S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6272
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 27, 2009
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Introduced by M. of A. COLTON -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to elec-
tronic equipment disposal and wireless telephone recycling; and to
amend the state finance law, in relation to requiring fines and penal-
ties for violations of provisions relating to electronic equipment
disposal to be deposited in the solid waste account of the environ-
mental protection fund
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
new section 27-0721 to read as follows:
S 27-0721. ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DISPOSAL.
1. AS USED IN THIS SECTION:
(A) "ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT" MEANS A DESKTOP OR LAPTOP COMPUTER, COMPUT-
ER MONITOR, PORTABLE COMPUTER, CATHODE RAY TUBE, FLAT PANEL BASED TELE-
VISION OR WIRELESS TELEPHONE.
(B) "WIRELESS TELEPHONE" MEANS (I) A MOBILE TELEPHONE AS DEFINED IN
PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE-C
OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, OR (II) A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE
AS DEFINED IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED ONE OF THE COUNTY LAW.
2. (A) NO PERSON SHALL KNOWINGLY DISPOSE OF ANY ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
IN MIXED SOLID WASTE.
(B) NO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY SHALL KNOWINGLY ACCEPT FOR
DISPOSAL OR INCINERATION ANY ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, OR ANY TRUCKLOAD OR
CONTAINER OF SOLID WASTE WHICH INCLUDES ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT.
S 2. Title 23 of article 27, and sections 27-2301, 27-2303 and 27-2305
of the environmental conservation law, as added by chapter 730 of the
laws of 2006, are renumbered title 29, and sections 27-2901, 27-2903 and
27-2905.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08894-01-9
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S 3. Subdivision 2 of section 27-2903 of the environmental conserva-
tion law, as added by chapter 730 of the laws of 2006, such section as
renumbered by section two of this act, is amended to read as follows:
2. Every wireless telephone service supplier required to accept or pay
for the shipment of used wireless telephones shall [take reasonable
steps to ensure each used wireless telephone accepted or shipped pursu-
ant to this section shall either be recycled, reused or disposed of in
an environmentally sound manner] RECYCLE OR REUSE SUCH USED WIRELESS
TELEPHONES.
S 4. Subdivision 7 of section 54-0701 of the environmental conserva-
tion law, as added by chapter 610 of the laws of 1993, is amended to
read as follows:
7. "Household hazardous waste" shall mean solid waste, INCLUDING ELEC-
TRONIC EQUIPMENT AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF
SECTION 27-0721 OF THIS CHAPTER, emanating from households (including
single and multiple residences, hotels and motels, bunkhouses, ranger
stations, crew quarters, campgrounds, picnic grounds and day-use recre-
ation areas) which but for their point of generation, would be a hazard-
ous waste under title 9 of article 27 of this chapter or a "pesticide"
as defined in article 33 of this chapter.
S 5. Subdivision 1 of section 71-2703 of the environmental conserva-
tion law is amended by adding a new paragraph b-1 to read as follows:
B-1. I. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPHS A AND B OF THIS
SUBDIVISION, ANY PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY OR INTENTIONALLY VIOLATES ANY
PROVISION OF OR FAILS TO PERFORM ANY DUTY IMPOSED BY SECTION 27-0721 OF
THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE LIABLE FOR A CIVIL PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED FIFTY
DOLLARS FOR EACH VIOLATION, PROVIDED THAT SUCH CIVIL PENALTY SHALL BE IN
ADDITION TO ANY OTHER PENALTIES AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO ANY OTHER
PROVISION OF STATE OR LOCAL LAW GOVERNING THE ILLEGAL DISPOSAL OF ELEC-
TRONIC EQUIPMENT.
II. THE PENALTIES AUTHORIZED BY THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE ASSESSED BY
THE COMMISSIONER AFTER A HEARING OR OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD PURSUANT TO
THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 71-1709 OF THIS ARTICLE, AND IN ADDITION THER-
ETO, ANY PERSON FOUND TO HAVE VIOLATED THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 27-0721
OF THIS CHAPTER MAY BY SIMILAR PROCESS BE ENJOINED FROM CONTINUING SUCH
VIOLATION.
