General Assembly Committee Bill No. 58
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 2532
*02532SB00058ENV*
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
(ENV)
General Assembly
Committee Bill No. 58
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 2532
*02532SB00058ENV*
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FEE FOR THE USE OF PLASTIC AND PAPER BAGS AT GROCERY AND RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2011) (a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Retailer" has the same meaning as in subdivision (12) of subsection (a) of section 12-407 of the general statutes, but does not include a restaurant;
(2) "Customer" means an individual who purchases goods from a retailer;
(3) "Restaurant" means a business that has the sole purpose of preparing and selling food and beverages intended for individual portion service and includes the site at which individual portions are sold, regardless of whether the consumption of food or beverage occurs on or off of such site; and
(4) "Disposable bag" means a paper or plastic sack provided at the point of sale for the storage of purchased goods, but excludes (A) reusable bags made of cloth or durable plastic that is at least 2.25 mils thick, (B) bags used to store produce, flowers, baked goods or meat which are provided by a retailer at a location other than the point of sale, (C) bags used to cover dry cleaned items, (D) paper bags provided by a pharmacy for the storage of purchased pharmaceuticals, or (E) plastic bags used to envelop newspapers intended for delivery at a residence.
(b) On and after January 1, 2012, any retailer who provides a disposable bag at the point of sale to a customer shall charge such customer a fee of five cents for each such bag, except that no fee shall be charged to a beneficiary of assistance under the state administered food stamp program or supplemental nutrition assistance program. The retailer shall transfer the proceeds of such fee to the Commissioner of Revenue Services in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section.
(c) On or before April 30, 2012, each retailer collecting the fee as provided in this section shall submit a return to the Commissioner of Revenue Services that is applicable to the quarter commencing January 1, 2012, on a form prescribed by the commissioner, together with payment of the quarterly proceeds of the fee collected in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. Each retailer shall submit such return and payment to the commissioner each calendar quarter thereafter, on or before the last day of the month immediately following the end of each such calendar quarter. The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall deposit any such payment in the recycling initiatives account established in subsection (e) of this section.
(d) Whenever the proceeds of such fee is not paid when due, a penalty of ten per cent of the amount due or fifty dollars, whichever is greater, shall be added to the amount due and such penalty shall immediately accrue, and thereafter such proceeds shall bear interest at the rate of one and one-half per cent per month until the same is paid. The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall cause copies of a form prescribed for submitting returns as required under this section to be distributed throughout the state. Failure to receive such form shall not be construed to relieve anyone subject to the provisions of this section from the obligations of submitting a return, together with payment of such proceeds within the time required.
(e) There is established an account to be known as the "recycling initiatives account" which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account within the General Fund. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account shall be expended by the Department of Environmental Protection for the purposes of the grant programs created pursuant to sections 2 and 3 of this act and of fulfilling the Commissioner of Environmental Protection's duties under titles 7, 22a and 23 of the general statutes.
(f) On and after October 1, 2011, no municipality shall adopt an ordinance restricting the retail use of plastic or paper bags. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to affect any such ordinance adopted prior to said date.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the amount of sales tax charged to the customer under chapter 219 of the general statutes.
(h) The provisions of sections 12-548 to 12-554, inclusive, of the general statutes and section 12-555a of the general statutes shall apply to the provisions of this section in the same manner and with the same force and effect as if the language of sections 12-548 to 12-554, inclusive, of the general statutes and section 12-555a of the general statutes had been incorporated in full into this section and had expressly referred to the fee imposed under this section, except to the extent that any provision is inconsistent with a provision in this section and except that the term "tax" shall be read as "fee".
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2011) (a) Not later than January 1, 2013, the Department of Environmental Protection shall establish a municipal recycling matching grant program for the purpose of awarding grants to municipalities to implement recycling programs or improve existing recycling programs. Such grants shall be used by the municipalities for the following purposes which shall include, but not be limited to, establishing: (1) A system for residents within a municipality to pay for trash removal based upon the volume or weight of solid waste that such residents generate, with no fee for recyclables, (2) other incentives for recycling, such as retail coupons given as awards for meeting volume benchmarks of recycling quantity per household, or (3) single-stream recycling. Each such grant shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars, and each such grant shall not be for more than fifty per cent of the estimated costs for the implementation or improvement of the municipal recycling program. A municipality shall be eligible for only one such grant. The total amount of grants awarded annually pursuant to this section shall not exceed four million six hundred thousand dollars.
(b) A municipality may apply for a grant for such program by submitting an application to the Department of Environmental Protection on forms prescribed by the commissioner. The commissioner may reject any grant application that the commissioner determines to be incomplete. If the commissioner rejects an application, the commissioner shall promptly notify the applicant of the reasons for the rejection and, not later than fifteen days after the receipt of such notice, such applicant may resubmit the application in the same manner as the original application.
(c) Each municipality selected by the commissioner to receive a grant for such program shall submit a recycling plan for the commissioner's approval. Such plan shall include: (1) An estimate of the operational and capital expenses and income required to implement the plan, (2) goals for recycling, (3) an estimate of savings in tipping fees, if applicable, (4) a method for tracking the actual cost of the program, and (5) any other information required by the commissioner.
(d) Not later than January 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the Department of Environmental Protection shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the environment. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of grants issued pursuant to this section and section 3 of this act, the number of municipalities to receive such grants, and the amount of solid waste generated by any municipality to receive such a grant the year prior to and following the receipt of such grant.
(e) The commissioner may retain not more than two hundred thousand dollars annually for administrative expenses associated with the grant programs established under this section and section 3 of this act.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2011) (a) Not later than January 1, 2013, the Department of Environmental Protection shall establish a municipal recycling receptacle grant program for the purpose of awarding grants to municipalities to purchase recycling receptacles for public spaces, including, but not limited to, parks, schools and municipal buildings where trash receptacles are located. Each such grant shall not exceed five thousand dollars and a municipality shall be eligible for only one such grant. The total amount of grants awarded annually pursuant to this section shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
(b) A municipality may apply for a grant for such program by submitting an application to the Department of Environmental Protection on forms prescribed by the commissioner. The commissioner may reject any grant application that the commissioner determines to be incomplete. If the commissioner rejects an application, the commissioner shall promptly notify the applicant of the reasons for the rejection and, not later than fifteen days after the receipt of such notice, such applicant may resubmit the application in the same manner as the original application.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2011 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2011 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2011 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2011
New section
Sec. 2
July 1, 2011
New section
Sec. 3
October 1, 2011
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To promote conservation and a better environment by establishing a fee for plastic and paper bags and developing municipal recycling matching grants.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. MEYER, 12th Dist.
Co-Sponsors:
SEN. MEYER, 12th Dist.
S.B. 58