CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO.124-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 1256

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

C.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 1256, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this bill is to address the twin problems of litter and decreasing landfill availability by the implementation of a "bottle bill" program.

The bill would collect a small deposit beverage container fee on each eligible deposit beverage container, and also impose a 5 cent deposit on each container that will be returned to the consumer upon return of the container at a redemption facility. Moneys from the container fee and any unredeemed deposits will be used for refunds and to pay handling fees to redemption centers. Moneys may also be used for funding audit and program compliance activities, conducting recycling education and demonstration projects, promoting recycling education and demonstration projects, supporting the transportation of the containers to end-markets, and funding personnel and office expenses.

Your Committee finds that a proven method of increasing recycling rates is through the establishment of a beverage container deposit and redemption program. States with these programs have beverage container recovery rates averaging eighty per cent and have seen litter decrease by sixty-nine to eighty-three per cent. Approximately 800,000,000 beverage containers -- glass, plastic, and aluminum cans -- are imported, consumed, and discarded in Hawaii. These containers either end up in our landfills or as ugly litter that taints the natural beauty of our State for residents and visitors. We can and must do better in protecting our island home.

The landfill situation in particular is approaching a crisis. Each county faces major landfill siting problems that can best be solved by solid waste diversion to extend the life of existing landfills. A beverage container deposit and redemption system provides a financial incentive for responsible citizens and distributes the responsibility of proper waste disposal between the distributor, retailer, consumer, and government.

Your Committee has amended the bill by:

(1) Setting the deposit beverage container fee, which had been a blank amount, at 0.5 cents between October 1, 2002 and September 30, 2004; at 1 cent between October 1, 2004 and December 31, 2005; and at a sliding scale thereafter based on the previous quarter's redemption rate, of 1 cent if the redemption rate is seventy per cent or less and 1.5 cents if it is higher;

(2) Changing the date for registration of deposit beverage distributors from July 1, 2002 to September 1, 2002;

(3) Changing the date that deposit beverage container inventory reports and payment are to start from October 1, 2050 to October 1, 2002;

(4) Setting the refund value at 5 cents per container, instead of a blank amount;

(5) Requiring management and financial audits of the program for fiscal year 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 and every other fiscal year thereafter;

(6) Changing the date of full implementation from October 1, 2003 to January 1, 2005;

(7) Establishing one refund value for all deposit beverage containers sixty-four ounces or less in capacity, instead of a blank amount for container twenty-four ounces or less and a blank amount for containers larger than twenty-four ounces;

(8) Changes the exemption of dealers required to operate redemption centers to apply if the dealer is in a high population density area and has an independent certified redemption center within two miles, or is in a rural area as defined by rule;

(9) Requires redemption centers to be certified instead of permitted;

(10) Changes the handling fee paid to each redemption center from a blank amount to the prevailing beverage container fee;

(11) Requires the department of health to publish a statewide notice of the recovery rate for each calendar quarter;

(12) Specifies that the state auditor shall have access to the records of beverage distributors, dealers, redemption centers, and recycling facilities;

(13) Establishes an advisory committee to assist the department in developing rules to implement the program;

(14) Keeps the advance disposal fee for glass containers at 1.5 cents;

(15) Requires quarterly reports by the department of health to the Legislature and the Governor between October 1, 2002 and December 1, 2004;

(16) Provides that all positions for the program personnel shall be temporary positions until explicitly authorized as permanent by the Legislature; and

(17) Changes the effective date from July 1, 2050 to July 1, 2002.

Finally, your Committee has amended this bill by providing an exemption from the general excise tax for the deposits, and by expanding the task of the advisory committee to include assessing the impact on consumers, recyclers, and the beverage industry to address concerns of the conferees that the concerns of all affected parties be addressed by the advisory committee.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1256, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1256, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair		____________________________ HERMINA M. MORITA, Co-Chair
____________________________ RON MENOR, Co-Chair		____________________________ LEI AHU ISA, Co-Chair
____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair		____________________________ SCOTT K. SAIKI, Co-Chair