Requires the comptroller to retain, from revenues collected from unclaimed bottles, an amount equal to 2% of the total revenues collected in the prior calendar year, for use towards expanding and creating bottle redemption centers under the beverage container assistance program; increases the handling fee paid by deposit initiators to dealers or operators of a redemption center from 3.5 cents to 5 cents.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7557A
SPONSOR: Glick PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to increase the handling fee given to bever-
age container redemption centers and to provide financial assistance
grants to redemption centers for the purpose of improvements and infras-
tructure for the collection of containers.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The bill amends subdivision 5 of section 27-1012 of the environmental
conservation law to direct the comptroller to retain two percent of the
total revenues of the unclaimed deposit funds, collected in the prior
year, for use by the commissioner of environmental conservation under
the beverage container assistance program.
Section 27-1018 of the environmental conservation law, as added by the
section 13 of part SS of chapter 59 of the laws of 2009, is amended to
allow the commissioner to use the unclaimed deposit funds made available
by the comptroller for the purposes of that section. Those purposes
include state assistance payments of up to 50% for the costs related to
the establishment of beverage container redemption centers, reverse
vending machines, and the rehabilitation of real property or structures
used for collecting, sorting, and packaging of empty beverage containers
that are subject to the provisions of this title.
The bill makes the grant funding available to businesses, not-for-profit
organizations, and municipalities located in the state including deal-
ers, distributors, or redemption centers as defined in this title and
with no restriction on number of employees for eligibility.
** Amendment to this bill is an increase in the handling fee that
redemption centers receive from deposit initiators (distributors). The
fee increases from 3.5 cents per beverage container to 5 cents.
JUSTIFICATION:
The beverage container assistance program was created in 2009, when the
state's Returnable Container Act (the "Bottle Bill") was amended to
include water bottles. It was intended to increase additional centers
and machines for returning for individuals to redeem the deposit on the
newly added containers; however, the program has not received funding
and to date has not been effective in implementing its goal of adding
redemption centers and vending machines to handle the increased volume
of containers eligible for redemption. In order to achieve that original
goal, and to provide the needed additional infrastructure for container
returns, this bill would create an annual revenue stream, using funds
collected and held by the state from the collection of containers for
which no deposit was claimed.
According to news reports, in 2021 the state received $139 million in
unclaimed beverage container deposits. The bill's increase in handling
fee from 3.5 cents per container to 5 Cents is intended to provide the
first increase in this fee in decades and prevent further closure by
other redemption centers that are struggling to stay in business. There
are reports of closures of up to 100 redemptions centers across the
state due to financial hardship. Additionally, and in advance of a
future expansion of the types of beverage containers which may be
returned for deposit, this measure will provide a critical lifeline to
redemption centers and help them meet labor and infrastructure needs.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023 : S6869 REF TO FINANCE/ A7557 (Glick) ref to encon
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Each calendar year, the amount of funds made available through the
provisions of this bill will depend upon the unclaimed deposit revenues
collected by the state. The increase in handling fee will have no fiscal
impact to the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7557--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 25, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK, McDONALD, WOERNER -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- recommitted
to the Committee on Environmental Conservation in accordance with
Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
retention and use of funds for the beverage container assistance
program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 27-1012 of the environmental
2 conservation law, as amended by section 2 of part JJ of chapter 58 of
3 the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
4 5. All moneys collected or received by the department of taxation and
5 finance pursuant to this title shall be deposited to the credit of the
6 comptroller with such responsible banks, banking houses or trust compa-
7 nies as may be designated by the comptroller. Such deposits shall be
8 kept separate and apart from all other moneys in the possession of the
9 comptroller. The comptroller shall require adequate security from all
10 such depositories. Of the total revenue collected, the comptroller shall
11 retain the amount determined by the commissioner of taxation and finance
12 to be necessary for refunds out of which the comptroller must pay any
13 refunds to which a deposit initiator may be entitled. Of the total
14 revenue collected, the comptroller shall retain an amount equal to two
15 percent of the total of such revenues collected in the prior calendar
16 year, to be distributed to the commissioner, as needed, for use under
17 the beverage container assistance program pursuant to section 27-1018 of
18 this title. After reserving the [amount] amounts to pay refunds and for
19 use under the beverage container assistance program, the comptroller
20 must, by the tenth day of each month, pay into the state treasury to the
21 credit of the general fund the revenue deposited under this subdivision
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10766-06-4
A. 7557--A 2
1 during the preceding calendar month and remaining to the comptroller's
2 credit on the last day of that preceding month; provided, however, that,
3 beginning April first, two thousand thirteen, nineteen million dollars,
4 and all fiscal years thereafter, twenty-three million dollars plus all
5 funds received from the payments due each fiscal year pursuant to subdi-
6 vision four of this section in excess of the greater of the amount
7 received from April first, two thousand twelve through March thirty-
8 first, two thousand thirteen or one hundred twenty-two million two
9 hundred thousand dollars, shall be deposited to the credit of the envi-
10 ronmental protection fund established pursuant to section ninety-two-s
11 of the state finance law.
12 § 2. Section 27-1018 of the environmental conservation law, as added
13 by section 13 of part SS of chapter 59 of the laws of 2009, is amended
14 to read as follows:
15 § 27-1018. Beverage container assistance program.
16 Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, within the
17 amounts retained by the comptroller for use under the beverage container
18 assistance program pursuant to subdivision five of section 27-1012 of
19 this title, and within the limits of any additional appropriations
20 therefor, the commissioner shall make state assistance payments to muni-
21 cipalities, businesses and not-for-profit organizations located in the
22 state, upon request or otherwise pursuant to the discretion of the
23 commissioner, for the cost of reverse vending machines located or to be
24 located in the state. Such state assistance payments shall not exceed
25 fifty percent of the costs of equipment, and/or the acquisition and/or
26 rehabilitation of real property or structures located or to be located
27 in the state related to the collecting, sorting, and packaging of empty
28 beverage containers subject to the provisions of this title. Such
29 payments may include costs related to the establishment of redemption
30 centers, including mobile redemption centers. For the purposes of this
31 section, municipalities and not-for-profit organizations shall have the
32 meaning as defined in section 54-0101 of this chapter and businesses
33 shall mean a dealer, distributor or redemption center as defined in this
34 title [that employs less than fifty employees].
35 § 3. Subdivision 6 of section 27-1007 of the environmental conserva-
36 tion law, as added by section 4 of part SS of chapter 59 of the laws of
37 2009, is amended to read as follows:
38 6. In addition to the refund value of a beverage container as estab-
39 lished by section 27-1005 of this title, a deposit initiator shall pay
40 to any dealer or operator of a redemption center a handling fee of
41 [three and one-half] five cents for each beverage container accepted by
42 the deposit initiator from such dealer or operator of a redemption
43 center. Payment of the handling fee shall be as compensation for
44 collecting, sorting and packaging of empty beverage containers for
45 transport back to the deposit initiator or its designee. Payment of the
46 handling fee may not be conditioned on the purchase of any goods or
47 services, nor may such payment be made out of the refund value account
48 established pursuant to section 27-1012 of this title. A distributor who
49 does not initiate deposits on a type of beverage container is considered
50 a dealer only for the purpose of receiving a handling fee from a deposit
51 initiator.
52 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
