83R28964 SLB-D
 
  By: Rodriguez, et al. S.B. No. 459
 
  (Isaac, Raymond)
 
  Substitute the following for S.B. No. 459:  No.
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the sale, installation, storage, transportation, and
  disposal of scrap, unsafe, or used tires; providing a civil
  penalty; creating an offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Title 6, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
  adding Chapter 205 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 205. SALE AND TRANSPORTATION OF SCRAP, UNSAFE, OR USED
  TIRES
         Sec. 205.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Scrap tire" and "used tire" have the meanings
  assigned to those terms by Section 361.112l, Health and Safety
  Code.
               (2)  "Unsafe tire" has the meaning assigned by Section
  547.201(c), Transportation Code.
         Sec. 205.002.  RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF SCRAP OR UNSAFE
  TIRES. (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), a customer may
  not retain a scrap tire or an unsafe tire removed from the
  customer's vehicle during the purchase of a tire from a retail
  seller.
         (b)  A retail seller who takes possession of a scrap tire or
  unsafe tire from a customer during a transaction described by
  Subsection (a) shall dispose of the scrap tire or unsafe tire
  according to local and state laws, including Section 361.112(c),
  Health and Safety Code.
         (c)  A customer may retain a scrap tire or unsafe tire
  removed from the customer's vehicle during the purchase of a tire if
  the customer certifies on a form prescribed by the Texas Commission
  on Environmental Quality that the customer assumes liability for
  the disposal of the tire.
         (d)  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
  develop the form described by Subsection (c) and shall make that
  form available on the commission's Internet website.
         (e)  This section does not apply to an entity that purchases
  scrap or salvage vehicles for the purpose of recycling.
         Sec. 205.003.  TRANSPORTATION OF SCRAP, UNSAFE, OR USED
  TIRES. A retail seller of tires may contract for the transportation
  of scrap tires, unsafe tires, or used tires only with a scrap tire
  transporter or used tire transporter who:
               (1)  is registered as described by Section 361.1121(b),
  Health and Safety Code; and
               (2)  has filed evidence of financial assurance
  according to Section 361.085(m), Health and Safety Code.
         Sec. 205.004.  CIVIL PENALTY. (a)  A person who violates
  this chapter is subject to a civil penalty in an amount determined
  by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality not to exceed $500
  for each violation. A separate penalty may be imposed for each day
  a violation occurs. The commission by rule shall adopt criteria for
  determining the amount of a civil penalty under this subsection.
         (b)  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.
         SECTION 2.  Section 361.085, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
         (m)  A scrap tire transporter or used tire transporter, as
  those terms are defined by Section 361.1121(a), who is required to
  register with the commission shall provide financial assurance as
  determined by the commission in an amount appropriate for the
  quantity of tires transported.  Money that the commission receives
  from financial assurance obtained to meet the requirements of this
  subsection may be used for the cleanup of abandoned tire storage
  sites.
         SECTION 3.  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 4.  Section 361.112, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (n) to read as follows:
         (n)  A scrap tire generator or used tire generator, including
  a tire dealer, junkyard, or fleet operator, who stores scrap tires
  or used tires outdoors on its business premises shall store the
  scrap tires or used tires in a manner that may be made secure by
  locking.  This subsection does not apply to the Texas Department of
  Transportation.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 361.1121 to read as follows:
         Sec. 361.1121.  SCRAP AND USED TIRE TRANSPORTERS. (a)  In
  this section:
               (1)  "Scrap tire" means a tire that can no longer be
  used for its original intended purpose.
               (2)  "Scrap tire transporter" means a person who
  collects scrap tires from another person for the purpose of removal
  to a scrap tire processor, end user, or disposal facility.
               (3)  "Used tire" means a tire that:
                     (A)  has been used as a tire on a vehicle;
                     (B)  has tire tread at least one-sixteenth inch
  deep; and
                     (C)  can still be used for its original intended
  purpose.
               (4)  "Used tire transporter" means a person who
  collects used tires from another person for the purpose of removal
  to a scrap tire processor, end user, or disposal facility.
         (b)  A scrap tire transporter or used tire transporter shall
  register with the commission unless the scrap tire transporter or
  used tire transporter is:
               (1)  a retreader who transports retreadable casings;
               (2)  a person who transports scrap tires or used tires
  that are intended for use in that person's agricultural business
  and who does not transport at one time a number of scrap tires or
  used tires that exceeds a number determined by commission rule;
               (3)  a person who transports scrap tires to the
  manufacturer or the manufacturer's representative for adjustment,
  provided that the generator of the tires complies with the
  recordkeeping and manifest requirements under Subsection (c);
               (4)  a person who:
                     (A)  is registered with the commission as an
  on-site sewage disposal system installer;
                     (B)  transports used or scrap tires or tire pieces
  for the construction of an on-site sewage disposal system; and
                     (C)  complies with the recordkeeping and manifest
  requirements under Subsection (c);
               (5)  a person engaged in the collection of incidental
  amounts of scrap tires, used tires, or tire pieces during the course
  of household or commercial waste collection for a municipal solid
  waste facility or a commercial landfill;
               (6)  a person engaged on behalf of a political
  subdivision in the transport of scrap or used tires to another site,
  provided that the person complies with the recordkeeping and
  manifest requirements under Subsection (c);
               (7)  a tire retailer who transports the retailer's own
  tires in the ordinary course of business as a tire retailer,
  including the transportation of tires between places of business
  owned by the retailer; or
               (8)  a person who transports scrap tires or used tires
  that are intended for recycling.
         (c)  The commission shall require a scrap tire transporter or
  used tire transporter to maintain records and use a manifest or
  other appropriate system to assure that those tires are transported
  to a storage site that is registered or to a site or facility
  authorized by the commission.
         SECTION 6.  Section 547.201, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) to read as
  follows:
         (c)  A person may not sell and install an unsafe tire. In this
  subsection, "unsafe tire" means a passenger car or light truck tire
  for which a visual or tactile inspection of the tire exterior and
  inner liner indicates that the tire:
               (1)  has tire tread less than one-sixteenth inch deep;
               (2)  has chunking, bumps, knots, or bulges evidencing
  cord, ply, or tread separation from the casing or other adjacent
  material;
               (3)  has exposed tire cords or belting material as a
  result of damage to the tire;
               (4)  has a repair to the tire in the tread shoulder,
  sidewall, bead area, or belt edge area;
               (5)  has a puncture that has not been sealed or patched
  on the inside with a cured rubber stem or plug that extends through
  to the outside surface;
               (6)  does not clearly show the United States Department
  of Transportation tire identification number located on the
  sidewall of the tire;
               (7)  is subject to a manufacturer's safety recall;
               (8)  has a puncture larger than one-quarter inch; or
               (9)  does not otherwise meet department safety
  standards under Section 547.101.
         (d)  Subsection (c) does not apply to a mounted tire sold
  with a used vehicle.
         (e)  A person commits an offense under Subsection (f) for the
  sale and installation of an unsafe tire described by Subsection
  (c)(7) only if the seller of the tire knew or had reason to know that
  the tire was subject to a manufacturer's safety recall at the time
  of the sale and installation.
         (f)  A person who violates Subsection (c) commits an offense.
  An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
         (g)  This section does not limit any liability.
         SECTION 7.  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
  361.1121, 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 8.  Section 361.112(g), Health and Safety Code, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 9.  A person is not required to comply with the
  requirements of Section 361.085(m), Health and Safety Code, as
  added by this Act, before the 180th day after the date that the
  rules adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to
  implement that section take effect, or as otherwise required by the
  commission.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.