BILL REQ. #:  H-2134.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/04/03.   

     AN ACT Relating to tire recycling; amending RCW 70.95.510 and 70.95.535; adding a new section to chapter 70.95 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 70.95.530; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 70.95.510 and 1989 c 431 s 92 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) There is levied a ((one dollar)) seventy-five cents per tire fee on the retail sale of new replacement vehicle tires for a period of five years, beginning ((October 1, 1989)) on the effective date of this act. The fee imposed in this section shall be paid by the buyer to the seller, and each seller shall collect from the buyer the full amount of the fee. The fee collected from the buyer by the seller, less the ten percent amount retained by the seller as provided in ((RCW 70.95.535)) subsection (4) of this section, shall be paid to the department of revenue in accordance with RCW 82.32.045, and the proceeds remaining after the deposit required by subsection (3) of this section, must be deposited into the vehicle tire recycling account created under section 2 of this act. All other applicable provisions of chapter 82.32 RCW have full force and application with respect to the fee imposed under this section. The department of revenue shall administer this section.
     (2) For the purposes of this section, "new replacement vehicle tires" means tires that are newly manufactured for vehicle purposes and used tires available for resale, but does not include retreaded vehicle tires.
     (3) Of the seventy-five cent fee imposed in subsection (1) of this section, twenty-five cents must be deposited into the motor vehicle account and must be used by the department of transportation for road maintenance, which may incorporate the use of material derived from scrap tires.
     (4) Every person engaged in making retail sales of new replacement vehicle tires in this state shall retain ten percent of the collected seventy-five cent fee imposed in subsection (1) of this section. The moneys retained may be used for costs associated with the proper management of the waste vehicle tires by the retailer.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The vehicle tire recycling account is created within the state treasury. After the deposit of funds into the motor vehicle account as provided for in RCW 70.95.510(3), the remaining funds received under RCW 70.95.510(1) must be deposited in the vehicle tire recycling account and used by the department for purposes including but not limited to those specified in RCW 70.95.535. Expenditures from the account may occur only after appropriation by the legislature. The department of revenue shall deduct two percent from the funds collected under RCW 70.95.510 for the purpose of administering and collecting the fee from new replacement tire retailers.
     (2) Moneys in the vehicle tire recycling account may be appropriated to the department for the purposes identified in RCW 70.95.535.
     (3) To provide increased accountability, by January 1st of each year, the department shall submit a report to the legislature outlining how the revenues deposited into the vehicle tire recycling account were used over the previous twelve-month period. The report must include, but is not limited to, identifying the local jurisdictions that received grant funding, the location and description of any illegal tire piles cleaned up, a description of any scrap tire demonstration projects funded, and the status of the statewide tire carrier tracking system.

Sec. 3   RCW 70.95.535 and 1989 c 431 s 93 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((Every person engaged in making retail sales of new replacement vehicle tires in this state shall retain ten percent of the collected one dollar fee. The moneys retained may be used for costs associated with the proper management of the waste vehicle tires by the retailer.
     (2))) The department of ecology ((will)) may administer the funds contained in the vehicle tire recycling account for ((the)) purposes ((specified in RCW 70.95.020(5))) including, but not limited to:
     (a) ((Making grants to local governments for pilot demonstration projects for on-site shredding and recycling of tires from unauthorized dump sites;
     (b))) Grants to local government for enforcement programs;
     (((c))) (b) Implementation of a public information and education program to include posters, signs, and informational materials to be distributed to retail tire sales and tire service outlets;
     (((d))) (c) Product marketing studies for recycled tires and alternatives to land disposal;
     (d) Scrap tire demonstration projects including those implemented by state agencies;
     (e) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, statewide unlawful tire pile cleanups and local citizen scrap tire amnesty events;
     (f) Statewide tire carrier tracking, reporting, and enforcement of the movement of tires within this state;
     (g) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, to provide for funding to state and local governments for the removal of discarded vehicle tires from unauthorized tire dump sites;
     (h) To accomplish the other purposes of RCW 70.95.020(5).
     (2) Prior to spending funds from the vehicle tire recycling account for the removal or cleanup of unlawfully disposed tires, the department must ensure that all legal remedies and cost recovery efforts available against the owner of the unlawfully disposed tires, or the property on which the unlawful tire piles are located, have been exhausted. The department should assist local jurisdictions, where appropriate, with enforcement actions against individuals unlawfully disposing of tires.
     (3)(a) Local governments that are recipients of grant funding for enforcement programs must submit an annual report to the department for each year the grant funding is expended, detailing the uses of the funds and including information on what enforcement activities were supported with the grant funds.
     (b) Local governments that are recipients of grant funding for illegal tire pile cleanups shall submit an annual report to the department for each year the grant funding is expended. The report must, at a minimum, identify the owners of the tire piles, the locations of the tire piles cleaned up, how many tires were removed, where and how the tires were disposed, and why cost recovery could not be obtained from the owners of the tire piles. The department shall forward this information to the legislature on an annual basis.
     (4) In spending funds in the account under this section, the department shall identify communities with the most severe problems with waste tires and provide funds first to those communities to remove accumulations of waste tires.
     (5) It is the intent of the legislature that in spending funds from the vehicle tire recycling account, the department will not implement a program or otherwise spend funds that competes with private businesses that engage in tire recycling.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The department of ecology shall implement an educational campaign for a period of one year, beginning no later than twelve months following the effective date of this act, to inform and educate local jurisdictions and the various vehicle tire industries who sell, dispose of, and recycle vehicle tires, on the current laws related to vehicle tire disposal and recycling, and the current vehicle tire recycling program administered by the department.
     (2) By September 1, 2003, the department shall submit a report to the legislature on illegal tire piles located in the state. At a minimum, the report must include information identifying every known illegal tire pile in the state, the city and county where each illegal tire pile is located, the estimated number of tires in each illegal tire pile, and the expected cost associated with cleaning up each illegal tire pile.
     (3) Moneys from the vehicle tire recycling account may be used to fund this section.
     (4) This section expires December 31, 2005.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   RCW 70.95.530 (Vehicle tire recycling account -- Use) and 1988 c 250 s 1 & 1985 c 345 s 7 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.