2014 -- H 7720

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LC004635

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS

     Introduced By: Representatives Finn, Walsh, Cimini, and Handy

     Date Introduced: February 27, 2014

     Referred To: House Corporations

     (by request)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 5 of the General Laws entitled "BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS"

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 89

WASTE TRANSPORTATION

     5-89-1. Policy and purpose. -- It is the policy of the state and the purpose of this chapter

to:

     (1) Ensure that all residents and businesses in Rhode Island have equal access to waste

services that include, but are not limited to, collection of refuse and recyclables;

     (2) Ensure that collection of refuse and recyclables is consistent with established law,

rules and regulations regarding segregation of mandated recyclables at the point of generation;

and

     (3) Make waste haulers part of the solution for increasing recycling within the

commercial sector and encourage businesses to separate recyclable material from solid waste.

     5-89-2. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter:

     (1) "Director" means the director of the department of business regulation, or his or her

authorized representative.

     (2) "Commercial hauler" means any person that transports solid waste for compensation

in a vehicle having a rated capacity of more than one ton.

     (3) "Solid waste" means garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water

supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded materials, including

solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material generated by residential, institutional,

commercial, industrial, and agricultural sources, but does not include solids or dissolved materials

in domestic sewage.

     (4) "Person" means any individual, partnership, company, corporation, association,

unincorporated association, joint venture, trust, municipality, the state of Rhode Island or any

agency, department, or subdivision of the state, federal agency, or any other legal or commercial

entity.

     (5) "Transport" or "transportation" means the movement of materials by air, rail, road, or

water.

     (6) "Facility" means all contiguous land, structures, other appurtenances, and

improvements on the land, used for treating, storing, or disposing of waste. A facility may consist

of several treatment, storage, or disposal operational units.

     (7) "Commercial hauler" means any person that transports:

     (i) Regulated quantities of hazardous waste; or

     (ii) Construction and demolition debris for compensation in a motor vehicle having a

rated capacity of more than one ton; or

     (iii) Solid waste for compensation in a motor vehicle having a rated capacity of more than

one ton.

     (8) "Source separated" or "source separation" means the separation of compostable and

recyclable materials from noncompostable, nonrecyclable materials at the point of generation.

     (9) "Mandated recyclable" means all materials mandated for recycling by the department

of environmental management.

     5-89-3. License required. -- (a) A commercial hauler desiring to transport solid waste

within the state shall apply to the director for a license to do so, by submitting an application on a

form prepared for this purpose by the director.

     (b) The license shall have a duration of five (5) years and shall be updated annually, by

January 31, by the commercial hauler by submitting to the department:

     (1) Any change of information; and

     (2) How much waste and source separated waste was transported by the hauler the

previous calendar year.

     (c) The commercial hauler required to obtain a license under this section is the legal or

commercial entity that is transporting the waste, rather than the individual employees and

subcontractors of the legal or commercial entity. In the case of a sole proprietorship, the sole

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proprietor is the commercial entity.

     (d) A commercial hauler licensed under this section that offers the collection of solid

waste to any person in Rhode Island shall:

     (1) Beginning July 1, 2015, offer to collect mandated recyclables separated from other

solid waste and deliver mandated recyclables to a facility maintained and operated for the

management and recycling of mandated recyclables from any person who contracts with the

licensed hauler for waste collection.

     (2) Beginning the following year from enactment, offer to collect source separated wastes

that are mandated by law, rule or regulation of any agency, and deliver them to a facility

maintained and operated for the management of said source separated waste from any person who

contracts with the licensed hauler for waste collection.

     (3) Maintain and disseminate regularly to customers a regular schedule for collection of

solid waste and segregated waste.

     (e) In a municipality that has adopted licensing ordinance addressing the collection of

mandated recyclables, a commercial hauler in that municipality is not required to comply with the

requirements of subsection (d) of this section if the ordinance:

     (1) Is applicable to all persons;

     (2) Includes, at a minimum, all source separated materials required by subsection (d) of

this section; and

     (3) Requires a resident who contracts with a commercial hauler for waste services to use

the hauler for the collection of both source separated material required by subsection (d) of this

section and household generated solid waste.

     (f) A transporter licensed under this section that offers the collection of solid waste may

not charge a separate line item fee on a bill to a customer for the collection of mandated

recyclables, provided that a transporter may charge a fee for all service calls, stops, or collections

at a property and a transporter may charge a tiered or variable fee based on the size of the

collection container provided to a customer or the amount of waste collected from a customer. A

transporter licensed under this section may incorporate the cost of the collection of mandated

recyclables into the cost of the collection of solid waste and may adjust the charge for the

collection of solid waste. A transporter licensed under this section that offers the collection of

solid waste may charge a separate fee for the collection of leaf and yard waste or food residuals

from a customer.

     (g) The department shall submit a brief report by March 1 of every year to the governor,

speaker of the house and senate president, regarding the amount of waste and source separated

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waste that was transported by licensed haulers by this program.

     5-89-4. Application for license. -- (a) The application shall indicate:

     (1) The nature of the waste to be hauled;

     (2) How mandated recyclables shall be segregated from waste; and

     (3) How records will be kept tracking the tonnage of collected waste, mandated

recyclables and other types of waste that are segregated for disposal in a manner other than

landfilling or incineration either in Rhode Island or out of state.

     (b) The director may specify conditions that the director deems necessary to assure

compliance with state law.

     (c) The applicant shall include an application fee to be set by the department to recover

reasonable costs of administering this licensing program by the department.

     5-89-5. Display of license. -- All commercial haulers must keep the original license on

file at their corporate headquarters and a copy with their registered agent. All vehicles covered by

the license must carry a copy of the license in the vehicle at all times and be able to produce said

license to local or state law enforcement upon request.

     5-89-6. Penalty for violations. -- (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a

motor vehicle subject to the provisions of this section upon any public highway in the state

without first obtaining a license from the director, or operating the vehicle without having a copy

of the license as required by this chapter.

     (b) A violation of this section shall be considered a traffic offense and adjudicated in a

manner consistent with title 31 of the general laws.

     (d) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a penalty of

not more than two hundred dollars ($200) for a traffic violation. The penalties imposed by this

subsection shall be in addition to other penalties imposed by the general laws.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS

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     This act would require all commercial haulers desiring to transport solid waste within the

state be licensed by the director of the department of business regulation. Licenses would be

renewable every five (5) years. The act would also provide penalties for violations of the act.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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