NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7551

Senate Bill S7551

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Establishes the bottle redemption fraud task force

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 01, 2025	advanced to third reading
Apr 30, 2025	2nd report cal.
Apr 29, 2025	1st report cal.772
Apr 22, 2025	referred to environmental conservation

Votes

- Apr 29, 2025 - Environmental Conservation Committee Vote
  S7551
  
  11
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Environmental Conservation Committee Vote: Apr 29, 2025
      
      aye (11)
      
      Bynoe
      
      Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
      
      Fahy
      
      Harckham
      
      Hinchey
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Kavanagh
      
      May
      
      Palumbo
      
      Serrano
      
      Stec

2025-S7551 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3469
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S7821
2021-2022: S1103, A10390
2023-2024: S3419, A2603

2025-S7551 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the bottle redemption fraud task force to provide the governor and the legislature with information on the fraud, enforcement, and reporting requirements related to the New York state returnable container act.

2025-S7551 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7551

SPONSOR: BYNOE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to establish the bottle redemption fraud task force; and provid-
ing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to conduct a study to evaluate the fraud,
enforcement, and reporting requirements of the Returnable Container Act.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would establish the "bottle redemption fraud task
force". Section 2 of this bill would establish the task force members,
determine the level of compensation to members and explain how the task
force will fill any vacancies.

Section 3 of this bill would require that the task force submit a report
to the governor, president pro temp of the senate, and the speaker of

the assembly. This report will encompass: a review of appropriate law,
evaluate the need for coordination between programs, review the fiscal
impact of fraudulent bottle redemptions including those caused by ship-
ping fraud, evaluation of enforcement, and make recommendations for
legislative, regulatory, and enforcement policies to address fraudulent
bottle redemptions.

Section 4 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take
effect immediately and shall expire 24 months after it shall have become
a law when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed
repealed.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Since the implementation of the bottle redemption program, bad actors
have abused the system set up to promote recycling. Reports have stated
that every year, there are about $100 million in unclaimed deposits and
an estimated $200 million to $300 million a year in fraud. A majority of
this fraud is caused by trans-shipping practices, which is when bad
actors haul beverage containers from other states where no nickel depos-
it was collected in New York for the container. These fraudulently
redeemed beverages cause our environmental programs to be shortchanged.
However, even with these reports of fraud, the State has failed to prop-
erly address these issues. Further, if the state fails to address these
issues prior to the expansion of the returnable container act, the fraud
associated with the act will also expand.

These issues of fraud have made it clear for the need of a specific task
force to determine the impact of that fraud on the State has become
clear. By creating this task force, New York can specifically uncover
two important facts: one, how much money this fraud is costing New York
State; and two, whether organized criminal enterprises constitute a key
part of this fraud. This task force aims to accomplish proposals set out
to combat the threats to the Returnable Container Act by evaluating the
current laws for weaknesses and determining the fiscal impact that fraud
by bad actors has on the bottle redemption program. It will also allow
disparate agencies to begin to coordinate and work together to solve
this unchecked problem. The information gathered will better inform the
legislature on how to best reduce fraud and it will address overall
solid waste issues going forward.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2020: S7821(Kaminsky) - Advanced to third reading.

2021: S1103A(Kaminsky) - Passed Senate, died in Assembly.

2022: S1103A(Kaminsky) - Passed Senate, died in Assembly.

2023: S3419A(Mannion) - Passed Senate, died in Assembly.

2024: S3419A(Mannion) - Referred to Environmental Conservation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 24 months after
it shall have become a law when upon such date the provisions of this
act shall be deemed repealed.

2025-S7551 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7551
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 22, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BYNOE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to establish the bottle redemption fraud task force; and  provid-
   ing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The legislature hereby establishes  the  bottle  redemption
 fraud  task  force  (referred  to  hereinafter  as  the "task force") to
 conduct a comprehensive study of the fraud, enforcement,  and  reporting
 requirements related to the New York state returnable container act.
   §  2.  (a) Such task force shall consist of fifteen members that shall
 be appointed as follows:  the state attorney general or their  designee;
 the  commissioner  of  the  department  of taxation and finance or their
 designee; the commissioner of the department of environmental  conserva-
 tion  or  their  designee;  the state comptroller or their designee; the
 chair of the state liquor authority or their designee; the  commissioner
 of  the  department  of  agriculture  and markets or their designee; one
 member shall be appointed by the district attorneys association  of  the
 state of New York; two members shall be appointed by the temporary pres-
 ident of the senate and two members shall be appointed by the speaker of
 the  assembly, one shall be an individual who represents a municipality,
 one shall be an individual who represents a deposit initiator, one shall
 be an individual who represents a redemption center, and one shall be an
 individual who represents a  wholesale  distributor;  and  four  members
 shall  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  one shall be an individual who
 represents a deposit initiator  and  one  shall  be  an  individual  who
 represents a retailer.
   (b)  The  task force shall be chaired by the attorney general or their
 designee thereof.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07041-01-5
 S. 7551                             2

   (c) Members of the task force shall receive no compensation for  their
 services  but  shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in
 the performance of their duties in the work of the task force.
   (d)  Appointed  members shall, to the greatest extent practicable have
 by education or experience, knowledge of organized retail theft.
   (e) The task force is authorized to audit any reverse vending machine.
   § 3. Appointments shall be made within 60 days of the  effective  date
 of  this act. Any vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be
 filled in the same manner provided for in the initial appointment.
   § 4. The task force may  consult  with  any  organization,  government
 entity,  or  person,  in  the  development  of its report required under
 section five of this act.
   § 5. On or before one year after the effective date of this  act,  the
 task  force shall submit to the governor, the temporary president of the
 senate and the speaker of the assembly  a  report  containing,  but  not
 limited to, the following information based on available data:
   (a)  A  review  of  laws  and regulations regarding the New York state
 returnable container act  and  relevant  civil  and  criminal  penalties
 related to the act;
   (b)  The  need  for  interagency  coordination  of  public  education,
 outreach, and prevention programs for retail stores, redemption centers,
 municipalities, agents acting on behalf of the deposit  initiators  that
 provide pickup services, and any other identified entities;
   (c) The fiscal impact of fraudulent bottle redemptions and deposits in
 the state of New York;
   (d)  The  status of current enforcement efforts and recommendations on
 what could be done to improve enforcement,  including  the  addition  of
 more employees;
   (e) A review of inter-state bottle redemption fraud, including, to the
 extent  practicable, information on the number of containers that origi-
 nate from out-of-state shipments and a review of the practice of redeem-
 ing beverage containers purchased out-of-state; and
   (f) Recommended legislative, regulatory and enforcement  solutions  to
 address  fraudulent  bottle redemptions and deposits, including, but not
 limited to, inter-state initiatives.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 24 months
 after it shall have become a law when upon such date the  provisions  of
 this act shall be deemed repealed.

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