Summary.
The draft bill seeks to decentralize solid waste management and strengthen the powers of municipalities in the Republic of Panama. It amends Law 106 of 1973 to give Municipal Councils responsibility for regulating urban and household sanitation services, setting the service fee and overseeing waste management from generation through final disposal. National institutions would act in a complementary, subsidiary or coordinating capacity. Mayors would organize, provide and supervise the service, implement municipal rules and adopt the means needed for collection, fee recovery, reduction, reuse and recovery of waste. Municipalities would collect a fee for waste collection, transport and final disposal and allocate five percent (5%) of its proceeds to public awareness programs and materials for sorting and recycling. The stated exemptions cover the Nation, the relevant intermunicipal association and persons recognized as destitute.
Through amendments identified in the text as Law 51 del 2010 and Law 51 de 2010, the bill defines the Urban and Household Sanitation Authority (Autoridad de Aseo Urbano y Domiciliario) as a national entity whose role complements and supports municipal powers. It could assist municipalities that request help or lack capacity during public health emergencies. Its functions would include planning, national coordination, technical regulation, inspection and oversight, together with responsibility for landfills. In the district of Panama, it would collect waste, set rates and collect the sanitation fee through coordination with the municipality. It would transfer 5% of monthly receipts to the Municipal Treasury (Tesoro Municipal) of the Municipality of Panama (Municipio de Panamá) for public awareness policies. In other districts, it could provide the service if the mayor requests it and the Municipal Council approves it by municipal agreement. The bill also transfers to the Authority functions concerning sanitation services and landfills assigned to the Municipality of Panama under Law 41 of 1999.
The Authority would prepare the National Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan and implement it with municipalities, providing technical, operational, logistical and financial assistance. It could enter concession contracts or cooperation agreements within the period and scope of municipal assistance to support collection, sweeping, transport, treatment, final disposal and recycling. It would administer the Cerro Patacón landfill and other landfills once transferred under the plan. Its power to adjust fees would be temporary and confined to districts where administration and fee collection had been assigned to it on a transitional basis. For the district of Panama, it would prepare a rate schedule with the Municipality of Panama, taking account of socioeconomic conditions and service costs.
The bill specifies the composition of the Authority’s governing board, including officials responsible for health, labor, housing, tourism and the environment. Representatives of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República) and the National Public Services Authority (Autoridad Nacional de los Servicios Públicos) would attend with speaking rights. Municipal officials would have speaking and voting rights in decisions concerning their district. The Authority would coordinate an integrated waste treatment plant available to neighboring municipalities. The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) could adopt fiscal and budgetary measures to finance it and bring it into operation within four (4) years of promulgation.
Lastly, the bill amends Law 6 of 1997 to allow electricity distributors to assist in collecting the sanitation fee through monthly bills when authorized by law or municipal agreement. It caps payment for that assistance at twenty-five hundredths of a balboa (B/.O.25) per customer or user and incorporates the collection provisions into the specified contracts. It provides for suspension of service when bills remain unpaid for one hundred eighty (180) days or more. The final provisions list the amendments and set commencement for the day after promulgation in the Official Gazette. The measures concern municipalities, sanitation and regulatory bodies, electricity distributors, service users and businesses engaged in waste management and treatment.
What it proposes.
- Municipal powers over urban and household sanitation services.
- National coordination of solid waste management and landfills.
- Sanitation fees and electricity distributors’ assistance in their collection.
Who it would affect.
- Municipalities, Municipal Councils and mayors.
- The Urban and Household Sanitation Authority.
- Electricity distributors and service users.
- Providers of solid waste management services.
Key points.
- Proposes to decentralize solid waste management and strengthen municipal powers over service provision, regulation, oversight and fee collection.Art. 1
- Assigns Municipal Councils authority over sanitation rules and fees, and mayors responsibility for organizing, providing and supervising the service.Arts. 2-3
- Allocates five percent (5%) of the municipal fee to public awareness and materials for sorting and recycling.Art. 4
- Defines the Urban and Household Sanitation Authority’s role as support and coordination for municipalities, with responsibility for landfills.Arts. 5-6
- Regulates the Authority’s provision of sanitation services and fee collection in the district of Panama and requires municipal request and approval for service in other districts.Art. 7
- Provides for a national plan, municipal assistance, supporting concessions and agreements, landfill administration and limits on temporary fee adjustments.Arts. 9-11
- Sets the governing board’s composition, municipal participation in district decisions and planning for an integrated treatment plant.Arts. 13-14
- Allows electricity distributors to assist in collecting the sanitation fee and changes the ground for suspension based on overdue bills.Arts. 15-16