STAND. COM. REP. 708

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 1456

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1456 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPOSIT BEVERAGE CONTAINER PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is to decrease the burden placed on dealers required to operate bottle redemption centers by:

(1) Providing a one-year waiver for dealers if the

Department of Health (DOH) accepts that there is

a less costly or more efficient plan for the dealer's area; and

(2) Requiring DOH to adopt rules for this waiver process.


For purposes of the public hearing, your Committee circulated a proposed H.D. 1 version that further clarifies the Deposit Beverage Container Program (Program) established by Act 176, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002.

 

Specifically, the proposed H.D. 1:

(1) Clarifies that the amounts received as a beverage container deposit collected under chapter 342G, part VII, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), are not subject to the state income tax laws;

(2) Requires each deposit beverage distributor to generate a monthly report of total sales to dealers or consumers;

(3) Provides that all information submitted and contained in the monthly reports shall be protected to the extent allowable by state law;

(4) Provides that payment of the deposit beverage container fee and deposits shall be made monthly based on sale reports of the deposit beverage distributors;

(5) Provides that the amount due from deposit beverage distributors shall be the net number of deposit beverage containers sold multiplied by the sum of the prevailing deposit beverage container fee and the refund value of 5 cents;

(6) Provides that payment for amounts due from deposit beverage distributors shall be made by check or money order payable to the "Department of Health";

(7) Provides that deposit beverage distributors shall provide an annual report on forms supplied by DOH of the net amount of deposit beverage containers manufactured in or imported to the State by material size and type;

(8) Clarifies that dealers shall post a sign at the primary public entrance of their place of business and that the sign shall specify the address and hours of operation of the closest nondealer redemption center;

(9) Clarifies that DOH, rather than the State, may withdraw the certification of a redemption center;

(10) Provides that DOH may:

(A) Limit the number of redemption centers to maintain

appropriate operating scale;

(B) Set minimum distances between redemption centers;

(C) Permit potential redemption center operators to bid for the right to operate a center if there are conflicts over servicing a particular area; and

(D) Set minimum population requirements to be served by a redemption center;

(11) Clarifies that payments for handling fees shall be made within 60 days of receiving collection reports from redemption centers, provided that there is no discrepancy in the collection reports; and

(12) Repeals section 342G-105, HRS, that requires deposit beverage container inventory report and payment.

The Hawaii Food Industry Association supported this bill. DOH, Pepsi Bottling Group, and the Retail Merchants of Hawaii supported the intent of this bill. Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Hawaii commented on this bill.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has incorporated the contents of the proposed H.D. 1 and further amended this bill by:

(1) Ensuring that any information contained and submitted in the monthly reports shall be treated as confidential;

(2) Clarifying that the dealer's monthly reports are to be submitted to DOH;

(3) Inserting January 1, 2005, as the date when the payment of the deposit beverage container fee and deposits are to be made monthly;

(4) Clarifying that all importers and manufacturers shall submit an annual report to DOH by October 15, 2004, and each October 15th thereafter;

(5) Clarifying that the annual report shall contain the quantities of deposit beverage containers imported or manufactured during the previous year by material size and type and cover the period from October 1st until September 30th of the reporting year;

(6) Deleting the provisions dealing with the one-year waiver of application for dealers; and

(7) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style and clarity.

Your Committee would like to clarify that the amendments to this bill are intended to make the Program "less costly and more efficient." These factors are necessary for the success of the Program. Your Committee, however, would like to emphasize that these factors should take into account and not compromise the consumer's interest in redeeming beverage containers.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1456, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1456, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection,

 

____________________________

HERMINA M. MORITA, Chair