85R4833 SLB-D
 
  By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 570
 
 
 
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.