Assembly Bill A7103

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7103
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 20, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation  to  the
   handling  fee  paid to a dealer or operator of a redemption center for
   the redemption of empty beverage containers

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  6  of  section  27-1007 of the environmental
 conservation law, as added by section 4 of part SS of chapter 59 of  the
 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  (A)  In  addition  to  the refund value of a beverage container as
 established by section 27-1005 of this title, a deposit initiator  shall
 pay  to any dealer or operator of a redemption center a handling fee [of
 three and one-half cents] for each beverage container  accepted  by  the
 deposit initiator from such dealer or operator of a redemption center AS
 SPECIFIED IN PARAGRAPHS (B), (C) AND (D) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. Payment of
 the  handling  fee  shall be as compensation for collecting, sorting and
 packaging of empty beverage containers for transport back to the deposit
 initiator or its designee. Payment of the handling fee may not be condi-
 tioned on the purchase of any goods or services, nor may such payment be
 made out of the refund value account  established  pursuant  to  section
 27-1012 of this title. A distributor who does not initiate deposits on a
 type  of  beverage container is considered a dealer only for the purpose
 of receiving a handling fee from a deposit initiator.
   (B) EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS SUBDIVISION, THE HANDLING FEE
 PAID SHALL NOT BE LESS THAN FIVE CENTS.
   (C) BEGINNING DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-FIVE,  EACH
 YEAR A NEW FEDERAL OR NEW YORK STATE MINIMUM WAGE IS TO TAKE EFFECT, BUT
 NOT  LATER  THAN THE DATE THAT THE NEW FEDERAL OR NEW YORK STATE MINIMUM
 WAGE IS TO TAKE EFFECT, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL  DETERMINE  THE  HANDLING
 FEE  TO  BE IN EFFECT PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION. SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10126-01-5
              

 A. 7103                             2
 
 (D) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE HANDLING FEE DETERMINED  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
 SUBDIVISION SHALL BE:
   (I)  NOT  LESS  THAN  THE AMOUNT IN EFFECT UNDER PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION ON THE DATE OF SUCH DETERMINATION;
   (II) INCREASED FROM SUCH AMOUNT BY  THE  PERCENTAGE  INCREASE  IN  THE
 NEWLY EFFECTIVE FEDERAL OR NEW YORK STATE MINIMUM WAGE; AND
   (III) ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MULTIPLE OF $0.005.
   (D)  THE  HANDLING  FEE  SHALL  ONLY  BE  INCREASED  BY THE PERCENTAGE
 INCREASE IN A NEWLY EFFECTIVE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH
 (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION IF THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE IS SET AT AN  AMOUNT
 HIGHER THAN THE NEW YORK STATE MINIMUM WAGE. OTHERWISE, THE HANDLING FEE
 SHALL  BE INCREASED ONLY BY THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN A NEWLY EFFECTIVE
 NEW YORK STATE MINIMUM WAGE PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF  THIS  SUBDIVI-
 SION.   IF A NEWLY EFFECTIVE NEW YORK STATE MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES BASED
 ON A WAGE RATE SCHEDULE THAT VARIES THROUGHOUT NEW YORK STATE, THEN  THE
 PERCENTAGE INCREASE TO BE USED FOR CALCULATING THE HANDLING FEE SHALL BE
 BASED  ON  THE  WAGE  RATE APPLICABLE TO CITY OF NEW YORK EMPLOYERS WITH
 ELEVEN EMPLOYEES OR MORE PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.