The Florida Senate

¹403.7195  Waste newsprint disposal fees.--

(1)  There is imposed upon every producer or publisher within the state a product waste disposal fee of 50 cents per ton of newsprint consumed. The waste disposal fee imposed by this section shall be collected from producers or publishers based upon the total weight of newsprint actually consumed in their publications.

(2)  The product waste disposal fee imposed by this section shall be reported and paid to the Department of Revenue quarterly. A credit of 50 cents per ton of newsprint against the fee obligation may be taken by the producer or publisher for overruns or such similar products not actually circulated or delivered. The credit of 50 cents per ton is also allowed against the fee obligation for each ton of recycled newsprint used in publication of products. The payment shall be accompanied by such form as the Department of Revenue may prescribe. The proceeds of the product waste disposal fee collected pursuant to this section, less administrative costs, shall be transferred to the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund. For the purposes of this section, the proceeds of the fee include all funds collected and received by the department under this section, including interest and penalties on delinquent fees. The amount deducted for the costs of administration may not exceed 3 percent of the total revenues collected under this section and may be used only for those costs reasonably attributable to the fee.

(a)  The Department of Revenue shall administer, collect, and enforce the fee authorized under this section pursuant to the same procedures used in the administration, collection, and enforcement of the general state sales tax imposed under chapter 212, except as provided in this section. The provisions of this section regarding the authority to audit and make assessments, keeping of books and records, and interest and penalties on delinquent fees apply. The fees may not be included in the computation of estimated taxes under s. 212.11 nor does the dealer's credit for collecting taxes or fees provided in s. 212.12 apply to this fee.

(b)  The Department of Revenue, under the applicable rules of the ²Career Service Commission, may employ persons and incur other expenses for which funds are appropriated by the Legislature. The department shall adopt such rules and shall prescribe and publish such forms as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section. The department may establish audit procedures and assess delinquent fees.

(3)  If the department determines on October 1, 1993, and each successive year thereafter until October 1, 1999, by a preponderance of the evidence, that newsprint sold within the state is being recycled at a rate of 50 percent or more of the quantity sold within the state, the product waste disposal fee on newsprint shall be rescinded for the year following that determination. If the department determines on that date, by a preponderance of the evidence, that newsprint sold within the state is being recycled at a rate of less than 50 percent of the quantity sold within the state, the product waste disposal fee on newsprint shall be increased to $1 per ton and the credits authorized by subsection (2) shall be increased to $1 per ton, effective January 1 of the following year. If the product waste disposal fee on newsprint is increased, subsections (5) and (6) shall simultaneously be implemented.

(4)  If the department determines on October 1, 1999, and each successive year thereafter, by a preponderance of the evidence, that newsprint sold within the state is being recycled at a rate of 60 percent or more of the quantity sold within the state, the product waste disposal fee on newsprint shall be rescinded for the year following that determination. If the department determines on that date, by a preponderance of the evidence, that newsprint sold within the state is being recycled at a rate of less than 60 percent of the quantity sold within the state, the product waste disposal fee on newsprint shall be increased to $2 per ton, effective January 1 of the following year, and the credits authorized by subsection (2) shall be increased to $2 per ton when the statewide annual aggregate consumption of recycled fiber is equal to or exceeds 30 percent. If the product waste disposal fee on newsprint is increased, subsections (5) and (6) shall simultaneously be implemented.

(5)  Any producer or publisher using newsprint in publications shall accept from a person for recycling purposes reasonably clean newsprint previously produced, published, or offered for sale by that producer or publisher. Publications accepted for recycling shall be accepted at the place where they were produced or published or at other convenient sites offered by the producers or publishers.

(6)  The producer or publisher may claim a credit of 25 cents per ton of newsprint used in publications by their facility that have been returned and made available for recycling. Such claims shall be made quarterly to the Department of Revenue and shall be accompanied by such documentation of the claim as the Department of Revenue requires.

(7)  A credit under this section may not exceed the fee obligation.

(8)  For purposes of this section, the term "newsprint" means paper, the primary use of which is for the printing of newspapers.

(9)(a)  To ensure that newsprint consumed in the state contains sufficient amounts of recycled fiber, the statewide annual aggregate consumption of recycled fiber must equal or exceed the following percentages, calculated by dividing the weight of recycled fiber consumed annually in the state by the weight of the total newsprint consumed in the state:

1.  After December 31, 1993, 20 percent;

2.  After December 31, 1994, 25 percent; and

3.  After December 31, 1995, 30 percent.

(b)  If the department determines that the established recycled fiber consumption goals are not reflective of the production and availability of recycled newsprint fiber in the southeast, the department may, by rule, annually adjust the recycled fiber consumption goals to reflect the actual availability of recycled fiber.

(10)  The department shall annually review the progress toward achievement of these goals. Each producer and publisher shall document its use of recycled newsprint in a report that it submits to the department beginning December 31, 1994, and each December 31 thereafter.

(11)  If producers and publishers in the state fail to meet a statewide collective goal provided in subsection (9), the annual aggregate goal must be applied individually to each producer and publisher in the state. However, if one or more of the following conditions occurs during any calendar year quarter, the individual producer or publisher to which the condition or conditions apply is relieved of the requirement to meet the goal for that quarter:

(a)  The required percentage of recycled-content newsprint is unavailable to the producer or publisher within a reasonable period of time, and the producer or publisher demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department that recycled-content newsprint is unavailable and that the producer or publisher has made reasonable efforts to obtain recycled-content newsprint in compliance with this section;

(b)  The average delivered price for recycled-content newsprint available to the producer or publisher exceeds by more than 5 percent the average delivered price for virgin-fiber newsprint normally used by the producer or publisher; or

(c)  The average printing opacity, brightness level, or break performance of the recycled-content newsprint available to the producer or publisher is of lesser quality by more than 5 percent of the average printing opacity, brightness level, or break performance of virgin-fiber newsprint normally used by the producer or publisher.

(12)  A producer or publisher to which subsection (11) applies which does not achieve the required goal is subject to a fine of $5 per short ton of the number of tons of recycled-content newsprint representing the shortfall. This penalty does not apply for any quarter in which the shortfall is due to one or more of the conditions specified in paragraphs (11)(a)-(c).

History.--s. 71, ch. 88-130; s. 35, ch. 90-132; s. 31, ch. 93-207; s. 21, ch. 93-233; s. 405, ch. 94-356.

¹Note.--Expired October 1, 1995, pursuant to s. 71, ch. 88-130.

²Note.--Section 72, ch. 86-163, transferred "the statutory powers, duties and functions, records, and property of the Career Service Commission" to the Public Employees Relations Commission.