NY State Senate Bill 2021-S8242

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 07, 2022	referred to environmental conservation

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8517
Current Committee:: Senate Environmental Conservation
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§27-1007 & 27-1012, En Con L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S7428, A3375

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases the handling fee paid by a deposit initiator to a dealer or operator of a redemption center from three and one half cents to five cents per container; decreases the amount of quarterly payments a deposit initiator must pay the commissioner of taxation and finance from eighty to forty-seven percent of the balance of initiator's refund value account.

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8242

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
handling fee paid to any dealer or operator of a redemption center

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would increase the handling fee paid to any dealer or operator
of a redemption center from three and half cents to five cents and
permit deposit initiators to retain fifty-three percent of the balance
outstanding accumulated in the refund value account due to unredeemed
bottle deposits.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends subdivision six of section 27-1007 of the environ-
mental conservation law to direct deposit initiators to pay a five cent
handling fee for each beverage container accepted by the-deposit initi-
ator from a dealer or operator of a redemption center.

§ 2 Amends subparagraphs a and c of subdivision 4 of section 27-1012 of
the environmental conservation law to permit deposit initiators to
retain fifty-three percent of the balance outstanding in the refund
value account at the close of each quarter.

§ 3 Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The New York State Returnable Container Act (the "Bottle Bill") became
law in 1982 and has been keeping billions of bottles out of landfills
and off roadsides ever since. In the beginning, the law assigned a 5e
bottle deposit on consumers, assessed a la handling fee to beverage
companies, and permitted beverage companies to retain 100% of unredeemed
bottle deposit revenues. The handling fee was - and continues to be -
the sole source of revenue for the small business redemption centers
needed to collect and sort empty bottles in communities throughout the
state. When the original handling fee amount proved insufficient to
support the redemption centers, the Legislature increased the fee to 1
cent and 2 cent in 1983 and 1998, respectively. Over the course of 27
years, beverage companies retained more than $2 billion in unredeemed
bottle deposit revenues. Then, in 2009, the "Bigger, Better Bottle Bill"
raised the handling fee to 3;14 and adjusted the allocation of unre-
deemed bottle deposit revenues to 20% to the beverage companies and 80%
to the State General Fund.

Now, twelve years later, operational costs for small business redemption
centers continue to rise including wage expenses and associated payroll
taxes, insurance premiums, and rents - while the sole revenue source
(the handling fee) has remained static.  Redemption centers cannot be
allowed to fail. There are 896 small business redemption centers across
the state, each of which handles approximately 3.5 million empty bottles
annually, for a statewide total of more than 3.1 billion bottles per
year. In communities lacking a grocery store or other large-scale
redemption site, their convenience and efficiency are indispensable;
collectively, small business redemption centers have helped New York
consistently sustain a statewide bottle return rate of over 60%. Beyond
their contributions to recycling and local employment, small business
redemption centers also play a vital role in the lives of community
members, supporting community fundraising activities through bottle
drives conducted by PTAs, Boy and Girl Scout troops, travel sports
teams, and others. This bill does not raise consumer costs.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

The re-allocation of unredeemed bottle deposit revenues between the
State General Fund and the beverage companies offsets the costs of
increasing the handling fee. Based on information received from the
Department of Taxation Finance, we anticipate New York's loss of unre-
deemed bottle deposits to be approximately $50 million per year.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
April 1, 2022

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8242
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 7, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation  to  the
   handling fee paid to any dealer or operator of a redemption center
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Subdivision 6  of  section  27-1007  of  the  environmental
 conservation  law, as added by section 4 of part SS of chapter 59 of the
 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   6. In addition to the refund value of a beverage container  as  estab-
 lished  by  section 27-1005 of this title, a deposit initiator shall pay
 to any dealer or operator of a  redemption  center  a  handling  fee  of
 [three  and one-half] FIVE cents for each beverage container accepted by
 the deposit initiator from such  dealer  or  operator  of  a  redemption
 center.    Payment  of  the  handling  fee  shall be as compensation for
 collecting, sorting and  packaging  of  empty  beverage  containers  for
 transport  back to the deposit initiator or its designee. Payment of the
 handling fee may not be conditioned on the  purchase  of  any  goods  or
 services,  nor  may such payment be made out of the refund value account
 established pursuant to section 27-1012 of this title. A distributor who
 does not initiate deposits on a type of beverage container is considered
 a dealer only for the purpose of receiving a handling fee from a deposit
 initiator.
   § 2. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 4 of  section  27-1012  of  the
 environmental  conservation  law,  as  added  by section 8 of part SS of
 chapter 59 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows:
   a. Quarterly payments. An amount equal to [eighty] FORTY-SEVEN percent
 of the balance outstanding in the refund value account at the  close  of
 each  quarter  shall be paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance
 at the time the report provided for in subdivision three of this section
 is required to be filed. The commissioner of taxation  and  finance  may
 require  that the payments be made electronically.  The remaining [twen-
 ty] FIFTY-THREE percent of the balance outstanding at the close of  each
 quarter  shall  be  the monies of the deposit initiator and may be with-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13142-02-1
 S. 8242                             2
 
 drawn from such account by the deposit initiator. If the  provisions  of
 this  section  with respect to such account have not been fully complied
 with, each deposit initiator shall pay  to  such  commissioner  at  such
 time,  in  lieu  of  the  amount described in the preceding sentence, an
 amount equal to the balance which would have been  outstanding  on  such
 date  had  such provisions been fully complied with. The commissioner of
 taxation and finance may require that the  payments  be  made  electron-
 ically.
   c. Final report. A deposit initiator who ceases to do business in this
 state as a deposit initiator shall file a final report and remit payment
 of  [eighty]  FORTY-SEVEN percent of all amounts remaining in the refund
 value account as of the close of the deposit  initiator's  last  day  of
 business.  The commissioner of taxation and finance may require that the
 payments be made electronically. The deposit initiator shall indicate on
 the report that it is a "final report". The final report is  due  to  be
 filed  with  payment twenty days after the close of the quarterly period
 in which the deposit initiator ceases to do business. In the  event  the
 deposit  initiator  pays  out  more in refund values than it collects in
 such final quarterly period, the deposit  initiator  may  apply  to  the
 commissioner  of taxation and finance for a refund of the amount of such
 excess payment of refund values from sources other than the refund value
 account, in the manner as provided by the commissioner of  taxation  and
 finance.
   § 3. This act shall take effect April 1, 2022.

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Senate Bill S8242

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8242

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Sponsored By

Michelle Hinchey

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S8242 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments