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H. 3398
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Funderburk, Haskins and Brady
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11156ac07.doc
Introduced in the House on January 31, 2007
Currently residing in the House Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
Summary: Electronics Recycling Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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1/31/2007 House Introduced and read first time HJ-15
1/31/2007 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources
and Environmental Affairs HJ-16
2/6/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Haskins
2/8/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Brady
3/21/2007 House Recalled from Committee on Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-21
3/21/2007 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
HJ-21
3/28/2007 Scrivener's error corrected
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 96, TITLE 44 TO ENACT THE "ELECTRONICS RECYCLING ACT" SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SHALL PROMULGATE REGULATIONS ON THE PROPER MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONICS WASTE AND TO SPECIFY THE CONTENT OF THESE REGULATIONS; TO PROHIBIT THE SALE OF VIDEO DISPLAY DEVICES IN THIS STATE IF THE MANUFACTURER IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THIS ARTICLE; TO ESTABLISH CONSUMER ELECTRONICS WASTE RECYCLING FEES ON THE PURCHASE OF VIDEO DISPLAY DEVICES TO BE COLLECTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE; TO ESTABLISH THE ELECTRONICS RECYCLING FUND AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE USES OF THE MONIES IN THE FUND; TO REQUIRE RETAILERS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO CONSUMERS DESCRIBING HOW AND WHERE TO RETURN AND RECYCLE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT; TO PROVIDE THAT A RETAILER MAY RETAIN THREE PERCENT OF THE ELECTRONICS WASTE RECYCLING FEE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS IN COLLECTING THE FEE, TO PROVIDE THAT A PORTION OF THE ELECTRONICS WASTE FEE COLLECTED BY A RETAILER MAY BE REFUNDED TO THE RETAILER WHO DELIVERS ELECTRONICS WASTE TO A RECYCLER, AND TO ALSO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS MUST BE DISBURSED TO EACH COUNTY BASED ON POPULATION; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO REVIEW AND ADJUST ELECTRONICS WASTE RECYCLING FEES BIENNIALLY AND TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO ENSURE THAT THESE FEES GENERATE SUFFICIENT REVENUE TO FUND THIS RECYCLING PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE MANUFACTURERS TO SUBMIT ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE DEPARTMENT ON THE SALE OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT; TO ESTABLISH CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ESTABLISH AND UPDATE STATEWIDE RECYCLING GOALS; AND TO PROVIDE THAT THIS ARTICLE MAY NOT BE IMPLEMENTED IF FEDERAL LAW TAKES EFFECT REGULATING ELECTRONICS WASTE OR IF A COURT ISSUES A JUDGMENT HOLDING THAT OUT-OF-STATE MANUFACTURERS OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT OR RETAILERS MAY NOT BE REQUIRED TO COLLECT THE ELECTRONICS WASTE RECYCLING FEE ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE.
Whereas, the General Assembly finds that:
(1) Electronics waste, or 'e-waste' is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the nation. Each year hundreds of thousands of computers, monitors, televisions, printers, fax machines, copiers, cell phones, and other electronics become obsolete.
(2) E-waste poses a complex challenge beyond sheer numbers. E-waste is the largest known source of heavy metals and organic pollutants in the nation's waste stream. Some electronics, usually those with cathode ray tubes, circuit boards, batteries and mercury switches, contain hazardous materials including lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium.
(3) If not properly managed, e-waste can be hazardous to human health and the environment.
(4) Recycling is good for the environment by conserving natural resources, saving energy, and reducing the need to build landfills, and recycling is also good for the economy. In South Carolina, recycling has a $6.5 billion impact on the State's economy. The recycling industry is directly responsible for 15,000 jobs, $1.5 billion in annual personal income, and $69 million in tax revenue each year. Currently, there are about two dozen South Carolina companies that are part of the e-waste recycling industry.
(5) Many components of e-waste, such as precious metals, have value on the recycling market.
(6) Local government-operated programs are an efficient way to divert e-waste from disposal and to provide recycling services to consumers across the State. Similar programs exist in the State for waste tires, used motor oil, lead-acid batteries, and large appliances. These programs have proven to be extremely successful.
(7) No other recycling system currently exists, either provided by electronics manufacturers, retailers, or others to adequately serve consumers in the State.
(8) The purpose of this article is to enact a comprehensive system for the collection and recycling of electronics waste when discarded by South Carolina consumers.
(9) Further, it is the purpose of this article for the State to provide a statewide electronics recycling program to protect human health and the environment by:
(a) recovering and recycling valuable components of electronics waste;
(b) providing business opportunities that support the State's economy; and
(c) eliminating the disposal of electronics waste in landfills.
