Budget Amendment ID: FY2015-S4-200-R1

Redraft ENV 200

Update the Bottle BIll

Ms. Creem, Mr. Eldridge, Ms. Chang-Diaz, Ms. Spilka, Messrs. Wolf and DiDomenico, Ms. Jehlen, Ms. Lovely, Messrs. Barrett, Donnelly and Hedlund moved that the proposed new text be amended moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 56 the following 16 sections:-

“SECTION 56A. Section 321 of chapter 94 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Beverage” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-

“Beverage”, soda water or similar carbonated soft drinks; beer and other malt beverages; noncarbonated soft drinks including, but not limited to, mineral water, flavored and unflavored water, spring water, fruit drinks that contain less than 10 per cent juice, sports drinks and other water beverages; coffee and coffee-based drinks; and all other nonalcoholic carbonated and noncarbonated drinks in liquid form intended for human consumption; provided, however, that “beverage” shall not include milk and beverages that are primarily derived from dairy products, beverages containing a minimum of 10 per cent juice, infant formula and medicines approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration; and provided further, that “beverage” shall not include wine or alcoholic beverages other than beer and malt beverages as defined in section 1 of chapter 138.

SECTION 56B. The definition of “Beverage container” in said section 321 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- “Beverage container” shall not include containers made of paper-based biodegradable material and aseptic multi-material packaging.

SECTION 56C. Said section 321 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Plastic bottle” the following 2 definitions:-

“Redemption center”, a business, the primary purpose of which is the redemption of beverage containers and which is not ancillary to any other business.

“Redemption facility”, a person or business who engages in the refund of deposits for beverage containers as described in this section.

SECTION 56D. Said section 321 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following definition:-

“Small dealer”, a person or business, including an operator of a vending machine who engages in the sale of beverages in beverage containers to consumers, with a contiguous retail space of 3,000 square feet or less, exclusive of office and stockroom space, and fewer than 4 locations under the same ownership within the commonwealth.

SECTION 56E. Section 322 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following 2 sentences:- The secretary of energy and environmental affairs shall review the refund value every 5 years and may increase that amount to reflect the consumer price index as reported by the United States Department of Labor, but the refund value shall not be less than 5 cents. The secretary shall promulgate regulations which establish the maximum acceptable container size.

SECTION 56F. Section 323 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 11 and 12, and in line 19, the words “one cent” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- 3 and 1/2 cents.

SECTION 56G. Paragraph (c) of said section 323 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The handling fee shall be reviewed and may be adjusted every 5 years by the secretary of energy and environmental affairs to reflect the consumer price index as reported by the United States Department of Labor and industry-specific increases or decreases in costs incurred by redemption facilities.

SECTION 56H. Paragraph (d) of said section 323 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The handling fee shall be reviewed and may be adjusted every 5 years by the secretary of energy and environmental affairs to reflect the consumer price index as reported by the United States Department of Labor and industry-specific increases in costs incurred by redemption facilities.

SECTION 56I. Paragraph (e) of said section 323 of chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall promulgate rules and regulations for the licensure of redemption centers and may set fees for such licensing.

SECTION 56J. Said section 323 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “civil”, in line 73, the following words:- or administrative.

SECTION 56K. Paragraph (i) of said section 323 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- At each location where persons tender containers for redemption, dealers and redemption centers shall conspicuously display a sign in letters that are at least 1 inch in height with the following information: “WARNING: Any person who tenders to a dealer, distributor, redemption center or bottler more than 10 cases of 24 empty beverage containers each, which such person knows or has reason to know were not originally sold in the commonwealth as filled beverage containers, for the purpose of obtaining a refund value or handling fee shall be subject to a civil penalty of the greater of $100 for each container or $25,000 for each tender of containers, under Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 94”.

SECTION 56L. Section 323D of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 7 and 8, the words “Clean Environment Fund, established pursuant to section three hundred and twenty-three F” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- General Fund.

SECTION 56M. Said section 323D of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding the first paragraph, 100 per cent of amounts collected by the commissioner of revenue under this section that result from the sale of noncarbonated soft drinks including, but not limited to, mineral water, flavored and unflavored water, spring water, fruit drinks that contain less than 10 per cent juice, sports drinks and other water beverages, coffee and coffee-based drinks shall be deposited as follows: (i) 50 per cent to the Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund established in section 9 of chapter 44B and (ii) 50 per cent to the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund established in section 29A of chapter 23G.

SECTION 56N. Section 326 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 to 5, inclusive, the words “three hundred and twenty-one, three hundred and twenty-two, paragraphs (a) to (f), inclusive, of section three hundred and twenty-three, three hundred and twenty-three F, three hundred and twenty-four and three hundred and twenty-five” and inserting in place thereof the following figures:- 321, 322, 324 and 325.

SECTION 56O. Section 327 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “civil”, in line 14, the words “or administrative”.

SECTION 56P. Said section 327 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following 2 paragraphs:-

The department of environmental protection may enforce section 323, section 323A, section 324 and section 325.  A bottler, distributer, redemption center or dealer who violates any of the foregoing sections shall be subject to an administrative penalty for each violation of not more than $1,000.

The department of revenue may enforce paragraphs (g) and (h) of section 323 and sections 323B to 323E, inclusive.  A bottler, distributor, redemption center or dealer who violates any of the foregoing sections shall be subject to an administrative penalty for each violation of not more than $1,000.”; and

by inserting after section 123 the following section:-

“SECTION 123A. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs shall, not later than January 1, 2015, promulgate regulations providing small dealers as defined in section 321 of chapter 94 of the General Laws with the right to seek exemptions from accepting empty deposit containers.  The regulations shall consider at least the health and safety of the public, the convenience for the public, including standards governing distribution of centers by population or by distance or both, the size and storage capacity of the dealers to be served by the redemption center and the size and storage capacity of the redemption center.  The order approving a local redemption center license shall state the dealers to be served and the kinds, sizes and brand names of empty beverage containers that the center accepts.”; and

by inserting after section 131 the following section:-

SECTION 131A. Sections 56A to 56P, inclusive, shall take effect on April 22, 2015.