Connecticut SB 299: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DISTRIBUTION OF SINGLE-USE PLASTIC STRAWS.

Bill Text

Senate Bill No. 299

Public Act No. 26-2

AN ACT CONCERNING REDEMPTION OF OUT-OF-STATE
BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 22a-245 of the 2026 supplement to the general
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof
(Effective from passage):
(a) No person shall establish or operate a redemption center without
receiving approval to operate such a redemption center and annually
registering with the commissioner on a form provided by the
commissioner with such information as the commissioner deems
necessary, including (1) the name of the business principals of the
redemption center and the address of the business; (2) the name and
address of the sponsors and dealers to be served by the redemption
center; (3) the types of beverage containers to be accepted; (4) the hours
of operation; and (5) whether beverage containers will be accepted from
consumers. The operator of the redemption center shall report to the
commissioner any change in the information described in subdivisions
(1) to (4), inclusive, of this subsection not later than forty-eight hours
after such change. On and after July 1, 2026, each registered owner of a
redemption center shall submit an application to the Commissioner of
Energy and Environmental Protection for the issuance of a license to

Senate Bill No. 299

Public Act No. 26-2 2 of 18

operate such redemption center. Such application shall be on a form, as
prescribed by the commissioner, which shall, at a minimum, require the
submission of the information described in subdivisions (1) to (5),
inclusive, of this subsection. Each such application shall be accompanied
by an application fee of two thousand five hundred dollars. Upon the
issuance of any such license, any such registration shall be deemed
terminated. On and after July 1, 2026, any person who seeks to operate
a redemption center that was not registered with the commissioner prior
to the effective date of this section shall submit such an application for
a license to operate such redemption center in accordance with the
requirements of this subsection. The commissioner may suspend the
license or impose a civil penalty, or both, against any person who owns
or operates a redemption center in violation of any licensure
requirement established by the commissioner or the provisions of this
section. Any person establishing a redemption center shall have the
right to determine what kind, size and brand of beverage container shall
be accepted, except such person shall not accept any beverage container
that: (A) Such person knows or has reason to know was not originally
sold in this state as a filled beverage container, (B) was previously
redeemed, (C) is damaged in any manner that prevents the reading or
scanning of such container's barcode, or (D) is on a list of beverage
containers provided by a deposit initiator to such redemption center as
not being available for sale in this state. Any redemption center may be
established to serve all persons or to serve certain specified dealers and
shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter. Any redemption
center that accepts more than [two thousand five hundred] one
thousand containers from any one individual in one day shall create and
obtain from such person a record of such person's name, the license
plate number of any vehicle used to transport the containers to such
redemption center, a copy of such person's driver's license, the collection
points of the empty containers and the number of containers tendered.
All beverage containers transported in a single vehicle shall be treated
as being attributable to one individual for purposes of this subsection.

Senate Bill No. 299

Public Act No. 26-2 3 of 18

The redemption center shall obtain from such person a certification that,
to the best of such person's knowledge, the beverage containers were
originally sold as filled beverages in this state and were not previously
redeemed. No redemption center shall accept more than [five] four
thousand containers in any one day from any person except for a
nonprofit organization or a verified fundraising activity. Each
redemption center and reverse vending machine operator shall retain
the records required by this subsection for a period of not less than two
years and such records for redemptions of more than one thousand
beverage containers from any one individual in one day, including any
such certification, shall be transmitted by such redemption center to the
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection each calendar
quarter. The failure by any redemption center to transmit any records
on a quarterly basis to the commissioner may result in the revocation of
such redemption center's license by the commissioner. The
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Attorney
General, the Chief State's Attorney and any state or municipal law
enforcement agency may exami