(10) The statewide electronics recycling program will:
(a) be accessible to all consumers that purchase electronic equipment at the retail level;
(b) be convenient and simple for all consumers, i.e., built around collection systems that are not burdensome for consumers;
(c) be free of cost at end-of-life;
(d) incorporate existing electronics recyclers in the State; and
(e) prohibit the export of whole electronic units outside the continental United States. Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 96, Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 44-96-600. This article may be cited as the 'Electronics Recycling Act'.
Section 44-96-610. For the purposes of this article:
(1) 'Conditionally exempt small quantity generator' means a person who generates 100 kilograms or less per month of hazardous waste as defined in R.61-79.261.
(2) 'Consumer' means a person who purchases new or refurbished electronic equipment as a retail sale or in a transaction in which a use tax applies.
(3) 'Department' means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
(4) 'Discarded' means electronic equipment that is:
(a) disposed of properly;
(b) placed in the recycling infrastructure but has not been recycled; or
(c) recycled.
(5) 'Domestic electronics waste recycler' means an electronics waste recycler that processes e-waste within the continental United States as specified by the department in regulation promulgated pursuant to Section 44-96-620.
(6) 'Electronics waste' or 'e-waste' means electronic equipment that has been discarded as specified by the department in regulation promulgated pursuant to Section 44-96-620. E-waste includes computers, monitors, and peripherals, as well as laptop computers and televisions.
(7) 'Electronics waste recycler' or 'e-waste recycler' means any of the following:
(a) a person who engages in the manual or mechanical separation of electronics waste to recover components and commodities contained in the electronics waste for the purpose of reuse or recycling;
(b) a person who changes the physical or chemical composition of electronics waste in accordance with regulations promulgated by the department by deconstructing, size reduction, crushing, cutting, sawing, compacting, shredding, or refining to segregate components and who arranges for the transport of those components to an end user; or
(c) a manufacturer or retailer who meets any conditions established by this article and regulations promulgated by the department for the collection or recycling of electronics waste.
(8) 'Electronics waste fee' or 'e-waste recycling fee' means the fee imposed pursuant to this article.
(9) 'Generator' means a person, by site, whose act or process produces hazardous waste identified or listed in R.61-79.261 or whose act first causes a hazardous waste to become subject to regulation.
(10) 'Large quantity generator' means a person who generates 1,000 kilograms or more per month of hazardous waste as defined in R.61-79.261.
(11) 'Manufacturer' means a person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, combination, or joint venture that is the last person in the production or assembly process of electronic equipment that is sold in this State.
(12) 'Person' means an individual, trust firm, joint stock company, business concern, or corporation including, but not limited to, a partnership, limited liability company, and an association and also includes the State and a political subdivision of the State.
(13) 'Recycling' has the same meaning as defined in Section 44-96-40.
(14) 'Refurbished' means electronic equipment that has been tested and returned to a condition that meets factory specifications, repackaged, and labeled as refurbished.
(15) 'Retailer' means a person who makes a retail sale of new or refurbished electronic equipment and includes a manufacturer of electronic equipment who sells that equipment directly to a consumer through any means including, but not limited to, a transaction conducted through a sales outlet, catalog, Internet, or any other similar electronic means.
(16) 'Retail sale' has the same meaning as defined in Section 12-36-110.
(17) 'Small quantity generator' means a person who generates more than 100 kilograms, but less than 1,000 kilograms per month of hazardous waste as defined in R.61-79.261.
(18) 'Video display device' means electronic equipment with an output surface that displays or is capable of displaying moving graphical images. A video display device may use, but is not limited to, a cathode ray tube, liquid crystal display, plasma, digital light processing, or other image projection technology. For purposes of this article, video display devices do not include:
(a) a video display device that is part of a motor vehicle or any component of a motor vehicle assembled by or for a vehicle manufacturer or franchise dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor vehicle;
(b) a video display device that is contained within or part of a piece of industrial, commercial, or medical equipment, including monitoring or control equipment;
(c) a video display device that is contained within a clothes washer, dryer, refrigerator or freezer, microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room air conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier;
(d) other devices as specified by the department in regulation promulgated pursuant to Section 44-96-620.
Section 44-96-620. (A) The department shall promulgate regulations on the proper management of electronics waste. The regulations must include:
(1) registration requirements and procedures for electronics waste collectors;
(2) certification requirements and procedures for electronics waste recyclers;
(3) the definition of 'electronics waste', as well as specific items meeting this definition; and
(4) the definition of 'domestic electronics waste recycler', as well as specific criteria meeting this definition.
