Add S27-2710, En Con L; add S13.33, Pks & Rec L; add S99-u, St Fin L
Establishes the "Nickels for Nature Act" requiring retailers to charge a five cent surcharge for every single use carryout bag which the retailer provides to customers to carry their purchases and provides a single five cent rebate to customers who provide at least one bag to carry their purchases.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5885--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
September 9, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sens. PERKINS, DILAN, OPPENHEIMER, STAVISKY -- read twice
and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
on Rules -- recommitted to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, the parks, recre-
ation and historic preservation law, and the state finance law, in
relation to enacting the "nickels for nature" act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Nickels
2 for Nature act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds and
4 declares that state parks and historic sites provide an indispensable
5 asset to our greater community, in terms of both the economical and
6 educational benefits. Without appropriate maintenance the aforementioned
7 parks and historical sites may fall into a state of disrepair rendering
8 them inaccessible. Accordingly, state parks and historic sites should be
9 provided with the necessary capital funding to allow for their continued
10 and uninterrupted use.
11 The legislature also finds and declares that single use bags, both
12 paper and plastic, distributed by New York retailers has a direct nega-
13 tive impact on the environment, littering our communities, filling our
14 landfills, harming wildlife, and using an extreme amount of fossil
15 fuels. Recognizing that urgency of this matter the legislature recom-
16 mends that an economic incentive be put in place to encourage the use of
17 reusable bags.
18 It is hereby declared to be the public policy and in the public
19 interest of this state to establish a comprehensive program to provide a
20 dedicated funding stream for our state parks and historic sites. Such a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13368-04-2
S. 5885--A 2
1 dedicated funding stream should be devoted as supplemental to the exist-
2 ing budget of the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation.
3 The funding stream should be created by imposing a five cent fee on
4 single use bags as well as a rebate program where funds will be
5 collected and used to fund capital projects in state parks as well as
6 necessary and appropriate maintenance. In order to preserve and improve
7 the system of state parks and historic sites, the "Nickels for Nature"
8 surcharge on single use carryout bags and the "Nickels for Nature" fund
9 are hereby established.
10 § 3. Title 27 of article 27 of the environmental conservation law, as
11 added by chapter 641 of the laws of 2008, is amended by adding a new
12 section 27-2710 to read as follows:
13 § 27-2710. Surcharge on single use carryout bags.
14 1. Notwithstanding any other tax, fee or surcharge imposed by this
15 article or any other law, there is hereby imposed and there shall be
16 paid a five cent surcharge on each single use carryout bag provided to a
17 customer by a retailer required to collect tax in a store front
18 location. Two cents of each five cent surcharge imposed shall remain,
19 untaxed, with the retailer and the state shall collect three cents to be
20 placed into the nickels for nature fund established pursuant to section
21 ninety-nine-u of the state finance law; provided, however, that the
22 retailer shall provide a rebate of five cents to the customer where the
23 customer provides his or her own bags to contain his or her purchases.
24 The rebate shall be limited to one five cent rebate per transaction,
25 regardless of the number of bags the customer provides.
26 2. For purposes of this section:
27 (a) "single use carryout bag" shall mean a paper or plastic bag
28 provided to a customer at the point of sale by a retailer required to
29 collect tax in a store front location and intended for a single use for
30 carrying tangible personal property purchased. Single use carryout bag
31 shall not include bags used by customers inside stores as product or
32 produce bags including:
33 (i) bags that come in contact directly with the product;
34 (ii) bags used to contain foods, such as meat, poultry, fish, or other
35 products, primarily to prevent leakage or contamination of other
36 products;
37 (iii) flowers, potted plants or other items where dampness may be a
38 problem;
39 (iv) bags provided by pharmacists to contain prescription drugs; or
40 (v) newspaper bags, door-hanger bags, dry cleaning bags, or bags sold
41 in packages containing multiple bags, such as those intended for use as
42 garbage, pet waste, or yard waste bags.
