While Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin vetoed House Bill 423, which had provisions of how to fund the waste tire fund, many of the provisions were added at the last minute to House Bill 80.

“It’s a revenue bill. It contains a myriad of things in it,” said State Rep. Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green. “The only provision that has any tax in it is the waste tire provision. There’s only so many ways tires can be disposed. There’s so many waste tires, something has to be done with them.”

In House Bill 80 according to Section 7, KRS 224.50-868, a person purchasing a new motor vehicle tire in Kentucky will pay the retailer a $1 fee at the time of purchase, until June 30, 2018. A new tire is considered one that has never been placed on a motor vehicle before.

When a person purchases a new motor vehicle tire in Kentucky, the tire that is replaced becomes a waste tire and the person is encouraged to leave the waste tire with the retailer or dispose of it properly. People can also deliver the waste tire to a person registered with the waste tire program or reuse the waste tire for its original intended purpose or an agricultural purpose.

Bevin vetoed House Bill 423 which, among other things, involved extending a new tire fee to help with disposal. The money also is distributed to counties to host waste tire amnesty days – which helps prevent the tires from being tossed into sinkholes or illegal dumps.

“Every so often there’s a state law that has to be extended and passed along that there’s a new tire fee on new tires in Kentucky,” said Warren County Public Information Officer Stan Reagan. “It’s extended by the legislature every couple of years. It was set to expire June 30.”

Usually it’s extended for two years, Reagan said.

“That was vetoed by the governor. It went back to the Senate for an override,” he said. “It went to the House, but died because they ran out of time.”

The $1 new tire fee pays for tire amnesty and cleans up dump sites with tires in them, Reagan said.

“Unless they get it set in the appropriation of the bill …, they might not have it,” he said. “The waste tire trust fund may be gone. I’m optimistic that they may fix that, if they haven’t already.”

Reagan wasn’t the only one who hopes the program will be reinstated. In the past people have illegally dumped tires. Richards heard from many constituents.

“We heard from people that said it needed to be reinstated,” Richards said.

The fight for the bill isn’t quite over though, Richards said.

“The governor can still veto that bill. It has a lot of different aspects to it,” he said. “He can veto it, sign it or after 10 days he can let it be made into a law without his signature.”

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter @bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.