The 2011 Oregon Campaign
Oregon's expansion bill was signed by the Governor on June 9. However, The Associated Press reported that "more than a dozen" other bills affecting the deposit system were introduced in 2011.1
| Bill Number and Name | House Bill 3145 |
|---|---|
| Sponsors | Berger, Cannon |
| Beverages Covered | Expand the law to cover all beverages except wine, liquor, milk, and milk substitutes as of 2018 |
| Containers Covered | Same as in existing law; exempts containers for the newly added beverages over 1.5L |
| Deposits | Increased to 10¢ for nonrefillable containers if the redemption rate does not exceed 80% |
Details
In addition to adding more beverages to the list of deposit beverages and increasing the deposit/refund value,
The current law covers beer, malt, carbonated soft drinks, and bottled water. The expanded law, which will cover all noncarbonated beverages except milk and milk substitutes, and all alcoholic beverages except wine and liquor, will go into effect either (a) One year after the Oregon Liquor Control Commission determines that at least 60 percent of the beverage containers returned for the refund value are returned statewide to approved redemption centers, or (b) on January 1, 2018, whichever comes first.
The bill makes provisions for the deposit to be raised to 10¢ if the redemption rate falls below 80% for two consecutive years (as determined any time after January 1, 2016). At the time of the bill's passage, the redemption rate was 84%. The new beverages added by the bill (such as juices and sports drinks) may not be applied to the calculations until January 1, 2021.
This bill also allows distributors to form cooperatives to simplify the process of collecting empties and issuing refunds. A bill establishing a similar system was passed by legislature in 2010, but was vetoed by the governor, who is no longer in office. One of the amendments creates a pilot program for starting redemption centers operated by a distributor cooperative, in a major city.
The original bill was amended two times and passed the House on May 4, and the Senate on May 25. The governor signed it on June 9.
Progress
February 7, 2011: First reading
February 14, 2011: Referred to Energy, Environment and Water with subsequent referral to Ways and Means.
April 7, 2011: Public Hearing and Possible Work Session scheduled.
April 21, 2011: Work session held.
April 26, 2011: Amended, recommended to pass with amendments. Subsequent referral to Ways and Means rescinded by order of the Co-Speakers.
April 28, 2011: Second reading. Third reading. Referred to Rules
May 2, 2011: Work Session held.
May 3, 2011: Amended and recommended to pass.
May 4, 2011: Rules suspended. Third reading. Passed 47-12
May 5, 2011: First reading in Senate
May 6, 2011: Referred to Environment and Natural Resources.
May 23, 2011: Committee recommended the bill be passed
May 24, 2011: Second reading
May 25, 2011: Third reading. Passed Senate
Jun 9, 2011: Signed into law by Governor Kitzhaber
Contacts
Scott Klag
AOR Legislative Chair
503.797.1665
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Rick Winterhalter
Sr. Sustainability Analyst
503.742.4466
Clackamas County, Development Services Building
150 Beavercreek Rd., Oregon City, OR 97045
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Footnotes
1. Johanna Kaiser."Mass. lawmakers consider deposits on more drinks" Boston.com. July 21, 2011. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/18/mass_lawmakers_consider_deposits_on_more_drinks/. Accessed July 21, 2011
Oregon 2010 Campaign
| Bill Number and Name | House Bill 3704 |
|---|---|
| Primary Sponsor | Committee on Rules |
| Reclamation System | Allows beverage distributors or importers to establish distributor cooperative |
Details
This bill would make possible a cooperative of 2 or more beverage distributors, to simplify the process of collecting empty containers and distributing refunds to dealers.
The bill specifies that a cooperative formed under the bill must service a majority of the beverage dealers in the state.
Section 5, added by amendment, also requires the cooperative and all independent distributors to provide to the state a yearly report of their containers' return rates by material type.
On April 8, Governor Ted Kulongoski vetoed the bill, citing inconvenience for the consumer, in that fewer stores would be accepting empty containers, and consumers would be forced to go to redemption centers for their refund. Additionally, he expressed concern that the bill "would violate federal antitrust law by restraining competition to the private participants in this industry." Read the veto letter [pdf].
Progress
February 9, 2010: Introduced and referred to Rules committee.
February 11, 2010: Public hearing.
February 15, 2010: Public hearing.
February 16, 2010: Amended, Second reading.
February 18, 2010: Third reading, passed House and sent to Senate.
February 19, 2010: First reading in Senate, referred to Rules committee.
February 22, 2010: Second and third readings, passed Senate.
February 25, 2010: Signed by House Speaker and Senate President.
