HAZARDOUS WASTE FEE SUNSETS                                                         S.B. 959 & 960:

                                                                                            SUMMARY AS ENROLLED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senate Bills 959 and 960 (as enrolled)

Sponsor:  Senator Roger Kahn, M.D.

Senate Committee:  Appropriations

House Committee:  Appropriations

 

Date Completed:  9-16-14

 

CONTENT

 

Senate Bills 959 and 960 would amend the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to delay for three years sunsets on certain hazardous waste and liquid industrial waste fees charged by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) under Parts 111 (Hazardous Waste Management) and 121 (Liquid Industrial Wastes) of the Act. These fees currently will sunset on October 1, 2014. A fee sunset is a date set in statute that prevents a State department from collecting a certain fee or fees after that date. The dollar amount of each of these fees would not be changed by the bills from the levels already established in statute. The fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 DEQ budgets passed by both the House and Senate are predicated on the extension of the fees in the bills.

 

MCL 324.11135 & 324.11153 (S.B. 959)

       324.12103 et al. (S.B. 960)                                                                                

 

FISCAL IMPACT

 

The bills would have a positive fiscal impact on the DEQ, and no fiscal impact on local units of government. While the bills would not generate any additional revenue for the DEQ, they would allow for the continued collection of approximately $1.1 million in various hazardous waste management fees at their current levels. Table 1 provides a list of the fees and the approximate revenue that they would generate during FY 2014-15.

 

Table 1

Bill Number

Fee

Annual Revenue

959

Hazardous waste manifest

$470,000

959

Hazardous waste handler user charge

$550,000

959 & 960

Hazardous waste and liquid industrial waste site ID

$80,000

TOTAL

$1,100,000

             Source: Department of Environmental Quality

 

Hazardous waste user charge fees are collected from producers and handlers of hazardous waste. A one-time fee is charged for obtaining a site ID number. An annual fee is charged based on the amount of hazardous waste handled at each site, and a fee is charged for printing and processing costs of hazardous waste manifest forms. The DEQ has indicated that approximately 4,000 entities pay hazardous waste fees annually, the bulk of the entities being businesses. The bills would eliminate sunsets on these fees. Table 2 provides a list of the fees that would be affected by the bills.

 

Table 2

Type

Description

Fee

Site ID Number User Charge (one-time)

$50

Handler User Charges (based on amount of regulated hazardous waste activity)

Small Quantity Generator (more than 100kg and less than 1,000kg generated for the year)

$100

Large Quantity Generator (1,000kg or more and less than 900,000kg generated for the year)

$400

Very Large Quantity Generator (900,000kg or more generated for the year)

$1,000

Used oil producers, re-refiners, burners, and used oil fuel marketers

$100

Active or inactive treatment, storage, and disposal facilities

$2,000

Manifest Processing User Charge (per manifest)

$6; not to exceed $8

 

 

                                                                                        Fiscal Analyst:  Josh Sefton

 

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.