Committee approves 3‑year, 50¢ tire‑fee pilot to clean up abandoned tire piles; vote 5‑4

Summary

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted 5‑4 to send Senate Bill 1089 to the floor. The bill would impose a 50¢ per‑tire fee for three years, deposit proceeds into a DEQ‑administered fund to remove abandoned tire piles and offer partial reimbursements to recyclers; proponents said the fee would raise roughly $1 million per year.

The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted 5‑4 to send Senate Bill 1089 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation after testimony from recyclers, local governments and industry representatives.

Sponsor Senator Mark Harris said the bill is designed to address dozens of abandoned waste‑tire piles across Idaho, which he said pose fire, mosquito and environmental hazards. Harris described the bill as a replacement for the existing Waste Tire Disposal Act; it would create a three‑year pilot that charges a 50¢ disposal fee at the point of sale and deposits the proceeds into a new fund administered by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to contract for cleanup and provide partial reimbursement to tire recyclers.

“Thirty‑five states have statewide waste‑tire disposal fees,” Harris said, and those fees in other states range from 25¢ to $10 per tire. He told the committee the department has identified roughly 22 abandoned tire piles…

Committee approves 3‑year, 50¢ tire‑fee pilot to clean up abandoned tire piles; vote 5‑4

Summary

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