SUMMARY

This bill accomplishes the following:

1. It raises from 5¢ to 7¢ the deposit on refillable and nonrefillable beverage containers, except wine and spirits containers;

2. It raises from 15¢ to 20¢ the deposit on wine and spirits containers;

3. It specifies that 1/2 of 1¢ of each deposit must be placed in the Beverage Container Enforcement Fund, which is used to fund the administrative and enforcement responsibilities under the bottle return laws of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources; and

4. It increases the handling fee that initiators of deposit must pay to dealers or redemption centers from 3¢ to 4.5¢ and 5¢, depending on the type of beverage container.