S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  5817

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              March 6, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, TITONE, CASTRO, GUNTHER -- Multi-
  Sponsored by -- M. of A.  BOYLAND, HOOPER, JACOBS, THIELE,  WEISENBERG
  --  read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conserva-
  tion

AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
  authorizing  and directing the commissioner of environmental conserva-
  tion to establish rules and regulations for  in-home  reverse  vending
  machines; and directing such commissioner to determine the best design
  for  such in-home machines and providing for the payment of a grant to
  the designer or inventor thereof

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section  27-1003 of the environmental conservation law is
amended by adding a new subdivision 12-a to read as follows:
  12-A. "IN-HOME  REVERSE  VENDING  MACHINE"  MEANS  A  REVERSE  VENDING
MACHINE PLACED IN THE RESIDENCE OR BUSINESS OF A CONSUMER WHICH ISSUES A
SCRIP  OR  RECEIPT TO SUCH CONSUMER FOR THE REFUND VALUE OF ALL BEVERAGE
CONTAINERS TO BE PAID BY A REDEMPTION CENTER.
  S 2. Section 27-1013 of the environmental conservation law, as amended
by section 9 of part SS of chapter 59 of the laws of 2009, is amended to
read as follows:
S 27-1013. Redemption centers AND IN-HOME REVERSE VENDING MACHINES.
  1. The commissioner is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and  regu-
lations  governing  [(1)]  (A)  the  circumstances  in which dealers and
distributors, individually or collectively, are required to  accept  the
return  of  empty  beverage containers, and make payment therefor; [(2)]
(B) the sorting of the containers which a deposit initiator or distribu-
tor may require  of  dealers  and  redemption  centers;  [(3)]  (C)  the
collection  of  returned  beverage  containers  by deposit initiators or
distributors, including the party to whom such expense is to be charged,
the frequency of such pick ups and the payment for refunds and  handling

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09347-01-3
              

A. 5817                             2

fees  thereon;  [(4)]  (D) the right of dealers to restrict or limit the
number of containers redeemed, the rules for redemption at the  dealers'
place  of business, and the redemption of containers from a beverage for
which  sales  have  been  discontinued, and to issue permits to persons,
firms or corporations which establish  redemption  centers,  subject  to
applicable  provisions  of  local and state laws, at which redeemers and
dealers may return empty beverage containers and receive payment of  the
refund  value  of  such  beverage containers; AND (E) TERMS OF CONTRACTS
PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT BY REDEMPTION CENTERS OF THE REFUND  VALUE  OF
BEVERAGE  CONTAINERS  DEPOSITED  IN IN-HOME REVERSE VENDING MACHINES AND
THE COLLECTION OF SUCH DEPOSITED CONTAINERS BY  REDEMPTION  CENTERS.  No
dealer  or  distributor,  as  defined  in section 27-1003 of this title,
shall be required to obtain a permit to operate a redemption  center  at
the  same  location  as the dealer's or distributor's place of business.
Operators of such redemption centers shall receive payment of the refund
value of each beverage container from the appropriate deposit  initiator
or distributor as provided under section 27-1007 of this title.
  2.  THE  COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING
THE DESIGN,  OPERATION  AND  AVAILABILITY  OF  IN-HOME  REVERSE  VENDING
MACHINES.  FURTHERMORE, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL SUBMIT TO THE LEGISLATURE
SUCH  LEGISLATIVE  PROPOSALS  AS  HE OR SHE SHALL DEEM NECESSARY FOR THE
REGULATION AND USE OF IN-HOME REVERSE VENDING MACHINES.
  S 3. (a) The commissioner of environmental conservation shall  solicit
and  any  person  may  submit to such commissioner a design for an effi-
cient, accurate, reliable  and  easy  to  use  in-home  reverse  vending
machine,  as defined in subdivision 12-a of section 27-1003 of the envi-
ronmental conservation law. The commissioner of environmental  conserva-
tion  shall  establish  and  publish standards for the design of reverse
vending machines to be used in this state.
  (b) On or before January 1, 2015, the  commissioner  of  environmental
conservation  shall from the designs and prototype in-home reverse vend-
ing machines submitted to him or her, determine which design  or  proto-
type  thereof  is  the  best design and most closely meets the standards
therefor. The designer or inventor of the best design or prototype shall
be awarded a grant of one hundred twenty thousand dollars. Notwithstand-
ing any other provision of law to the contrary, such grant shall be paid
from the solid waste account of the environmental protection fund.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.