An Act To Increase the Amount of the Deposit on Returnable Beverage Containers
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1048
Committee: Business, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: SIROIS
Amends: 32 MRSA §1863-A, 32 MRSA §1866-E

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
The following document is provided by the 
LAW AND LEGISLATIVE DIGITAL LIBRARY 
at the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library 
http://legislature.maine.gov/lawlib 
Reproduced from scanned originals with text recognition applied 
(searchable text may contain some errors and/or omissions) 
n 
\1 
J 
tf"'F<o," 
. 
;;, I fL : 
~,~;"~,,./, i' 
Anr:.sn ':1'j;" il 
!,(, g a 
,:;:, 
rC"Jli':~r,) ! /i7 rv!fil/Nfi: 
124th MAl E LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1048 
H.P.723 
House of Representatives, March 17,2009 
An Act To Increase the Amount of the Deposit on Returnable 
Beverage Containers 
Reference to the Committee on Business, Research and Economic Development suggested 
and ordered plinted. 
Presented by Representative SIROIS ofTumer. 
Cosponsored bY' Senator NUTTING of Androscoggin and 
Representative: WAGNER of Lewiston. 
Printed on recycled p'lpcr 
'77l~ fr}. 77!iI£~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
M 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §1863-A, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 819, §3, is amended to 
read: 
§1863-A. Refund value 
To encourage container reuse and recycling, every beverage container sold or offered 
for sale to a consumer in this State must have a deposit and refund value. The deposit 
and refund value are determined according to the provisions of this section. 
. 
1. Refillable containers. For refillable beverage containers, except wine and spirits 
containers, . the manufacturer shall determine the deposit and refund value according to 
the type, kind and size of the beverage container. The deposit and refund value may not 
be less than .§.¢ lQi. 
2. Nonrefillable containers; exclusive distributorships. For nonrefillable beverage 
containers, except wine and spirits containers, sold through geographically exclusive 
distributorships, the distributor shall determine and initiate the deposit and refund value 
according to the type, kind and size of the beverage container. The deposit and refund 
value fffi:tSt may not be less than.§.¢ lQi. 
3.· Nonrefillable containers; nonexclusive distributorships. 
For nonrefillable 
beverage containers, 'except wine and spirits containers, not sold through geographically 
exclusive distributorships, the deposit and refund value may not be less than.§.¢ lQi. 
. 
4. Wine and spirits containers. For wine and spirits containers of greater than 50 
milliliters, the refund value may not be less than B¢ 20¢. On January 1, 1993, the 
department shall issue a finding on the percentages of wine containers and spirits 
containers returned for deposit. If the department finds the return rate of wine containers 
was less than 60% during the year ending September 1992, then, on July 1, 1993, the 
refund value on wine containers may not be less than 25¢. If the department finds the 
return rate of spirits containers was less than 60% during the year ending September 
1992, then, on July 1, 1993, the refund value of spirits containers may not be less than 
25¢. 
Sec. 2. 32 MRSA §1866-E, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2003, c. 700, §2 and 
affected by §6, is further amended to read: 
4. Transfer of abandoned deposit amounts. By the 20th day of each month, an 
initiator shall turn over to the State Tax Assessor the initiator's abandoned deposit 
amounts determined pursuant to subsection 3. Those amounts may be paid from the 
. 34 
deposit transaction fund. Amounts collected by the assessor pursuant to this subsection 
must be treated by the assessor as a tax, as that term is defined by Title 36, section 111, 
subsection 5, and must be deposited in the General Fund, and of those amounts 5¢ per 
nonrefillable container as reported under subsection 2 must be directed toward the cost of 
the total allocation for kindergarten to grade 12 education under Title 20-A, section 
15752. 
) 
) 
) 
n 
( 
',,--...-/-
SUMMARY 
TIlls bill raises the refund value on nomefillable beverage containers by 5¢ and 
directs the State Tax Assessor to apply the increase in revenue from unclaimed deposits 
as a result of this bill toward the cost of the total allocation for kindergarten to grade 12 
education.