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H.B. No. 2466
AN ACT
relating to recycling market development.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2155.448(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Each state fiscal year, the commission[, in
coordination with the Recycling Market Development Board,] by rule
may identify recycled, remanufactured, or environmentally
sensitive commodities or services, as those terms are defined by
rule of the commission, and designate purchasing goals for the
procurement of those commodities and services by state agencies for
that fiscal year.
SECTION 2. Section 361.423, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.423. RECYCLING MARKET DEVELOPMENT [BOARD AND]
IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM. (a) The commission, the Texas Building
and Procurement Commission, and other consenting state agencies as
appropriate [Recycling Market Development Board consists of the
chairman of the commission and the executive director of the Texas
Building and Procurement Commission. The members of the Recycling
Market Development Board shall, in the order listed in this
subsection, rotate as the presiding officer for terms of one year.
The Recycling Market Development Board may designate chief
executives of additional agencies as members of the board if it
identifies the agencies as agencies needed to assist the board in
performing its duties as outlined in Subsection (b). The Recycling
Market Development Board] shall regularly [provide support to and]
coordinate the recycling activities of state [member] agencies and
shall each pursue an economic development strategy that focuses on
the state's waste management priorities established by Section
361.022 and that includes development of recycling industries and
markets as an integrated component.
(b) The commission and the Texas Building and Procurement
Commission [Recycling Market Development Board], on an ongoing
basis, shall jointly:
(1) identify existing economic and regulatory
incentives and disincentives for creating an optimal market
development strategy;
(2) analyze or take into consideration the market
development implications of:
(A) the state's waste management policies and
regulations;
(B) existing and potential markets for plastic,
glass, paper, lead-acid batteries, tires, compost, scrap gypsum,
coal combustion by-products, and other recyclable materials; and
(C) the state's tax structure and overall
economic base;
(3) examine and make policy recommendations regarding
the need for changes in or the development of:
(A) economic policies that affect
transportation, such as those embodied in freight rate schedules;
(B) tax incentives and disincentives;
(C) the availability of financial capital
including grants, loans, and venture capital;
(D) enterprise zones;
(E) managerial and technical assistance;
(F) job-training programs;
(G) strategies for matching market supply and
market demand for recyclable materials, including intrastate and
interstate coordination;
(H) the state recycling goal;
(I) public-private partnerships;
(J) research and development;
(K) government procurement policies;
(L) educational programs for the public,
corporate and regulated communities, and government entities; and
(M) public health and safety regulatory
policies;
(4) establish a comprehensive statewide strategy to
expand markets for recycled products in Texas;
(5) provide information and technical assistance to
small and disadvantaged businesses, business development centers,
chambers of commerce, educational institutions, and nonprofit
associations on market opportunities in the area of recycling; and
(6) with the cooperation of the Office of
State-Federal Relations, assist communities and private entities
in identifying state and federal grants pertaining to recycling and
solid waste management.
(c) In carrying out this section, the commission and the
Texas Building and Procurement Commission [responsible agencies]
may obtain research and development and technical assistance from
the Hazardous Waste Research Center at Lamar University at Beaumont
or other similar institutions.
(d) In carrying out this section, the commission and the
Texas Building and Procurement Commission shall utilize the
pollution prevention advisory committee as set out in Section
361.0215 of the Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 3. (a) On the effective date of this Act, the
Recycling Market Development Board is dissolved.
(b) On the effective date of this Act, all functions and
activities of the Recycling Market Development Board are
transferred to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and
the Texas Building and Procurement Commission jointly, and those
agencies have all duties and rights of the Recycling Market
Development Board as provided by law immediately before that date.
(c) The validity of an action taken by the Recycling Market
Development Board before the effective date of this Act is not
affected by the dissolution of the board by this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2466 was passed by the House on April
29, 2005, by a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 2466 on May 26, 2005, by a non-record
vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2466 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 24, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor