California tire bills amended, reassigned

SACRAMENTO — Two bills before the California legislature — one that started out as a tire-related bill, and one which remains so — have been amended and reassigned to committees within the California Senate.

As it now stands, California Assembly Bill 1180 would authorize the Los Angeles County Flood Control District to impose a new tax or fee to pay the costs of carrying out projects to increase stormwater capture and reduce stormwater runoff in the district. An earlier version of the bill would have required the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to designate tires that contain zinc as a priority subject of regulation under the state's Green Chemistry initiative.

This provision angered the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, which pointed out that zinc oxide is an essential ingredient in all tires.

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

The USTMA withdrew its opposition to AB 1180 after all mention of tires was removed from the bill.

The California Tire Dealers Association opposed the original bill because of a provision that would increase the state tire fee by $1.50 per tire to help fund stormwater projects. The provision has been removed and the CTDA has dropped its opposition.

Because of the amendments, AB 1180 was reassigned to the California Senate Rules Committee, where it was originally considered.

The second bill, California Assembly Bill 509, passed the California Senate Environmental Quality Committee 5-2 on July 5 and has been assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 509 would require the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to replace its current Rubber Pavement Market Development program with a Tire Recycling Incentive Program that would make payments to entities that purchase waste tire material to use in making products for end-users.

After initial opposition, the USTMA now supports AB 509 after the bill's sponsors added provisions at the association's recommendation.

Other supporters of AB 509 include the Northern California Recycling Association, the Clean River Alliance and the Sonoma County Task Force on Waste Diversion. The CTDA takes a neutral stance on the bill.

The California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) opposes AB 509, as do some recycling companies in the state. CNCDA President Brian Maas said his association's opposition has nothing to do with the Tire Recycling Incentive Program per se.

“We advocate that that the state tire fee should be assessed on a per-vehicle basis, not per-tire,” Maas said. “The per-tire fee is too difficult for our members to calculate, and it's an administrative nightmare for them.”

Representatives of the recycling companies could not be reached for comment.