Relating to accounting of unpaid beverage container refund value

This bill relates to accounting of unpaid beverage container refund value under the beverage containers control law, also known as the bottle bill. Current law limits beverage containers subject to beverage containers control deposit and refund provisions to any sealed glass, plastic, or metal bottle, can, jar, or carton holding wine, alcoholic liquor, beer, mineral water, soda water, or carbonated soft drinks. When a distributor sells beverages in eligible containers to a dealer, the distributor charges cents per eligible container to the sale price. When a dealer sells beverages in eligible containers to a consumer, the dealer charges the 5-cent deposit on each beverage container. A consumer can take eligible beverage containers to a dealer, dealer agent, or a redemption center and receive a 5-cent refund for every eligible beverage container that the consumer returns. A distributor collects eligible containers from a dealer, dealer agent, or redemption center, at which time the distributor pays the dealer, dealer agent, or redemption center cents per eligible container plus a handling fee of an additional cent per empty container. The bill adds high alcoholic content beer and canned cocktails to the definition of “beverage”. The bill requires each distributor to open a special interest-bearing account at an Iowa branch of a financial institution, as defined in the bill, to the credit of the distributor. The distributor shall deposit in the account an amount equal to the refund value for each beverage container sold by the distributor on or after July 1, 2021, and the reimbursement of refund value paid by the distributor to a dealer, dealer agent, or redemption center shall be paid from the account. Beginning October 31, 2021, and quarterly thereafter, the bill requires each distributor to submit to the director of the department of natural resources (DNR) a report covering the immediately preceding calendar quarter that includes the balance in the account at the beginning of the quarter for which the report is prepared, a list of all deposits credited to the account during the quarter, a list of all withdrawals from the account during the quarter, and the balance in the account at the close of the quarter for which the report is prepared. The bill authorizes the treasurer of state, independently or upon request of the DNR director, to examine the accounts and records of any distributor maintained by the distributor pursuant to the bill. The bill authorizes the attorney general, independently or upon request of the DNR director, to institute any appropriate action or proceeding to enforce any provision of the bill or any rule adopted pursuant to the bill.