed of in landfills.
3-14 (b) Except for revenues that may be appropriated for the
3-15 purposes authorized under Subdivision (a)(9) of this section, half
3-16 [Half] of the revenue is dedicated to local and regional solid
3-17 waste projects consistent with regional plans approved by the
3-18 commission in accordance with this chapter and to update and
3-19 maintain those plans. Those revenues shall be allocated to
3-20 municipal solid waste geographic planning regions for use by local
3-21 governments and regional planning commissions according to a
3-22 formula established by the commission that takes into account
3-23 population, area, solid waste fee generation, and public health
3-24 needs. Each planning region shall issue a biennial report to the
3-25 legislature detailing how the revenue is spent. A project or
3-26 service funded under this subsection must promote cooperation
3-27 between public and private entities and may not be otherwise
4-1 readily available or create a competitive advantage over a private
4-2 industry that provides recycling or solid waste services.
4-3 (c) Revenue derived from fees charged under Section
4-4 361.013(c) to a transporter of whole used or scrap tires or
4-5 shredded tire pieces shall be deposited to the credit of the waste
4-6 tire recycling fund.
4-7 (d) The commission may undertake assessment or response
4-8 action for a closed or abandoned municipal solid waste site,
4-9 including an unauthorized tire dump, if:
4-10 (1) the responsible party cannot be located; or
4-11 (2) the responsible party is not immediately
4-12 financially able to provide the cleanup.
4-13 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
4-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-18 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-19 passage, and it is so enacted.