Senate Bill No. 727
(By Senator Hall)
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[Introduced February 18, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §7-5-22 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §24A-2-4a of said
code, all relating to county solid waste assessment fees;
revising the manner in which the fees are assessed; and
facilitating the collection of county solid waste assessment
fees as a pass-through surcharge by motor carriers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-5-22 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §24A-2-4a of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 5. FISCAL AFFAIRS.
§7-5-22. County solid waste assessment fees authorized.
Each county or regional solid waste authority is
hereby
authorized to impose a
similar solid waste collection assessment
fee upon all interstate and intrastate common carriers collecting
solid waste within the territory of a county or regional solid authority: Provided, That the solid waste assessment fee
to that
imposed by section eleven, article fifteen, chapter twenty-two of
this code at a rate not to exceed fifty cents per ton or part
thereof upon the disposal of solid waste in that county or region
may not exceed ten cents per collection. Interstate and intrastate
common carriers collecting solid waste shall remit solid waste
assessment fees to the appropriate county or regional solid waste
authority on a monthly basis, within sixty days after the
conclusion of each month. All assessments due shall be applied to
the reasonable costs of administration of the county's regional or
county solid waste authority including the necessary and reasonable
expenses of its members, and any other expenses incurred from
refuse cleanup, litter control programs, or any solid waste
programs deemed necessary to fulfill its duties.
CHAPTER 24A. COMMERCIAL MOTOR CARRIERS.
ARTICLE 2. COMMON CARRIERS BY MOTOR VEHICLES.
§24A-2-4a. Motor carriers transporting solid waste; pass through
of landfill tip fees and county solid waste
assessment fees.
Any common carrier transporting solid waste in this state
pursuant to authority granted under section five, article two,
chapter twenty-four-a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, may make application to the commission for approval of a
rate surcharge to pass through
the county solid waste assessment
fee authorized by section twenty-two, article five, chapter seven
of this code, and
any increase in the disposal rate charged by the landfill at which solid waste is disposed by the motor carrier,
commonly known as the tip fee, to commercial and residential
customers, including increases which are the direct result of fees,
charges, taxes, or any other assessment imposed upon the landfill
by a governmental body. The commission shall within fourteen days
of receipt of said application notify the motor carrier of approval
of the requested rate surcharge, or approval of a rate surcharge
other than in the amount requested and the reason therefor. The
effective date of the approved rate surcharge shall be the same
date as the effective date of the increase in the tip fee or the
adoption or increase to the county solid waste assessment fee
to
which the surcharge relates; except that in the event the
application for approval of the rate surcharge is received by the
commission more than sixty days after the effective date of the tip
fee increase or the
adoption or increase to the county solid waste
assessment fee
,
then the effective date of the approved rate
surcharge shall be the date said application was received by the
commission.
The commission shall immediately promulgate emergency rules
which set forth the procedures for the filing of the tip fee rate
surcharge or increase county solid waste assessment fee
surcharge
application. It is the purpose of this statute to provide an
expedited process which will allow the subject motor carriers to
pass through tip fee increases and
county solid waste assessment
fees
to all customers. Only that data necessary to review in
accordance with this statute may be required by the commission to be submitted by the motor carrier.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change one of the sources
of funding for county and regional solid waste authorities from
landfill tipping fees to collection fees in recognition of the
important services provided by county solid waste authorities and
the decreased usage of West Virginia landfills resulting from the
federal district court decision Harper v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n. 427
F.Supp.2d 707 (S.D. W.Va. 2006).
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.