Relating to the redemption of beverage containers, providing civil penalties, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions

Under current law, a consumer may return an empty beverage container upon which a refund value has been paid to a dealer or a redemption center. When a distributor collects empty beverage containers from a dealer, dealer agent, or redemption center, the distributor reimburses the dealer, dealer agent, or redemption center the refund value plus a 1-cent handling fee for each empty beverage container. Current law also allows any person to establish a redemption center that serves a dealer if it is approved by the department of natural resources. Any person can also establish an unapproved redemption center. This bill increases the handling fee to cents per beverage container from the effective date of the bill through December 31, 2026. During that time, the bill requires a dealer to pay one-half of cent per beverage container to the distributor for percent of the beverage containers delivered to the dealer as a contribution to the handling fee. Under the bill, a dealer may choose to not accept beverage containers if the dealer’s place of business is in a county with a population of more than 30,000 and within miles of a registered redemption center or if the dealer’s place of business is in a county with a population of 30,000 or fewer and within miles of a registered redemption center. The bill amends the definition of “dealer agent” so that a dealer agent is not limited to soliciting or picking up empty beverage containers from a dealer. The bill allows a person to establish a redemption center by filing proper notice with the department. The bill provides requirements that a person must satisfy to properly file notice of operation of a redemption center. Upon filing proper notice, the redemption center shall be considered a registered redemption center for purposes of the bill. Additionally, a participating dealer may register with the department to act as a registered redemption center for purposes of the bill. The bill creates civil enforcement procedures and penalties for a violation of the provisions of the bill, including a civil penalty of up to $2,500 for each day of the violation. The bill establishes a bottle bill fund in the state treasury under the control of the department. The fund shall consist of moneys deposited in the fund from civil penalties collected under the bill and such moneys are appropriated to the department for purposes of administering and enforcing the beverage containers control program. The bill requires the legislative fiscal committee to hold a meeting during the legislative interim immediately preceding the 2025 regular legislative session. Prior to the meeting, the attorney general shall submit to the general assembly for the committee’s review a report that details any legal proceedings arising under the beverage containers control program since the effective date of the bill. The committee shall review the enforcement of the beverage containers control program, the attorney general’s report, whether and how many redemption centers and participating dealers registered with the department, and the adequacy of the handling fee. The committee shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the general assembly no later than January 31, 2025. The bill makes numerous changes throughout Code chapter 455C to change instances of “dealer” to “participating dealer”, remove obsolete language, and stylistically and grammatically update the Code chapter. The bill takes effect January 1, 2022.