(B) The department shall administer and enforce the provisions of this article.
Section 44-96-630. (A) Notwithstanding Subsection 44-96-710, a fine or penalty may be assessed on a retailer who sells, or offers for sale, in this State a video display device that the electronics waste recycling fee has not been collected or paid.
(B) Fines or penalties assessed under this section must be remitted to the Department of Revenue to be deposited in the general fund.
Section 44-96-640. After December 31, 2007, a person must not sell a new or refurbished video display device to a consumer in this State if the department determines that the manufacturer of that video display device is not in compliance with this article.
Section 44-96-650. (A) For sales made after December 31, 2007, there is imposed an electronics waste recycling fee of five dollars for each new or refurbished video display device greater than four inches measured diagonally sold to the ultimate consumer through a sales outlet, catalog, or Internet sale. Large quantity generators and small quantity generators are exempt from paying this fee.
(B) A retailer may retain three percent of the electronics waste recycling fee as reimbursement for costs associated with the collection of the fee and shall transmit the remainder of the fee to the Department of Revenue in accordance with this section.
(C) The retailer shall separately show the electronics waste recycling fee on the receipt given to the consumer at the time of sale.
(D) The retailer shall submit the electronics waste recycling fee to the Department of Revenue on a monthly basis.
(E) The retailer shall make information available to consumers that describes where and how to recycle electronics waste. Retailers shall post and maintain, at or near the point of sale, a sign, not less than eleven inches by fifteen inches in size, informing consumers of the importance of recycling electronics waste and providing information on how and where to recycle. Retailers are encouraged to provide similar information through a toll-free telephone number, web site, product labels, packaging, or information accompanying the sale of electronic equipment.
(F)(1) The Department of Revenue shall administer, collect, and enforce fee collection in the same manner that the sales and use taxes are collected pursuant to Chapter 36 of Title 12.
(2) The Department of Revenue may retain a portion of the fees collected, not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars a year, to cover the cost of administrative functions related to this article.
(G) There is established the Electronics Recycling Fund within the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund, which is a fund separate and distinct from the general fund. The Department of Revenue shall remit to the State Treasurer for credit to the fund all electronics waste recycling fees collected pursuant to this article, less the administrative cost retained by the Department of Revenue pursuant to subsection (F)(2) and any applicable credits and refunds. These fees must be credited to this fund, and all interest accrued on the monies in this fund also must be credited to the fund.
Section 44-96-660. A retailer required to submit electronics waste recycling fees pursuant to Section 44-96-650 who delivers or arranges delivery of electronics waste to a permitted or approved domestic electronics waste recycler may apply for a refund of two dollars and fifty cents for each video display device delivered. If electronics waste generated in this State, on which a fee has been paid, are delivered to an electronics waste recycler located outside this State, a retailer may apply for a refund of two dollars and fifty cents if the receiving facility is permitted or approved by the host state as an electronics waste recycler; in no case may a refund be approved for a number of video display devices delivered in excess of the number of new or refurbished video display devices sold by the individual wholesaler or retailer. Verification must be provided as required by the Department of Revenue. All refunds made pursuant to this section must be charged against the appropriate county's distributions under Section 44-96-670.
Section 44-96-670. The State Treasurer shall distribute three dollars and sixty cents for each video display device sold, less applicable credit, refund, and discount to each county based upon the population in each county according to the most recent United States Census. The county shall use these funds to establish and operate a permanent collection program for electronics waste generated within the State by residents and conditionally exempt small quantity generators. Electronics waste must be recycled by certified domestic electronics waste recyclers as defined in regulation. The remaining portion of the electronics waste recycling fee must be credited to the Electronics Recycling Fund by the Department of Revenue.
Section 44-96-680. (A) Monies in the Electronics Recycling Fund, created pursuant to Section 44-96-650(G), must be used to:
(1) fund grant requests from local governments as specified in subsection (B);
(2) fund the department's administration, enforcement, and promotion of the electronics waste recycling program, according to the provisions of this article including, but not limited to:
(a) providing point-of-sale signage to retailers;
(b) educating manufacturers, retailers, collectors, recyclers, and the public concerning the requirements of this article; and
(c) providing staff to carry out the department's responsibilities as provided for in this article.
