HOUSE BILL NO. 5421

February 07, 2024, Introduced by Reps. Rogers, Morse, Aragona, McKinney, Conlin, Paiz, Hood, Rheingans, Steckloff, Brabec, Price, Martus, Andrews, Morgan, Brixie, Scott, Haadsma, Neeley, Grant, Wegela, Wilson and Edwards and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.

A bill to amend 1976 IL 1, entitled

"A petition to initiate legislation to provide for the use of returnable containers for soft drinks, soda water, carbonated natural or mineral water, other nonalcoholic carbonated drink, and for beer, ale, or other malt drink of whatever alcoholic content, and for certain other beverage containers; to provide for the use of unredeemed bottle deposits; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state agencies and officials; and to prescribe penalties and provide remedies,"

by amending section 2 (MCL 445.572), as amended by 1998 PA 473.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 2. (1) A dealer within this state shall not sell, offer for sale, or give to a consumer a nonreturnable container or a beverage in a nonreturnable container.

(2) A dealer who that regularly sells beverages for consumption off the dealer's premises shall provide on the premises, or within 100 yards of the premises on which the dealer sells or offers for sale a beverage in a returnable container, and at a minimum during the designated hours of operation, a convenient means whereby the for containers of any kind, size, and brand sold or offered for sale by the dealer may to be returned by, and the deposit refunded in cash to, a person whether or not the person is the original customer of that dealer, and whether or not the container was sold by that dealer.

(3) Regional centers for the redemption of returnable containers may be established, in addition to but not as substitutes for, the means established for refunds of deposits prescribed in under subsection (2).

(4) Except as provided in subsections (5) and (7), a dealer shall accept from a person an empty returnable container of any kind, size, and brand sold or offered for sale by that dealer and pay to that person its full refund value in cash.

(5) A dealer who that does not require a deposit on a returnable container when the contents are consumed in the dealer's sale or consumption area is not required to pay a refund for accepting that empty container.

(6) Except as provided in subsection (7), a distributor shall accept from a dealer an empty returnable container of any kind, size, and brand sold or offered for sale by that distributor and pay to the dealer its full refund value in cash.

(7) Each beverage container sold or offered for sale by a dealer within this state shall must clearly indicate by embossing or by a stamp, a label, or other method securely affixed to the beverage container, the refund value of the container and the name of this state. A dealer or distributor may, but is not required to, refuse to accept from a person an empty returnable container which that does not state on the container the refund value of the container and the name of this state. This subsection does not apply to a refillable container having that has a refund value of not less than 10 cents, having has a brand name permanently marked on it, and having has a securely affixed method of indicating that it is a returnable container.

(8) A dealer within this state shall not sell, offer for sale, or give to consumers a metal beverage container, any part of which becomes detached when opened.

(9) A person, dealer, distributor, or manufacturer shall not return an empty container to a dealer for a refund of the deposit if a dealer has already refunded the deposit on that returnable container. This subsection does not prohibit a dealer from refunding the deposit on an empty returnable container each time the returnable container is sanitized by the manufacturer and reused as a beverage container.

(10) A dealer may accept, but is not required to accept, from a person, empty returnable containers for a refund in excess of $25.00 on any given day.

(11) A manufacturer that is licensed by the commission shall not require a distributor that is licensed by the commission to pay a deposit to the manufacturer on a nonrefillable container. However, a manufacturer that is licensed by the commission and a distributor that is licensed by the commission may enter into an agreement providing that either or both may originate a deposit or any portion of a deposit on a nonrefillable container if the agreement is entered into freely and without coercion.

(12) A manufacturer shall refund the deposit paid on any container returned by a distributor for which a deposit has been was paid by a distributor to the manufacturer.

(13) Subsections (4), (6), and (7) apply only to a returnable container that was originally sold in this state as a filled returnable container.

(14) As used in this section, "designated hours of operation" means either of the following:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.

(b) If a dealer does not normally operate its premises between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., any period of time between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. when the premises is normally operated by the dealer.