The House adopted committee amendments to legislation establishing an extended producer responsibility program for packaging and paper products, which would require producers to register, fund a producer responsibility organization (PRO) and underwrite program costs for collection and recycling.

The floor leader, explaining the amendments, said the bill establishes an EPR program and makes technical clarifications, "add[ing] language to ensure that the bill would not preclude a bottle deposit program in the state, require the annual registration fee to cover, as necessary, the cost of developing and implementing program regulations, and clarify that a plan's methodology for reimbursement rates for covered services, for covered materials is exclusive of exempt producers."

Members asked whether similar programs operate elsewhere. The floor leader said Canadian provinces and some U.S. states have pursued EPR programs and that Oregon is the first U.S. state expected to be operational soon. Delegates pressed whether consumers would face point‑of‑sale fees. The floor leader said the program is designed so fees are not a separate point‑of‑sale charge; instead, producers would absorb modest per‑unit fees as a cost of doing business. Members noted that producers could still implicitly pass costs into prices, and there is no direct enforcement mechanism to prevent that.

Lawmakers also asked whether the PRO would be a private organization and whether it would employ staff; the floor leader said plans are approved by the Maryland Department of the Environment and the PRO would have paid staff and operating expenses funded from producer fees.

The House adopted the amendments and ordered the bill passed to third reading.