43 (b) "reusable bag" shall mean a bag with handles that is specifically
44 designed and manufactured for multiple reuse and meets all of the
45 following requirements:
46 (i) has a minimum lifetime of one hundred twenty-five uses, which for
47 the purposes of this section, means the capability of carrying a minimum
48 of twenty-two pounds one hundred twenty-five times over a distance of at
49 least one hundred seventy-five feet;
50 (ii) is machine washable or is made from a material that can be
51 cleaned or disinfected;
52 (iii) does not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in
53 toxic amounts, as defined by applicable state and federal standards and
54 regulations for packaging or reusable bags;
55 (iv) has printed on the bag, or on a tag that permanently affixed to
56 the bag, the name of the manufacturer, the location where the bag was
S. 5885--A 3
1 manufactured, a statement that the bag does not contain lead, cadmium,
2 or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts; and
3 (v) is made of plastic that is a minimum of at least 2.25 mils thick.
4 3. Retailers in store front locations are hereby required to collect a
5 surcharge of five cents for each single use carryout bag provided to a
6 consumer by the retailer; provided, however, that if the consumer
7 provides any bag, whether reusable or not they are entitled to one
8 rebate of five cents per transaction, regardless of the number of bags
9 the consumer provides. The retailer shall also be required to provide
10 reusable bags, as defined by this section, for purchase at a reasonable
11 price and shall clearly display the bag surcharge and rebate policy. The
12 surcharges retained by the retailer pursuant to this section shall not
13 be classified as revenue and shall be tax exempt.
14 4. (a) Every retailer required to collect the fee imposed by this
15 section shall collect the fee from the customer at the time the single
16 use carryout bag is provided. If the customer is given a sales slip,
17 invoice, receipt, or other statement or memorandum of the price or
18 charge of the purchase, such document shall state the number of single
19 use carryout bags provided to the customer and the amount of the fee
20 imposed by this section, along with any rebate for providing a bag, as
21 shown separately from the purchase price or charge and separately from
22 any other fee or tax imposed by any other law.
23 (b) Every retailer required to collect the fee imposed by this section
24 shall collect and retain for a period of three years information related
25 to the surcharges and rebates of single use carryout bags.
26 5. Failure to comply with this section:
27 (a) For the first violation, a written warning shall be issued to the
28 retailer that a violation has occurred. No fine shall be issued for the
29 first violation.
30 (b) For any subsequent violation, where the retailer continues to
31 violate the requirements of this act subsequent to receiving a written
32 warning, the comptroller shall issue a fine to the retailer in accord-
33 ance with the following schedule:
34 (i) up to one hundred dollars for the first violation in a calendar
35 year;
36 (ii) up to two hundred dollars for the second violation in the same
37 calendar year; and
38 (iii) up to five hundred dollars for each additional violation in the
39 same calendar year.
40 (c) No more than one fine shall be issued to a retail establishment
41 within a seven-day period.
42 (d) Payment of fines shall be received by the comptroller no later
43 than fifteen calendar days from receiving the penalty. If payment of any
44 fines due under this section is not received by or before the due date,
45 a penalty shall be added. Interest of one-half of one percent will
46 accrue every month, compounded monthly, after the due date has passed.
47 (e) Revenues collected for violation of this act shall only be used
48 for enforcement costs including hiring inspectors and other staff, and
49 administrative costs associated with enforcement of this act.
50 § 4. The parks, recreation and historic preservation law is amended by
51 adding a new section 13.33 to read as follows:
52 § 13.33 Nickels for nature funds. The commissioner is authorized to
53 utilize funds deposited into the nickels for nature fund, as established
54 pursuant to section ninety-nine-u of the state finance law, for capital
55 expenditures at state parks and historic sites.
S. 5885--A 4
1 § 5. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-u to
2 read as follows:
3 § 99-u. Nickels for nature fund. 1. There is hereby established in the
4 custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance a special account to
5 be known as the "nickels for nature fund".
6 2. All monies received by the commissioner of taxation and finance
7 pursuant to section 27-2710 of the environmental conservation law and
8 any other revenues collected for or appropriated to the fund pursuant to
9 any other law shall be deposited herein to the exclusive credit of such
10 fund account. Said moneys shall be kept separate and shall not be
11 commingled with any other moneys in the custody of the commissioner of
12 taxation and finance. No monies may be transferred from this account to
13 any other account except by the authority of the commissioner of the
14 office of parks, recreation and historic preservation.
15 3. The moneys in said account shall be retained by the fund and shall
16 be released by the commissioner of taxation and finance only as author-
17 ized by the commissioner of parks, recreation and historic preservation,
18 or his or her designee and only for the purposes set forth in section
19 13.33 of the parks, recreation and historic preservation law.
20 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
