By Chisum H.B. No. 3119
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 the use of solid waste fee revenues.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 361.014, Health and Safety Code, is
1-5 amended to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 361.014. Use of Solid Waste Fee Revenue. (a) Revenue
1-7 received by the commission under Section 361.013 shall be deposited
1-8 in the state treasury to the credit of the commission. At least
1-9 half [Half] of the revenue is dedicated to the commission's
1-10 municipal solid waste permitting and enforcement programs and
1-11 related support activities and to pay for activities that will
1-12 enhance the state's solid waste management program, including:
1-13 (1) provision of funds for the municipal solid waste
1-14 management planning fund and the municipal solid waste resource
1-15 recovery applied research and technical assistance fund established
1-16 by the Comprehensive Municipal Solid Waste Management, Resource
1-17 Recovery, and Conservation Act (Chapter 363);
1-18 (2) conduct of demonstration projects and studies to
1-19 help local governments of various populations and the private
1-20 sector to convert to accounting systems and set rates that reflect
1-21 the full costs of providing waste management services and are
2-1 proportionate to the amount of waste generated;
2-2 (3) provision of technical assistance to local
2-3 governments concerning solid waste management;
2-4 (4) establishment of a solid waste resource center in
2-5 the commission and an office of waste minimization and recycling;
2-6 (5) provision of supplemental funding to local
2-7 governments for the enforcement of this chapter, the Texas Litter
2-8 Abatement Act (Chapter 365), and Chapters 391 and 683,
2-9 Transportation Code;
2-10 (6) conduct of a statewide public awareness program
2-11 concerning solid waste management;
2-12 (7) provision of supplemental funds for other state
2-13 agencies with responsibilities concerning solid waste management,
2-14 recycling, and other initiatives with the purpose of diverting
2-15 recyclable waste from landfills;
2-16 (8) conduct of research to promote the development and
2-17 stimulation of markets for recycled waste products;
2-18 (9) creation of a state municipal solid waste
2-19 superfund for:
2-20 (A) the cleanup of unauthorized tire dumps and
2-21 solid waste dumps for which a responsible party cannot be located
2-22 or is not immediately financially able to provide the cleanup; and
2-23 (B) the cleanup or proper closure of abandoned
2-24 or contaminated municipal solid waste sites for which a responsible
2-25 party is not immediately financially able to provide the cleanup;
3-1 (10) provision of funds to mitigate the economic and
3-2 environmental impacts of lead-acid battery recycling activities on
3-3 local governments; [and]
3-4 (11) provision of funds for the conduct of research by
3-5 a public or private entity to assist the state in developing new
3-6 technologies and methods to reduce the amount of municipal waste
3-7 disposed of in landfills; and
3-8 (12) provision of funds for other programs that the
3-9 commission may consider appropriate to further the purposes of this
3-10 chapter.
3-11 [(b) Half of the revenue is dedicated to local and regional
3-12 solid waste projects consistent with regional plans approved by the
3-13 commission in accordance with this chapter and to update and
3-14 maintain those plans. Those revenues shall be allocated to
3-15 municipal solid waste geographic planning regions for use by local
3-16 governments and regional planning commissions according to a
3-17 formula established by the commission that takes into account
3-18 population, area, solid waste fee generation, and public health
3-19 needs. Each planning region shall issue a biennial report to the
3-20 legislature detailing how the revenue is spent. A project or
3-21 service funded under this subsection must promote cooperation
3-22 between public and private entities and may not be otherwise
3-23 readily available or create a competitive advantage over a private
3-24 industry that provides recycling or solid waste services.]
3-25 [(c) Revenue derived from fees charged under Section
4-1 361.013(c) to a transporter of whole used or scrap tires or
4-2 shredded tire pieces shall be deposited to the credit of the waste
4-3 tire recycling account.]
4-4 (b) [(d)] Revenues allocated to the commission for the
4-5 purposes authorized by Subsection (a) shall be deposited to the
4-6 credit of the waste management account. [Revenues allocated to
4-7 local and regional solid waste projects shall be deposited to the
4-8 credit of an account in the general revenue fund known as the
4-9 municipal solid waste disposal account.]
4-10 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
4-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-15 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-16 passage, and it is so enacted.