III. ALL CIVIL PENALTIES AND FINES COLLECTED FOR ANY VIOLATION OF
SECTION 27-0721 OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE PAID OVER TO THE COMMISSIONER
FOR DEPOSIT IN THE SOLID WASTE ACCOUNT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
FUND ESTABLISHED BY SECTION NINETY-TWO-S OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW, FOR
THE FUNDING OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT RECYCLING PROGRAMS.
S 6. Subdivision 3 of section 92-s of the state finance law, as
amended by chapter 145 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
follows:
3. Such fund shall consist of the amount of revenue collected within
the state from the amount of revenue, interest and penalties deposited
pursuant to section fourteen hundred twenty-one of the tax law, the
amount of fees and penalties received from easements or leases pursuant
to subdivision fourteen of section seventy-five of the public lands law
and the money received as annual service charges pursuant to section
four hundred four-l of the vehicle and traffic law, all moneys required
to be deposited therein from the contingency reserve fund pursuant to
section two hundred ninety-four of chapter fifty-seven of the laws of
nineteen hundred ninety-three, all moneys required to be deposited
pursuant to section thirteen of chapter six hundred ten of the laws of
nineteen hundred ninety-three, repayments of loans made pursuant to
A. 6272 3
section 54-0511 of the environmental conservation law, all moneys to be
deposited from the Northville settlement pursuant to section one hundred
twenty-four of chapter three hundred nine of the laws of nineteen
hundred ninety-six, provided however, that such moneys shall only be
used for the cost of the purchase of private lands in the core area of
the central Suffolk pine barrens pursuant to a consent order with the
Northville industries signed on October thirteenth, nineteen hundred
ninety-four and the related resource restoration and replacement plan,
the amount of penalties required to be deposited therein by section
71-2724 of the environmental conservation law, THE AMOUNT OF FEES AND
PENALTIES REQUIRED TO BE DEPOSITED THEREIN BY SUBPARAGRAPH III OF PARA-
GRAPH B-1 OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 71-2703 OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSERVATION LAW, and all other moneys credited or transferred thereto
from any other fund or source pursuant to law. All such revenue shall be
initially deposited into the environmental protection fund, for applica-
tion as provided in subdivision five of this section.
S 7. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 6 of section 92-s of the
state finance law, as amended by chapter 432 of the laws of 1997, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) All moneys heretofore and hereafter deposited in the environmental
protection transfer account shall be transferred by the comptroller to
the solid waste account, the parks, recreation and historic preservation
account or the open space account upon the request of the director of
the budget; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE COMPTROLLER SHALL IMMEDIATELY
TRANSFER TO THE SOLID WASTE ACCOUNT, ALL MONEYS RECEIVED PURSUANT TO
SUBPARAGRAPH III OF PARAGRAPH B-1 OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 71-2703
OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW.
(b) Moneys from the solid waste account shall be available, pursuant
to appropriation and upon certificate of approval of availability by the
director of the budget, for any non-hazardous municipal landfill closure
project; municipal waste reduction or recycling project, as defined in
article fifty-four of the environmental conservation law; for the
purposes of section two hundred sixty-one and section two hundred
sixty-four of the economic development law; any project for the develop-
ment, updating or revision of local solid waste management plans pursu-
ant to sections 27-0107 and 27-0109 of the environmental conservation
law; and for the development of the pesticide sales and use data base in
conjunction with Cornell University pursuant to title twelve of article
thirty-three of the environmental conservation law. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY
OTHER PROVISION OF THIS PARAGRAPH, MONEYS IN THE SOLID WASTE ACCOUNT
DERIVED PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH III OF PARAGRAPH B-1 OF SUBDIVISION ONE
OF SECTION 71-2703 OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW SHALL BE MADE
AVAILABLE FOR APPROPRIATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUNDING ELECTRONIC EQUIP-
MENT RECYCLING PROGRAMS PURSUANT TO TITLE SEVEN OF ARTICLE FIFTY-FOUR OF
THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW.
S 8. This act shall take effect immediately, except that sections one,
four, five, six and seven of this act shall take effect one year after
this act shall have become a law. Provided that the commissioner of
environmental conservation is hereby directed to promulgate any rules
and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act within
270 days of the effective date of this act.