November 8, 2007, Introduced by Senators BROWN, RICHARDVILLE, BIRKHOLZ, GILBERT, KAHN, GLEASON, PAPPAGEORGE, JANSEN and HARDIMAN and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
(MCL 324.101 to 324.90106) by adding part 175.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
PART 175 RECYCLING TRUST FUND
Sec. 17501. As used in this part:
(a) "Department" means the department of environmental
quality.
(b) "Electronic goods" means that term as defined in section
17401.
(c) "Recycling fund" means the recycling trust fund created in
section 17503.
Sec. 17503. (1) The recycling trust fund is created within the
state treasury.
(2) The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from
any source for deposit into the recycling fund. The state treasurer
shall direct the investment of the recycling fund. The state
treasurer shall credit to the recycling fund interest and earnings
from recycling fund investments.
(3) Money in the recycling fund at the close of the fiscal
year shall remain in the recycling fund and shall not lapse to the
general fund. The department shall be the administrator of the
recycling fund for auditing purposes.
(4) The department shall expend up to 3% of the money in the
recycling fund, as appropriated, to reimburse the department and
the department of treasury for the expenses of administering this
part and part 173 and to reimburse counties for the expense of
preparing recycling and waste diversion reports under section
17509.
(5) The department of treasury shall expend up to 10% of the
money in the recycling fund to reimburse local tax collecting units
for revenue lost as a result of the exemptions from the collection
under the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.1 to
211.155, of taxes on real or personal property used for recycling
or for landfill methane gas recovery or utilization. Reimbursement
under this subsection shall be made as follows:
(a) If the total amount of money exempted from the collection
of taxes under the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.1
to 211.155, for a tax year is 10% or less of the money in the
recycling fund, the local tax collecting units shall be reimbursed
in full.
(b) If the total amount of money exempted from the collection
of taxes under the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.1
to 211.155, for a tax year is more than 10% of the money in the
fund, the local tax collecting units shall be reimbursed on a pro
rata basis.
(6) Subject to subsection (7), the department shall also
expend money in the recycling fund, upon appropriation, as follows:
(a) Not less than 44% for distribution to local units of
government and nongovernmental entities that qualify under section
17505 to be expended for recycling and other waste diversion
programs operated by the recipients. Money shall be distributed
under this subdivision in proportion, as determined by the
department, to the amount of money expended by the recipient for
waste diversion programs in the previous year, not including money
distributed under this subdivision.
(b) Not less than 34% for grants to fund persons, including
governmental and nongovernmental entities, to conduct recycling or
other waste diversion programs. Grants under this subdivision may
be distributed to elementary and secondary schools in this state to
fund waste diversion projects conducted by the students and waste
diversion education, for which distributions a separate maximum
amount shall be established under subsection (7). The department of
treasury shall not distribute money to a person under this
subdivision for more than 3 fiscal years. To qualify for a
distribution under this subdivision, a person shall submit to the
department on a form provided by the department an agreement to use
the distribution to offset the costs of a waste diversion program,
which may include planning costs. Money shall be expended under
this subdivision as determined by the department based on the
criteria recommended by the council under section 17405. In
establishing the criteria and expending the money, the department
and the council shall give the highest priority to activities that
accomplish the following:
(i) Encourage innovative ways to handle products that are hard
to recycle.
(ii) Serve as a catalyst to encourage additional recycling.
(iii) Help expand recycling to underserved areas of this state.
(iv) Enhance efforts to recycle electronic goods.
(c) Not less than 8% for a comprehensive public education
program concerning litter and solid waste diversion that includes
advocacy of recycling. Money may be expended under this subdivision
for a program established under section 42 of the driver education
provider and instructor act, 2006 PA 384, MCL 256.662.
(d) Not less than 1% for inspections under section 11526(1)
and (3).
(7) Before distributing revenue under subsection (6), the
department shall consider whether distributions of the revenue are
geographically balanced based on the proportion of the revenue
generated from sales transactions in the various geographic areas
of this state. The department shall annually establish a maximum
amount for distributions under subsection (6)(a) and 2 separate
maximum amounts for distributions under subsection (6)(b). The
department shall not distribute money to a person under subsection
(6)(a) or (b) in an amount that exceeds the relevant established
maximum.