April 8, 2010: Vetoed by governor
The 2009 Oregon Expansion Campaign
Oregon Governor Kulongoski submitted a bill to increase the deposit, add certain alcoholic beverages, and set a return rate goal to the Oregon deposit law.
Senator Jackie Dingfelder and Representative Dembrow also submitted a bill relating to revenue-raising.
| Bill Number and Name | House Bill 2184 |
|---|---|
| Primary Sponsor | Requested by Governor Ted Kulongoski |
| Beverages Covered | Adds wine, distilled liquor, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice and similar noncarbonated drinks |
| Deposits | Increases to 10¢ |
Details
In addition to changing the deposit to 10¢ and adding several new beverage types, the proposed law would also require that: "The commission shall appoint an advisory committee to provide input and recommendations to the commission in regard to the redemption of beverage containers" on the following subjects
- Annual beverage container return rates;
- Success in achieving the annual beverage container return rate goal established by section 1 of this 2009 Act;
- Whether a state-run redemption center system is necessary;
- Collecting and utilizing the refund value of beverage containers that are not returned; and
- Any other recommendations to help improve the return of beverage containers in this state.
Progress
January 15, 2009: First reading in House. Referred to Speaker's desk.
January 20, 2009: Referred to Environment and Water with subsequent referral to Ways and Means.
February 19, 2009: Public Hearing held.
February 26, 2009: Public Hearing held.
March 19, 2009: Public Hearing and Possible Work Session scheduled.
March 26, 2009: HB 2184 Passed out of committee to House Floor
April 9, 2009: HB 2184: Third reading in Ways & Means, re-referred to Environment and Water. Work session scheduled April 28.
May 5, 2009: HB 2184 referred to Revenue committee
June 29, 2009: Session adjourned with no action taken
The 2009 Revenue-Raising Bill
| Bill Number and Name | HB 3465 |
|---|---|
| Primary Sponsor | Representative DEMBROW, Senator DINGFELDER |
| Unredeemed Deposits | Returned to the state |
Details
HB 3465 seeks to make unclaimed deposits the property of the state, not the beverage distributors as they are under the present law. It requires distributors to keep records of deposits paid and received, and return all excess funds to the state's general fund every quarter.
Progress
March 24, 2009: HB 3465 Introduced
May 11, 2009: Public hearing held on HB 3465
June 29, 2009: Legislature adjourned with no action on bill.
2008 Oregon campaign
The 2007 update to the Oregon bottle bill required that water bottles be included under the deposit program. It also created a task force to study and make recommendations on beverage container collection and refund matters. The task force released its findings in mid-October, 2008, with several recommendations favorable to bottle bill advocates.
Recommendations from the Oregon Bottle Bill Task Force, for the 75th Legislative Assembly
- Create an industry-run, statewide system of 90 redemption centers
- Expand the beverages covered to all beverages, by 2013
- Increase the refund value to 10¢ by 2011
- Let the beverage industry develop a system to prevent the redemption of out-of-state containers
- Let the unclaimed deposits continue to accrue to the industry
The task force made a number of other recommendations, including:
- Creating additional bottle-bill related roles for the DEQ and OLCC
- Setting a recommended return rate of 80%
- Considering the use of incentives to encourage advanced single stream recycling, including in rural areas
The entire report of the task force (including a minority report by members who did not support all of the final recommendations) is available in this PDF [291kb].
2007 Oregon Campaign
Four different versions of an updated bottle bill were seen in the 2007 Oregon Legislature. Senate Bill 481 and Senate Bill 634 would have expanded the bill to include all liquid drinks except milk, medicine, & flavorings; they would have also increased the deposit amount and created redemption centers. Senate Bill 706 would have changed the definitions of 'beverage' and 'beverage container' and changed the deposit amount. Senate Bill 707 was the only bill to make it through legislature; it was signed into law in June. The passage of this bill updated the deposit law to include bottled water, and created a task force to study beverage and container collection and refund matters.
Updates
Public Hearing: SB 634 and SB 481had a public hearing at 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, February 27
Senate Bill 707 was amended in Senate on April 18, and was scheduled for a second public hearing on April 19.
April 23: SB 707 passed Senate with a vote of 23-7
May 24: Approved on a 42-16 vote in the House, the measure then returned to the Senate for action on amendments.
June 7: Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed the bill into law. It will take effect Jan. 1, 2009. The task force assigned to look into other changes such as moving to redemption centers (Oregon is entirely return-to-retail), including other beverages, and possibly raising the deposit, is expected to come back with recommendations by November 2008.
Contacts
Association of Oregon Recyclers
503-233-3056
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.aorr.org