August 29, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Bieda, Warren, LeBlanc, Condino, Young, Donigan, Simpson, Ebli, Corriveau, Farrah, Rocca, Lemmons, Accavitti, Gaffney, Hune, Virgil Smith, Mayes, Melton, Kathleen Law, Miller, Hopgood, Constan, Meisner, Polidori, Griffin, Leland, Robertson, Alma Smith, Stakoe, Dean, Johnson, Angerer, Sheltrown, Wojno, Pastor, Garfield, Meltzer, Brown, Byrum, Cushingberry, Lahti, McDowell, Lindberg, Ward, Palsrok, Moolenaar, Moss, Marleau, Hansen, Walker, Emmons, Agema, Proos, Meekhof, Bauer, Coulouris, Meadows, Vagnozzi, Hammon, Hammel, Tobocman, Sak, Valentine, Bennett, Hood, Gillard, Espinoza, Scott, Byrnes, Spade, Cheeks, Robert Jones, Wenke and Clemente and referred to the Committee on Great Lakes and Environment.
A bill to require identifying marking of certain beverage
containers; to prohibit the use of certain reverse vending
machines; to prescribe penalties for violations of this act; and to
provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local
governmental officers and entities.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"bottle deposit fund antifraud act".
Sec. 3. As used in this act:
(a) "Add-on bar code" means an additional 5-digit bar code
that is embossed on or affixed to a beverage container immediately
to the right of the container's universal product code and that
identifies the beverage container as a returnable container.
(b) "Beverage container" means that term as defined in section
1 of the beverage container law, MCL 445.571.
(c) "Beverage container law" means the Initiated Law of 1976,
MCL 445.571 to 445.576.
(d) "Dealer" means that term as defined in section 1 of the
beverage container law, MCL 445.571.
(e) "Department" means the department of treasury.
(f) "Distributor" means that term as defined in section 1 of
the beverage container law, MCL 445.571.
(g) "Foreign container" means a beverage container that is not
marked with any of the following:
(i) An embossment, stamp, label, or other marking clearly
indicating the refund value and the name of this state as required
by section 2(7) of the beverage container law, MCL 445.572.
(ii) A universal product code or an add-on bar code identifying
the container as a returnable container under this act.
(h) "Law enforcement agency" means the attorney general or a
law enforcement agency as defined in section 2804 of the public
health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.2804.
(i) "Machine report" means the printed weekly report produced
by a reverse vending machine and described in section 7(1)(c).
(j) "Manufacturer" means that term as defined in section 1 of
the beverage container law, MCL 445.571.
(k) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
association, limited liability company, governmental entity, or
other legal entity. The term includes a dealer, distributor, or
manufacturer.
(l) "Returnable container" means that term as defined in
section 1 of the beverage container law, MCL 445.571.
(m) "Reverse vending machine" means a device designed to
properly identify an empty returnable container and provide a means
for a deposit refund.
(n) "Reverse vending machine manufacturer" means a person who
engages in any of the following and the representatives of that
person:
(i) Designing or manufacturing a reverse vending machine.
(ii) Selling or leasing a reverse vending machine to a dealer
in this state.
(iii) Servicing or replacing a reverse vending machine of a
dealer in this state.
(o) "Universal product code" means the 12-digit identification
number and bar code system administered by GS1 US Inc. to uniquely
identify consumer products in the United States.
Sec. 5. (1) A person that manufactures beverage containers
shall not sell or offer to sell a beverage container that does not
meet 1 of the following to a manufacturer that intends to sell or
offer to sell a beverage in this state in that beverage container:
(a) A universal product code is affixed to the beverage
container that identifies that container as a returnable container
in this state.
(b) An add-on bar code is affixed to the beverage container
that identifies that container as a returnable container in this
state.
(2) A person that manufactures beverage containers shall not
sell or offer to sell a foreign container to a manufacturer that
intends to sell or offer to sell a beverage in this state in that
beverage container.
Sec. 7. (1) A dealer, distributor, or manufacturer shall not
use a reverse vending machine unless the reverse vending machine is
designed to do all of the following:
(a) Determine whether a beverage container is a returnable
container in this state by reading a universal product code or add-
on bar code affixed to the beverage container.
(b) Identify and refuse to provide a deposit refund for
foreign containers by reading a universal product code or add-on
bar code affixed to the beverage container.
(c) Provide an accurate printed report to the user of the
reverse vending machine on a weekly basis that contains all of the
following information for the preceding week:
(i) The number of returnable containers placed in the reverse
vending machine.
(ii) The brand name of each beverage container placed in the
reverse vending machine.
(iii) The kind, type, and size of each beverage container placed
in the reverse vending machine.
(iv) The number of foreign containers rejected by the reverse
vending machine.
(2) A person shall not change, alter, or modify a reverse
vending machine in a manner designed to prevent the reverse vending
machine from complying with subsection (1).
Sec. 9. (1) A dealer shall do all of the following with the
machine reports from each reverse vending machine used by that
dealer:
(a) Retain the originals of the machine reports for at least 2
years.
(b) Provide copies of the machine reports to each distributor
that provides refunds to the dealer under section 2(6) of the
beverage container law, MCL 445.572. A distributor may withhold
payment of a refund to a dealer that fails to provide the
distributor a copy of a machine report under this subdivision.
(c) Make the originals of the machine reports available for
inspection by each distributor that provides refunds to the dealer
under section 2(6) of the beverage container law, MCL 445.572. A
distributor may withhold payment of a refund to a dealer that fails
to allow the distributor to inspect the originals of the machine
reports under this subdivision.
(2) A dealer shall allow the department and any law
enforcement agency to inspect the dealer's reverse vending machines
and originals of the machine reports for the purpose of enforcing
this act.
(3) If the department receives a complaint of a violation of
this act, the department shall investigate to determine whether a
violation of this act has occurred.
(4) If the department determines or discovers that a violation
of this act has occurred, the department shall notify the
appropriate law enforcement agency of the violation.
(5) The responsibilities of the department under this section
do not limit the authority of any law enforcement agency to
investigate any alleged violation of this act that occurs in its
jurisdiction.
Sec. 11. (1) A person who violates this act is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 180 days
or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both.
(2) In addition to the penalty imposed under subsection (1), a
court shall order a person convicted of a violation of this act to
make restitution to this state and to any dealer, manufacturer, or
distributor for any loss caused by the violation.