Vermont H 119: An act relating to excessive motor vehicle noise

Bill Text

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.119
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VT LEG #380030 v.1
H.119 1
Introduced by Representative Branagan of Georgia 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Conservation and development; beverage containers; deposit 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to expand the 6
scope of the beverage container redemption system to include cider, hard 7
kombucha, noncarbonated water, and noncarbonated soft drinks. The bill also 8
would increase the deposit for a container from five cents to 10 cents. 9
An act relating to the beverage container redemption system 10
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 11
Sec. 1. 10 V.S.A. § 1521 is amended to read: 12
§ 1521. DEFINITIONS 13
As used in this chapter: 14
(1) “Beverage” means beer or other malt beverages and mineral waters, 15
cider, hard kombucha, mixed wine drink, soda carbonated and noncarbonated 16
water or seltzer, and carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks in liquid form 17
and intended for human consumption. “Beverage” also means liquor and 18
ready-to-drink spirits beverage. 19
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VT LEG #380030 v.1
(3) “Container” means the individual, separate, bottle, can, jar, or carton 1
composed of glass, metal, paper, plastic, or any combination of those materials 2
containing a consumer product. This definition shall not include containers 3
made of biodegradable material. 4
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(9) “Mixed wine drink” means a beverage containing wine and more 6
than 15 percent added plain, carbonated, or sparkling water and that contains 7
added natural or artificial blended material, such as fruit juices, flavors, 8
flavoring, adjuncts, coloring, or preservatives; that contains not more than 16 9
percent alcohol by volume; or other similar product marketed as a wine cooler. 10
(10) “Liquor” means spirits as defined in 7 V.S.A. § 2. 11
(11) “Cider” has the same meaning as in 7 V.S.A. § 2. 12
(12) “Hard kombucha” means a fermented beverage produced from a 13
mixture of steeped tea and sugar, combined with a culture of yeast strains and 14
bacteria, that has an alcohol content of 0.5 percent or more alcohol by volume. 15
(13) “Soft drink” has the same meaning as in 32 V.S.A. § 9701. 16
Sec. 2. 10 V.S.A. § 1522 is amended to read: 17
§ 1522. BEVERAGE CONTAINERS; DEPOSIT 18
(a) Except with respect to beverage containers that contain liquor, a deposit 19
of not less than five 10 cents shall be paid by the consumer on each beverage 20
container sold at the retail level and refunded to the consumer upon return of 21

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VT LEG #380030 v.1
the empty beverage container. With respect to beverage containers of volume 1
greater than 50 ml. that contain liquor, a deposit of 15 cents shall be paid by 2
the consumer on each beverage container sold at the retail level and refunded 3
to the consumer upon return of the empty beverage container. The difference 4
between liquor bottle deposits collected and refunds made is hereby retained 5
by the Liquor Control Enterprise Fund for administration of this subsection. 6
(b) A retailer or a person operating a redemption center who redeems 7
beverage containers shall be reimbursed by the manufacturer or distributor of 8
such beverage containers in an amount that is three and one-half cents per 9
container for containers of beverage brands that are part of a commingling 10
program and four cents per container for containers of beverage brands that are 11
not part of a commingling program. 12
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Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 14
This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026. 15