February 22, 2005, Introduced by Reps. Wojno, Gosselin, Plakas, Hopgood, Vagnozzi, Bennett, Tobocman, Kehrl and Accavitti and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
A bill to amend the Initiated Law of 1976, 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 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, a convenient means whereby
the containers of any kind, size, and brand sold or offered for
sale by the dealer may 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 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 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 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 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 a refund value of not less than 10
cents, having a brand name permanently marked on it, and having 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 $45.00
on any given day.
(11) A manufacturer licensed by the commission shall not
require a distributor licensed by the commission to pay a deposit
to the manufacturer on a nonrefillable container. However, a
manufacturer licensed by the commission and a distributor 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
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.