PRINTER'S NO. 682
No. 616 Session of 1995
INTRODUCED BY MELIO, VAN HORNE, BELARDI, GIGLIOTTI, DALEY,
PESCI, HERSHEY, LAUGHLIN, CORRIGAN, TRELLO, YOUNGBLOOD,
BATTISTO, STEELMAN AND CIVERA, FEBRUARY 7, 1995
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
FEBRUARY 7, 1995
AN ACT
1 Requiring the Department of Environmental Resources to conduct a
2 waste tire recycling and reuse study; and imposing a
3 surcharge.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Waste Tire
8 Recycling and Reuse Investigation Act.
9 Section 2. Legislative findings and declaration of policy.
10 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
11 (1) This Commonwealth accumulates approximately
12 12,000,000 waste tires each year. Many of these tires are
13 stockpiled or dumped illegally due to the expense and
14 difficulty associated with proper disposal.
15 (2) Waste tires are incompressible and consume scarce
16 and valuable space in landfills.
17 (3) Tire piles pose many environmental and health
1 hazards due to their susceptibility to fires, which result in
2 noxious emissions, and their service as a breeding site for
3 mosquitoes, which can carry several diseases.
4 (4) The chemical composition of tires makes them capable
5 of recycling and reuse as a fuel source, as an additive to
6 asphalt, etc.
7 (5) To promote the health and welfare of its citizens,
8 to protect the environment and to explore economic
9 opportunities, the Commonwealth should explore the methods of
10 recycling and reuse of waste tires and the markets for
11 recycled rubber.
12 Section 3. Definitions.
13 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
14 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15 context clearly indicates otherwise:
16 "Department." The Department of Environmental Resources of
17 the Commonwealth.
18 "New vehicle tire." An originally manufactured tire for use
19 on a vehicle. The term does not include any remanufactured,
20 recapped, retreaded or otherwise restored tire.
21 "Purchase price of a new tire." The purchase price of a new
22 vehicle tire subject to the surcharge in section 5 exclusive of
23 any other taxes on new vehicle tires.
24 "Vehicle." Every device in, upon or by which any person or
25 property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway,
26 except devices used exclusively upon rails or tracks. The term
27 does not include a pedalcycle.
28 "Waste tire." A tire no longer suitable for its intended
29 purpose because of wear, damage or defect.
30 Section 4. Study by Department of Environmental Resources.
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1 (a) Waste tire recycling and reuse study.--Within 18 months
2 of the effective date of this act, the department shall submit
3 to the Governor and the General Assembly a report which shall
4 include, but not be limited to, the following information:
5 (1) The volume of waste tires in this Commonwealth,
6 including the geographic distribution and the location and
7 size of waste tire storage, disposal, collection and
8 processing sites.
9 (2) Assessment of current technology for recycling and
10 reuse of waste tires, including deficiencies in existing
11 technology.
12 (3) Prioritization of methods of recycling and reuse of
13 waste tires.
14 (4) Current and future market projections for the use of
15 recycled rubber products.
16 (5) Methods of encouraging the demand for and use of
17 recycled rubber products.
18 (6) Recommendations regarding the most appropriate
19 methods of recycling and reuse of waste tires, markets for
20 recycled rubber, incentives to encourage recycling and reuse
21 of waste tires and use of recycled rubber and the need for
22 legislation addressing this issue.
23 (7) Recommendation regarding the continuance or
24 discontinuance of the surcharge on new vehicle tires
25 established under section 5(a).
26 (b) Updating study.--Within five years after completion of
27 the waste tire recycling and reuse study required under
28 subsection (a), the department shall submit to the Governor and
29 the General Assembly an updated study, taking into account
30 information developed since completion of the initial study.
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1 (c) Distribution of study.--The department shall promptly
2 make available to the Department of Transportation,
3 municipalities and other interested persons the results of the
4 study required by this section.
5 Section 5. Funding for waste tire recycling and reuse study.
6 (a) Surcharge on the purchase price of new vehicle tires.--A
7 surcharge of $1 shall be placed on the purchase price of each
8 new vehicle tire sold in this Commonwealth. This surcharge shall
9 not apply to new vehicle tires sold by wholesalers to retailers
10 for resale or to vehicle manufacturers.
11 (b) Collection.--The surcharge established in subsection (a)
12 shall be collected by the seller. The seller shall remit, on a
13 quarterly basis, 99% of the surcharge collected to the
14 Department of Revenue and may retain 1% for costs of collection
15 if the report is filed in a timely manner. The Department of
16 Revenue shall deposit the money collected in the General Fund of
17 the State Treasury. This money shall be held in trust solely for
18 the purposes of this act and shall be earmarked for the use of,
19 and annually appropriated to, the department for disbursement
20 solely for that purpose. Moneys from the department's
21 appropriations from the preceding fiscal year shall be used for
22 the purposes of this act in the interim between collection of
23 the surcharge and appropriation to the department.
24 (c) Use of proceeds of surcharge.--The proceeds of the
25 surcharge which are appropriated to the department shall be used
26 for the purpose of defraying the cost of conducting the waste
27 tire recycling and reuse study, for research and demonstration
28 projects relating to the feasibility of technologies for the
29 recycling and reuse of waste tires, for programs to promote tire
30 recycling and reuse in this Commonwealth and for any other
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1 purpose consistent with this act.
2 (d) Penalty for failure to remit or collect surcharge.--
3 Failure to remit surcharges collected in a timely manner shall
4 cause the surcharges to become delinquent, and the retailer,
5 wholesaler or vehicle dealer shall forfeit his claim to the
6 discount authorized in subsection (b) and shall remit 100% of
7 the surcharges due plus a penalty of $1 per tire for each tire
8 for which a surcharge is due. Failure to collect the surcharge
9 required by subsection (a) shall subject the retailer,
10 wholesaler or vehicle dealer to a penalty of $2 per tire for
11 each tire for which the surcharge has not been collected. The
12 Department of Revenue may promulgate rules and regulations as
13 may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this subsection.
14 Section 6. Effective date.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
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