Fla. Senate considers used tire bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 3, 2015) — The Florida Senate is considering a bill that would ban the sale of unsafe used tires within the state.

Florida Senate Bill 236 was introduced Jan. 13 and referred simultaneously to the Committees on Rules, Commerce and Tourism, and the Judiciary.

The bill defines unsafe used tires as:

• Any used tire with a 2/32-inch tread depth or less;
• Any used tire with visible damage — such as a cut, crack, bulge, puncture, scrape, or wear that exposes the inner plies;
• Any tire that has been repaired in the tread shoulder, belt edge, sidewall or bead area;
• Any tire with a puncture repair in which the tire was not sealed or patched on the outside and repaired with a cured rubber stem through to the outside of the tire;
• Any tire with a puncture repair more than ¼ -inch in diameter;
• Any tire with evidence of a temporary tire sealant in lieu of a proper repair;
• Any tire with inner liner or bead damage; or
• Any tire with evidence of internal separation.

Any person who knowingly violates this law would be held liable under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the bill's text states. If passed, SB 236 would go into effect July 1, 2015.

Florida is one of seven states the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) said it would work with to obtain passage of used tire legislation in 2015. The others are Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

An RMA-sponsored used tire bill became law in Colorado in 2014.