Bill Text: TX HB3744 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of the retention, storage, transportation, and disposal of used or scrap tires; providing a civil penalty; creating a criminal offense.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-27 - Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm. [HB3744 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB3744-Introduced.html

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85R4833 SLB-D
By: Walle H.B. No. 3744

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of the retention, storage,
transportation, and disposal of used or scrap tires; providing a
civil penalty; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 361.112, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.112. STORAGE[, TRANSPORTATION,] AND DISPOSAL OF
USED OR SCRAP TIRES.
SECTION 2. Section 361.112, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (n) to read as follows:
(n) A used or scrap tire generator, including a tire dealer,
junkyard, or fleet operator, who stores used or scrap tires
outdoors on its business premises shall store the used or scrap
tires in a secure manner that locks the tires during nonbusiness
hours.
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Sections 361.1121 and 361.1122 to read as
follows:
Sec. 361.1121. DISPOSITION OF TIRE REMOVED FROM VEHICLE
DURING PURCHASE OF TIRE. (a) In this section:
(1) "Scrap tire" has the meaning assigned by Section
361.112.
(2) "Seller" means a person who is engaged in the
business of selling or otherwise placing tires in the stream of
commerce for use on a vehicle, trailer, or piece of equipment.
(3) "Used tire" means a tire that:
(A) has been used as a tire on a vehicle, trailer,
or piece of equipment;
(B) has tire tread at least one-sixteenth inch
deep;
(C) can still be used for its original intended
purpose; and
(D) has been inspected visually and meets the
visual and tread depth requirements for used tires established by
the Department of Public Safety.
(b) A customer may not retain a scrap tire removed from the
customer's vehicle during the purchase of a tire from a seller.
(c) A seller who takes possession of a scrap tire from a
customer during a transaction described by Subsection (b) shall
store or dispose of the scrap tire according to local and state
laws, including Section 361.112.
(d) A customer may retain a used tire removed from the
customer's vehicle during the purchase of a tire only if the
customer certifies on a form prescribed by the commission that the
customer assumes liability for the disposal of the tire.
(e) A seller shall maintain in a manner accessible to local
law enforcement agencies and the commission a record of a
customer's retention of a used tire until at least the third
anniversary of the date the tire was removed.
(f) The commission shall develop the form described by
Subsection (d) and make that form available on the commission's
Internet website.
(g) A seller may contract for the transportation of used or
scrap tires only with a transporter or tire processor who:
(1) is registered as described by Section 361.1122(b);
and
(2) has filed evidence of financial assurance
according to Sections 361.1122(d) and (e).
(h) A seller who contracts for the transportation of used or
scrap tires with a transporter the seller knows to be unregistered
is:
(1) jointly and severally liable for any civil penalty
imposed on the transporter under Subchapter D, Chapter 7, Water
Code, for the illegal disposal of the tires; and
(2) criminally responsible, under Chapter 7, Penal
Code, for an offense involving the tires under Section 365.012 of
this code committed by the transporter.
(i) Notwithstanding Sections 7.102 and 7.103, Water Code,
the amount of a civil penalty for a violation of this section may
not be less than $1,000 a day for each violation. A separate
penalty may be imposed for each day a violation occurs.
(j) The attorney general or the appropriate district or
county attorney may bring an action against a person under this
section in the name of the state in a district court in the county in
which:
(1) the person resides; or
(2) the person's principal place of business is
located.
Sec. 361.1122. USED OR SCRAP TIRE TRANSPORTERS AND CERTAIN
TIRE PROCESSORS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Scrap tire" and "used tire" have the meanings
assigned by Section 361.1121.
(2) "Transporter" means a person who collects used or
scrap tires from another person for the purpose of removal to a used
tire dealer, scrap tire processor, end user, or disposal facility.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a person shall
register annually with the commission if the person is:
(1) a transporter; or
(2) a tire processor that is not required to register
as a storage site under Section 361.112.
