2007 Senate Bill 898 (Mandate certain procedures by electronic equipment recyclers )

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Public Act 395 of 2008

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Introduced by Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R) on November 8, 2007, to require state registration by recyclers of household waste, and prohibit recycling of televisions and computer monitors that does not meet the standards promulgated by the state of Maine Department of Environmental Protection, subject to a $5,000 fine.
- Referred to the Senate Natural Resources & Environmental Affairs Committee on November 8, 2007.
  - Reported in the Senate on October 15, 2008, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-3) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the Senate on November 12, 2008, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that would impose a new $2,000 tax on recyclers of computers and related equipment. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on November 12, 2008.
- Amendment offered by Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R) on November 13, 2008. The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on November 13, 2008.
Passed in the Senate (32 to 4) on November 13, 2008, to impose a new $2,000 registration tax on recyclers of computers and related equipment, and impose new recycling regulations, with violations subject to fines of between $1,000 and $2,500, and criminal penaties of up to a $5,000 per day. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the House on November 13, 2008.
- Referred to the House Great Lakes and Environment Committee on November 13, 2008.
  - Reported in the House on December 3, 2008, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  - Substitute offered in the House on December 10, 2008, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that revises details but does not change the substance of the bill as previously described. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on December 10, 2008.
  - Amendment offered by Rep. Howard Walker (R) on December 10, 2008, to establish that a loss of data liability waiver for recyclers only applies if they follow the industry standard data sanitation procedures mandated by the bill. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on December 10, 2008.
Passed in the House (92 to 13) on December 10, 2008, to impose a new $2,000 registration tax on recyclers of computers and related equipment, and impose new recycling regulations, with violations subject to fines of between $1,000 and $2,500, and criminal penaties of up to a $5,000 per day. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the Senate on December 18, 2008.
Passed in the Senate (34 to 3) on December 18, 2008, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill. [Vote Details and Comments]
Signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on December 25, 2008.

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1) Re: "journal statement" [by crazycajun on January 21, 2009]

how is it that our trash, our 'recycleables' are making it to foreign countries to be sorted by village children?

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2) "journal statement" [by Admin003 on November 15, 2008]
Senator Birkholz asked and was granted unanimous consent to make a statement and moved that the statement be printed in the Journal.

Senator Birkholz’s statement is as follows:

My bill in this two-bill package, Senate Bill 898, is a bill that will help establish a manufacturer-driven—I want to emphasize that—manufacturer-driven program to provide for the recycling of certain consumer computer electronic products. This is a take-back program, and it was actually brought to us by these leading manufacturers. It was brought to us, the Michigan Senate, and asked would we do this by people like Hewlett Packard, Dell, Apple, other leading manufacturers of consumer electronic equipment. They asked for a partnership, a public-private partnership, with government because they do not want what we all know can be very contaminated items to go into landfills or to be thrown by the wayside of roads or other places throughout the state of Michigan.

This is a public-private partnership, and it was driven by the manufacturing community. Members have letters from some of those large manufacturers on their desks. The bill that I have that is before you now requires the registration of recyclers of the covered electronic devices. It will require the department to enforce these rules, and it sets up a violation procedure so that it can be monitored. Any of you that saw “60 Minutes” Sunday night, we can make sure that none of this stuff will end up in foreign countries with little children taking out contaminated items from computers.

I would urge the adoption of this bill. The amendment before us sunsets the fees paid by the recyclers in 2015, so that the Legislature can go back and review the success of the program. It does implement a two-year incremental review of the adequacy of the fees.

Again, I would encourage the adoption of the amendment and the adoption of the bill to establish a public-private partnership to keep contaminated items out of the hands of especially children, but anyone so they are not exposed to those.

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3) 2007 Senate Bill 898 (Mandate certain procedures by electronic equipment recyclers ) [by admin on January 1, 2001]
Introduced in the Senate on November 8, 2007, to impose a new $2,000 registration tax on recyclers of computers and related equipment, and impose new recycling regulations, with violations subject to fines of between $1,000 and $2,500, and criminal penaties of up to a $5,000 per day

The vote was 32 in favor, 4 opposed and 2 not voting

(Senate Roll Call 635 at Senate Journal 87)

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