New York Assembly Bill A06267 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6267 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAMOS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the handling fee paid to a dealer or operator of a redemption center for the redemption of empty beverage containers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 27-1007 of the environmental 2 conservation law, as added by section 4 of part SS of chapter 59 of the 3 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 4 6. (a) In addition to the refund value of a beverage container as 5 established by section 27-1005 of this title, a deposit initiator shall 6 pay to any dealer or operator of a redemption center a handling fee of 7 three and one-half cents for each beverage container accepted by the 8 deposit initiator from such dealer or operator of a redemption center. 9 Beginning April first, two thousand twenty-five, the handling fee shall 10 be six cents and shall be adjusted periodically thereafter in accordance 11 with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Payment of the handling 12 fee shall be as compensation for collecting, sorting and packaging of 13 empty beverage containers for transport back to the deposit initiator or 14 its designee. Payment of the handling fee may not be conditioned on the 15 purchase of any goods or services, nor may such payment be made out of 16 the refund value account established pursuant to section 27-1012 of this 17 title. A distributor who does not initiate deposits on a type of bever- 18 age container is considered a dealer only for the purpose of receiving a 19 handling fee from a deposit initiator. 20 (b) Beginning December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-five, each 21 year a new federal or New York state minimum wage is to take effect, but 22 not later than the date that the new federal or New York state minimum 23 wage is to take effect, the commissioner shall determine the handling 24 fee to be in effect pursuant to this subdivision. Subject to paragraph EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05235-02-5 
 A. 6267 2 1 (c) of this subdivision, the handling fee determined pursuant to this 2 subdivision shall be: 3 (i) not less than the amount in effect on the date of such determi- 4 nation; 5 (ii) increased from such amount by the percentage increase in the 6 newly effective federal or New York state minimum wage; and 7 (iii) rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.005. 8 (c) The handling fee shall only be increased by the percentage 9 increase in a newly effective federal minimum wage pursuant to paragraph 10 (b) of this subdivision if the federal minimum wage is set at an amount 11 higher than the New York state minimum wage. If the federal minimum wage 12 is not set at an amount higher than the New York state minimum wage, the 13 handling fee shall be increased only by the percentage of increase in 14 the New York state minimum wage taking effect in such year. If a newly 15 effective New York state minimum wage increases based on a wage rate 16 schedule that varies throughout New York state, then the percentage 17 increase to be used for calculating the handling fee shall be based on 18 the wage rate applicable to city of New York employers with eleven 19 employees or more. 20 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.