(c) The following persons are not required to register under
this section:
(1) a person who ships used or defective tires back to
the manufacturer or the manufacturer's representative for
adjustment, provided that the person retains, until the third
anniversary of the shipment date, written records of the shipments
indicating the date of shipment, the destination, and the number of
tires in each shipment and makes those records available to the
commission on request;
(2) an on-site sewage facility installer who is
registered with the commission and who transports used or scrap
tires or tire pieces for construction of an on-site sewage disposal
system, provided that the installer complies with the commission's
manifest and recordkeeping requirements;
(3) a retreader who hauls tires from customers for the
purpose of retreading the tires or who returns tires to customers
after retreading or recapping, provided that the retreader does not
haul tires to an authorized facility for used or scrap tire
collection;
(4) a person who owns or operates a truck for municipal
solid waste collection or commercial route collection and handles
incidental loads of used or scrap tires or tire pieces as part of
normal household or commercial collection activities;
(5) a municipality, county, or other governmental
entity that owns or operates a transport vehicle used to transport
used or scrap tires to an authorized facility or to a facility used
by a governmental entity to collect used or scrap tires, provided
that each load of used or scrap tires is manifested as required by
the commission;
(6) a person transporting five or fewer used or scrap
tires; and
(7) a person exempt from registration requirements
under commission rules.
(d) A transporter or tire processor who is required to
register with the commission shall provide financial assurance by
filing with the commission:
(1) a surety bond obtained from a surety company
authorized to transact business in this state;
(2) evidence of an established trust account; or
(3) an irrevocable letter of credit.
(e) The bond, trust account, or irrevocable letter of credit
described by Subsection (d) must be in favor of the state and:
(1) for a transporter, in an amount of $25,000 or more;
and
(2) for a tire processor, in an amount adequate to
ensure proper cleanup and closure of the site.
(f) Money that the commission receives from a bond, trust
account, or letter of credit obtained by a transporter to meet the
requirements of Subsections (d) and (e) must be used for the cleanup
of abandoned tire storage sites.
(g) The commission shall require a transporter to maintain
records and use a manifest or other appropriate system to assure
that tires are transported to a storage site that is registered or
to a site or facility authorized by the commission. The commission
shall require a transporter to submit to the commission in an
electronic format an annual report on the records maintained by the
transporter under this subsection.
(h) A transporter who fails to submit an annual report under
Subsection (g) is not eligible to renew the transporter's
registration.
(i) The commission shall annually issue a registration
insignia to each transporter. The transporter shall display the
insignia on each vehicle used to transport tires under the
registration. The insignia expires on the first anniversary of the
date of issuance. The commission may adopt rules for issuing
duplicate and multiple insignia.
(j) A county by order may require a transporter to register
with the county. Registration requirements adopted under this
subsection must be compatible with and not less stringent than
rules adopted by the commission under this section.
SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 7, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 7.1855 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.1855. VIOLATIONS RELATING TO USED OR SCRAP TIRES.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person recklessly violates
Section 361.1121, Health and Safety Code. An offense under this
subsection is punishable for an individual under Section
7.187(a)(1)(B) or 7.187(a)(2)(D) or both. An offense under this
subsection is punishable for a person other than an individual
under Section 7.187(a)(1)(C).
(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
or knowingly violates Section 361.1121, Health and Safety Code. An
offense under this subsection is punishable for an individual under
Section 7.187(a)(1)(C) or Section 7.187(a)(2)(E) or both. An
offense under this subsection is punishable for a person other than
an individual under Section 7.187(a)(1)(D).
SECTION 5. Section 7.303(a), Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) This section applies to a license, certificate, or
registration issued:
(1) by the commission under:
(A) Section 26.0301;
(B) Chapter 37;
(C) Section 361.0861, 361.092, [or] 361.112, or
361.1122, Health and Safety Code;
(D) Chapter 366, 371, or 401, Health and Safety
Code; or
(E) Chapter 1903, Occupations Code;
(2) by a county under Subchapter E, Chapter 361,
Health and Safety Code; or
(3) under a rule adopted under any of those
provisions.
SECTION 6. Sections 361.112(g) and (k), Health and Safety
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 7. Not later than March 1, 2018, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules necessary to
implement the changes in law made by this Act.
SECTION 8. Notwithstanding Section 361.1122, Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act, a person is not required to
register under that section until September 1, 2018.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.