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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 718 FILED ON: 1/12/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3573
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Kenneth P. Sweezey
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to containers, litter, ecology and nips (CLEAN Act).
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Kenneth P. Sweezey6th Plymouth1/12/2025 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 718 FILED ON: 1/12/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3573
By Representative Sweezey of Duxbury, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3573) of
Kenneth P. Sweezey for legislation to include nip bottles and certain other containers in the
bottle law. Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 3684 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act relative to containers, litter, ecology and nips (CLEAN Act).
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 321 of chapter 94 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the definitions of “Beverage” and “Beverage
3container” and inserting in place thereof the following 2 definitions:-
4 “Beverage”, soda water or similar carbonated soft drinks, mineral water, beer and other
5malt beverages and alcoholic beverages sold in a miniature, but shall not include alcoholic
6beverages other than beer and malt beverages as defined in chapter 138 and alcoholic beverages
7sold in a miniature, dairy products, natural fruit juices or wine.
8 “Beverage container”, any sealable bottle, can, jar or carton which is primarily composed
9of glass, metal, plastic or any combination of those materials and is produced for the purpose of 2 of 3
10containing a beverage, including a miniature. This definition shall not include containers made of
11biodegradable material. The department of environmental protection may adopt regulations to
12further define beverage container.
13 SECTION 2. Said section 321 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby further
14amended by inserting after the definition of “Label” the following definition:-
15 “Miniature”, any sealable bottle, can, jar or carton which is primarily composed of glass,
16metal, plastic or any combination of those materials that has a capacity of not more than 100
17milliliters and is produced for the purpose of containing an alcoholic beverage.
18 SECTION 3. Subsection (c) of section 323 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is hereby
19amended by striking out the words “one cent”, in line 13, and inserting in place thereof the
20following figure:- 3 cents.
21 SECTION 4. Subsection (d) of said section 323 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is
22hereby amended by striking out the words “one cent”, in line 20, and inserting in place thereof
23the following figure:- 3 cents.
24 SECTION 5. Subsection (e) of said section 323 of said chapter 94, as so appearing, is
25hereby amended by striking out the words “one cent”, in line 37, and inserting in place thereof
26the following figure:- 3 cents.
27 SECTION 6. Said chapter 94 is hereby amended by inserting after section 323E the
28following section:-
29 Section 323F. No political subdivision of the commonwealth shall enact an ordinance or
30by-law prohibiting the sale of miniatures; provided, however, that a city or town, which has 3 of 3
31adopted an ordinance or by-law prohibiting the sale of miniatures pursuant to the authority
32conferred upon such city or town by general law or special act prior to the effective date of this
33section may continue to exercise such authority, and this section shall not be construed to restrict
34the authority of any such city or town to amend or repeal any ordinance or by-law in accordance
35with the provisions of such special act.