(8) If a nongovernmental entity has a contract with a local
unit of government to conduct a recycling program for the local
unit, the department shall not distribute money under this section
to the local unit for duplicative recycling in the same service
area.
Sec. 17505. (1) To qualify for a distribution under section
17503(6)(a) during a state fiscal year, a person shall meet both of
the following criteria, as applicable:
(a) By the end of the preceding state fiscal year, the person
had a benchmark recycling program as described in section 17507.
(b) The person has submitted to the department on a form
provided by the department an agreement to use the distribution to
offset the costs of a recycling program, which may include planning
costs.
(2) A person that receives money under section 17503(6)(a)
shall do 1 or more of the following with the money:
(a) If the person is a local unit of government, pool the
money with or transfer it to other local units or an authority
established under 1947 PA 179, MCL 123.301 to 123.311, or 1955 PA
233, MCL 124.281 to 124.294, for multijurisdictional recycling
programs consistent with the requirements of section 17507.
(b) Use the money to conduct or to pay contractors to conduct
recycling programs consistent with the requirements of section
17507.
Sec. 17507. A benchmark recycling program is a recycling and
waste diversion program that meets all of the following
requirements, as applicable:
(a) The program does either or both of the following:
(i) Uses trucks and related equipment to collect recyclable
materials from the curbside or similar locations from each
household in the local unit or area served, other than households
in multifamily dwellings of 5 or more dwelling units. The material
collected in this manner shall include newsprint, polyethylene
terephthalate (PETE), and at least 3 of the following items:
(A) Clear glass.
(B) Colored glass.
(C) Aluminum, steel, and bimetallic cans.
(D) Mixed residential paper.
(E) Corrugated cardboard.
(F) Magazines.
(G) Boxboard.
(H) High-density polyethylene (HDPE).
(I) Electronics goods.
(ii) Includes an easily accessible drop-off collection point
available to citizens not less than 8 hours per week where
newsprint, PETE, and at least 3 of the other items listed in
subparagraph (i) are collected.
(b) The program includes a comprehensive and sustained public
information and education component concerning recycling program
features and requirements. As part of this component, the person
conducting the program shall, at least 30 days prior to the
initiation of the recycling program and at least annually
thereafter, notify each household and each person occupying
commercial, institutional, or municipal premises in the local unit
of government of the opportunities for recycling in that local unit
of government and the requirements for separation and proper
management of items prohibited from disposal in a landfill under
section 11514. In addition, the person conducting the program shall
maintain this information on its website, if any.
(c) The person conducting the program adequately documents the
program, including submission of the information necessary for the
county recycling and waste diversion reports to meet the
requirements of section 17509.
Sec. 17509. (1) A person that receives money under section
17503(6)(a) or (b) shall file a report with the department and the
county in which the person conducts its recycling program. The
report shall be filed by November 15 of the fiscal year following
the fiscal year in which the person receives the money. The report
shall contain all of the following:
(a) The information required by the county to complete the
report required by subsection (3).
(b) A true statement that the person has used the money to
conduct the recycling and waste diversion program for which it
received the money and has otherwise complied with this part.
(2) A person that does not file a report as required by
subsection (1) is not eligible for any further distributions under
section 17503 until the report is filed.
(3) By December 31 of each year, each county shall submit to
the department a recycling and waste diversion report. The report
shall be submitted in the manner and shall contain the information
required by the department describing progress in recycling and
waste diversion during the previous state fiscal year. In reporting
progress, the county shall use a standard methodology for measuring
recycling rates consistent with the methodology used by the United
States environmental protection agency as specified by the
department. A county that fails to submit a complete recycling and
waste diversion report to the department as provided in this
section does not qualify for a reimbursement of expenses under
section 17503(4).
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless all of the following bills of the 94th Legislature are
enacted into law:
(a) Senate Bill No. 893.
(b) Senate Bill No. 889.
(c) Senate Bill No. 892.
(d) Senate Bill No. 897.