[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 855 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 855

 To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
   Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) to establish a maximum limit of 
 liability for municipalities and other persons liable under that Act 
     for the generation or transportation of municipal solid waste.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 1995

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was 
    referred to the Committee on Commerce and, in addition, to the 
  Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
   Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) to establish a maximum limit of 
 liability for municipalities and other persons liable under that Act 
     for the generation or transportation of municipal solid waste.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Municipal Liability Cap Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN SUBSTANCES.

    (a) Generation and Transportation of Municipal Solid Waste--Section 
107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607), commonly referred to as 
``Superfund'', is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(n) Limitation on Liability for Generation or Transportation of 
Municipal Solid Waste.--
            ``(1) In general.--No municipality or other person liable 
        for any costs or damages under paragraph (3) or (4) of 
        subsection (a) of this section by reason of such municipality 
        or other person's generation or transportation of municipal 
        solid waste shall be liable for more than 4 percent of such 
        costs and damages.
            ``(2) Definitions.--As used in this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `municipality' means any political 
                subdivision of a State, including any city, county, 
                town, township, school district, and other legal 
                government entity; and
                    ``(B) the term `municipal solid waste' means solid 
                waste generated by households and includes waste from 
                commercial, institutional, and industrial sources if 
                the amount and toxicity of substances contained in the 
                waste do not exceed that which one would expect to find 
                in waste generated by households.
            ``(3) Guidelines.--The Administrator may promulgate 
        guidelines to be used in determining the waste which qualifies 
        as municipal solid waste under paragraph (2)(B).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to response actions and suits brought under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
of 1980 whether such response actions or suits are commenced before, 
on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act; except that such 
amendment shall not apply to any suit brought under such Act in which 
final judgment has been entered by a court before the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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