2 tire-related bills come down to the wire in California

SACRAMENTO — Two tire-related bills before the California Assembly must pass and be sent to the state Senate by June 2, or they will be dead for the year, according to the California Tire Dealers Association (CTDA).

The first bill, Assembly Bill 509, would replace the state's current Rubberized Pavement Market Development Act with a new Tire Recycling Incentive Program Act, according to the Legislative Counsel's Digest of the bill on the California Assembly website.

The Tire Recycling Incentive Program Act would require the California Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling (CalRecycle) to establish an incentive program to make payments to entities that purchase waste tire material to use in making products for end-users.

AB 509 would require CalRecycle to hold a public workshop by Jan. 1, 2019 to develop a plan for the incentive program.

It would require CalRecycle to collect data from incentive recipients and publish them in an annual California Waste Tire Market Report, and also require the agency to evaluate the program in a public forum and propose changes accordingly.

This bill is expected to pass, according to CTDA Legislative Representative Terry Leveille.

Tire industry stakeholders withdrew their objections to AB 509 after the bill was amended in several places, including a provision that CalRecycle cannot institute a new regulatory fee of up to $1 per new tire sold until the agency has spent the balance of its Tire Fund, Leveille said.

AB 1180, which identifies tires as a potential priority product under California's Green Chemistry program, faces a less certain future, according to Mr. Leveille.

The CTDA withdrew its opposition after the bill was amended to eliminate a $1.50-per-tire fee to fund stormwater cleanup, but the USTMA remains opposed.

AB 1180 was amended in the California Assembly Appropriations Committee to require the state's Department of Substances Control (DTSC) to identify tires that contain zinc as priority products and, by Jan. 1, 2020, begin adoption of tire regulations under the green chemistry initiative.

"Zinc oxide is an ingredient in all tires, and tires cannot be manufactured without its use," the USTMA said in a statement opposing the bill.

Whereas the DTSC is required under law to review substances of concerns in consumer products and potential alternatives, AB 1180 pre-empts that review and would automatically move tires into mandatory rulemaking, according to the USTMA.

"The proposed amendments to AB 1180 employ the political process, not science, to regulate a substance used in tires," the association said.