(B) The department's Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling may provide grant assistance from the Electronics Recycling Fund to local governments that have exhausted all funds remitted under Section 44-96-670. This grant program must be administered in accordance with Section 44-96-130. Grant funding may be provided to assist in the following:
(1) constructing, operating, or contracting with registered electronics waste collectors;
(2) transporting or contracting for the delivery of electronics waste to a permitted or approved domestic electronics waste recycler;
(3) contracting for the recycling of electronics waste by a permitted or approved domestic electronics waste recycler;
(4) implementing education and awareness programs that promote the proper recycling of electronics waste; and
(5) other related activities.
Section 44-96-690. Every two years after the effective date of this article, the department, may review, at a public hearing, the electronics waste recycling fee and shall make any adjustments to the fee to ensure that there are sufficient revenues in the Electronics Recycling Fund to fund the electronics waste recycling program established pursuant to this article. The department shall base an adjustment of the electronics waste recycling fee on:
(1) the sufficiency, and any surplus, of revenues in the fund to fund the collection and recycling of electronics waste that is projected to be recycled in this State; and
(2) the sufficiency of revenues in the fund for the department to administer, enforce, and promote the program, plus a reserve not to exceed one year's operating costs.
Section 44-96-700. (A) Before July 1, 2008, and at least once annually thereafter, as determined by the department, each manufacturer of electronic equipment sold in this State shall:
(1) submit to the department a report that includes an estimate of the amount of electronic equipment sold by the manufacturer in this State during the previous year;
(2) make information available to consumers and retailers, that describes where and how to return, recycle, and dispose of electronics waste and opportunities and locations for the collection or return of electronics waste, through the use of a toll-free telephone number, web site, product labels, packaging or information accompanying the sale of electronic equipment.
(B) Information submitted to the department pursuant to subsection (A) that is proprietary in nature or a trade secret is subject to protection under state laws and regulations governing that information.
Section 44-96-710. (A) Civil liability in an amount up to two thousand five hundred dollars for each offense may be administratively imposed by the Department of Revenue for each sale of a video display device for which an electronics waste recycling fee has not been paid pursuant to Section 44-96-650.
(B) A civil penalty in an amount up to five thousand dollars for each offense may be imposed by the court for each sale of a video display device for which an electronics waste recycling fee has not been paid pursuant to Section 44-96-650.
(C) Civil liability in an amount up to ten thousand dollars may be administratively imposed by the department against manufacturers for failure to comply with this article, except as otherwise provided in subsection (A).
Section 44-96-720. (A) The department shall establish, within twenty-four months after this act's effective date, and update as necessary, statewide recycling goals for electronics waste. In implementing this section, the department shall:
(1) post on its web site information on the amount of electronic equipment sold in this State in the previous year as reported to the department;
(2) post on its web site information on the amount of electronics waste recycled in this State in the previous year as reported to the department;
(3) develop and adopt recycling goals, with input from manufacturers, retailers, electronics waste recyclers, and collectors, that reflect projections of electronic equipment sales, rates of obsolescence, and stockpiles.
(B) Nothing in this section authorizes the department to establish recycling rates or dates by which a manufacturer of electronic equipment is required to comply with this article or to impose any other recycling goal or target on a manufacturer of electronic equipment.
Section 44-96-730. Except as provided in Section 44-96-740, the department must not implement this article if either of the following occur:
(1) a federal law, or a combination of federal laws, takes effect and does all of the following:
(a) establishes a program for the collection, recycling, and proper disposal of electronics waste that is applicable to all electronic equipment sold in the United States;
(b) provides revenues to the State to support the collection, recycling, and proper disposal of electronics waste, in an amount equal to, or greater than, the revenues that would be generated by the fee imposed under Section 44-96-650; and
(c) requires electronic equipment manufacturers, retailers, handlers, processors, and recyclers to dispose of electronics waste in a manner that is in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, and prohibits this waste from being exported for disposal in a manner that poses a significant risk to the public health or the environment;
(2) a trial court issues a judgment, which is not appealed, or an appellate court issues an order affirming a judgment of a trial court, holding that out-of-state manufacturers or retailers, or both, may not be required to collect the fee authorized by this article. The out-of-state manufacturers or retailers, or both, shall continue to collect the fee during the appellate process.
Section 44-96-740. (A) Except as provided in subsection (B), the provisions of this article become inoperative on the date that either of the events described in Section 44-96-730(1) or (2) occurs, and if both occur, the earlier date of the two.
(B) On the date specified in subsection (A), the provisions of this article remain operative only for the collection of fees, the liability for which accrued prior to that date, making refunds, effecting credits, the disposing of monies collected, and commencing an action or proceeding pursuant to this article."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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