05 LC 18
3747
House
Bill 23
By:
Representatives Hill of the
21st,
Scheid of the
22nd,
and Byrd of the
20th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 8 of Title 12 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding solid waste
management, so as to repeal certain provisions authorizing a tire disposal fee;
to change certain provisions regarding powers and duties of the director of the
Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources; to
change certain cross-references; to provide an effective date; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Part
1 of Article 2 of Chapter 8 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding solid waste management, is
amended by striking paragraph (19) of subsection (a) of Code Section 12-8-23.1,
relating to powers and duties of the director of the Environmental Protection
Division of the Department of Natural Resources and inserting in its place a new
paragraph (19) to read as follows:
"(19)
To collect
fees related to the sale of new replacement tires and with such
fees administer such programs as may be
necessary to ensure that scrap tires are regulated from the point of generation
to the point of ultimate disposal to protect public health and the environment;
and"
SECTION
2.
Said
part is further amended by striking subsection (a) of Code Section 12-8-27.1,
relating to the solid waste trust fund, and inserting in its place a new
subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a)
There shall be established the solid waste trust fund. The director shall serve
as trustee of the solid waste trust fund. The moneys deposited in such fund
pursuant to this Code section, Code Section 12-8-27,
and
Code Section
12-8-30.6,
and Code Section 12-8-40.1 may be expended
by the director, with the approval of the board, for the following
purposes:
(1)
To take whatever emergency action is necessary or appropriate to assure that the
public health or safety is not threatened whenever there is a release or
substantial threat of a release of contaminants from a disposal
facility;
(2)
To take preventive or corrective actions where the release of contaminants
presents an actual or potential threat to human health or the environment and
where the owner or operator has not been identified or is unable or unwilling to
perform corrective action, including but not limited to closure and postclosure
care of a disposal facility and provisions for providing alternative water
supplies;
(3)
To take such actions as may be necessary to monitor and provide postclosure care
of any disposal facility, including preventive and corrective actions, without
regard to the identity or solvency of the owner thereof, commencing five years
after the date of completing closure; and
(4)
To take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of a scrap
tire management program in this state, particularly as may be related to the
cleanup of scrap tire disposal piles and facilities, regulation of scrap tire
carriers and other handlers, and disbursement of grants and loans to cities,
counties, and other persons as may be necessary to implement fully the
provisions of this
part."
SECTION
3.
Said
part is further amended by striking subsection (h) of Code Section 12-8-40.1,
relating to tire disposal restrictions, and inserting in its place a new
subsection (h) to read as follows:
"(h)(1)
Beginning July 1, 1992, a fee is imposed upon the retail sale of all new
replacement tires in this state of $1.00 per tire sold. The fee shall be
collected by retail dealers at the time the retail dealer sells a new
replacement tire to the ultimate consumer; provided, however, that a Georgia
tire distributor who sells tires to retail dealers must collect such fees from
any retail dealer who does not have a valid scrap tire generator identification
number issued by the division. The fee and any required reports shall be
remitted not less than quarterly on such forms as may be prescribed by the
division. The division is authorized to contract with the Department of Revenue
to, and the Department of Revenue is authorized to, collect such fees on behalf
of the division. All fees received shall be deposited into the state treasury to
the account of the general fund in accordance with the provisions of Code
Section 45-12-92. All moneys deposited into the solid waste trust fund shall be
deemed expended and contractually obligated and shall not lapse to
the
general
fund.
(2)
In collecting, reporting, and paying the fees due under this subsection, each
distributor
or
retailer should be allowed the following deductions, but only if the amount due
was not
delinquent
at the time of payment.
(A)
A deduction of 3 percent of the first $3,000.00 of the total amount of all fees
reported due on such report; and
(B)
A deduction of one-half of 1 percent of that portion exceeding $3,000.00 of the
otal amount of all fees reported due on such report.
(3)
The tire fees authorized in this subsection shall cease to be collected on June
30, 2005. The director shall make an annual report to the House Committee on
Natural Resources and the Environment and the Senate Natural Resources Committee
regarding the status of the scrap tire program.
Reserved."
SECTION
4.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2005.
SECTION
5.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.