Bill Number: H.B. 2310
Smith
Floor Amendment
Reference
to: COMMERCE AND PUBLIC SAFETY
Committee
amendment
Amendment
drafted by: Jessica Newland
FLOOR
AMENDMENT EXPLANATION
1.
Prohibits
reimbursement amounts for corrective action taken for the release of an Underground
Storage Tank (UST) from being reduced based on payments made pursuant to the
preapproval program.
2.
Allows
an owner or operator of a UST that satisfied the financial responsibility
requirement through insurance at the time of a release to receive reimbursement
of up to $500,000 for additional corrective action without filing a claim
against the insurance carrier.
3.
Makes
technical changes.
Page 1, between lines 1 and 2, insert:
"Section 1. Section 49-1006.02, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE49-1006.02. Insurance
primacy; requirements; fund access
A. For
owners or operators that satisfy financial responsibility requirements through
insurance, the following apply:
1. The
policy that covers the underground storage tank system at the time the release
is discovered shall be primary to eligibility under sections 49‑1017 and
49‑1054.
2. The
owner or operator is not required to exhaust insurance coverage in order to be
eligible under sections 49‑1017 and 49‑1054.
3. except as provided in subsection c of this section, Eligibility
under sections 49‑1017 and 49‑1054 is contingent on filing a timely
insurance claim under the policy and pursuing that claim until a denial is
received or, after assistance from the department as prescribed in section 49‑1006.01,
subsection D, until the department determines that the claim has been
constructively denied.
4. An
owner or operator that fails to pursue an insurance claim is no longer eligible
under sections 49‑1017 and 49‑1054.
B. An
owner or operator that satisfies financial responsibility requirements through
insurance and that will not receive payment from its insurance provider until
after the expenditure of at least fifty thousand dollars per facility as
provided in an insurance policy that is in effect on April 1, 2015 or that
satisfies financial responsibility requirements through an alternative
financial responsibility mechanism is eligible under sections 49‑1017 and
49‑1054 after meeting a cost sharing obligation by payment of the first
fifty thousand dollars per facility for work that is conducted on or after
January 1, 2016. This eligibility is subject to the limits prescribed in section
49‑1054, subsection A and is subject to the preapproval process
prescribed in section 49‑1051. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN
SUBSECTION C OF THIS SECTION, Eligibility pursuant to this
subsection for owners or operators that meet financial responsibility requirements
through insurance is contingent on providing timely notice of the release to
the insurance carrier under the policy and that eligibility ends on the date
that the insurer is obligated to provide payment under the policy.END_STATUTE
C.
AN OWNER OR OPERATOR THAT SATISFIES FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
THROUGH INSURANCE AND THAT HAD A RELEASE REPORTED BETWEEN JULY 1, 2006 AND
DECEMBER 31, 2015, THAT REQUIRES ADDITIONAL CORRECTIVE ACTION IS ELIGIBLE UNDER
SECTIONS 49-1017 AND 49-1054 SUBJECT TO THE PREAPPROVAL PROCESS PRESCRIBED IN
SECTION 49-1051 WITHOUT FILING A TIMELY CLAIM AGAINST ITS INSURANCE CARRIER IF
THE OWNER OR OPERATOR WAS IN COMPLIANCE WITH FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS AT THE TIME OF THE RELEASE. THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ELIGIBLE FOR
REIMBURSEMENT UNDER THIS SUBSECTION IS FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS PER
FACILITY AFTER MEETING A COST SHARING OBLIGATION BY PAYMENT OF THE FIRST FIFTY
THOUSAND DOLLARS PER FACILITY FOR WORK CONDUCTED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2016
AND WITHOUT ANY REDUCTIONS FOR PAYMENTS MADE PURSUANT TO LAWS 2015, CHAPTER
247, SECTION 25, AS AMENDED BY SECTION 2 OF THIS ACT."
Renumber to
conform
Page 1, line
15, after "facility" insert "AND WITHOUT ANY
REDUCTIONS FOR PAYMENTS MADE PURSUANT TO THE PREAPPROVAL PROGRAM PRESCRIBED BY
SECTIONS 49-1051 AND 49-1053, ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES"
Page 3, line
28, after "facility" insert "AND WITHOUT ANY REDUCTIONS FOR PAYMENTS MADE PURSUANT TO THE
PREAPPROVAL PROGRAM PRESCRIBED BY SECTIONS 49-1051 AND 49-1053, ARIZONA REVISED
STATUTES"
Page 4, line
1, after "made" insert "pursuant
to this section"
Amend title to conform