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Senate approves bottle‑redemption changes, rejects return-to-5¢ amendment
Summary
The Senate passed Senate Bill 299 addressing out‑of‑state beverage container redemptions and anti‑fraud measures. A Republican amendment to roll deposit back to 5¢ failed; the bill then passed and was transmitted to the House.
Senate Bill 299, a package aimed at reducing fraud in Connecticut’s bottle‑deposit system and helping distributors recover costs, passed the Senate after floor debate on Feb. 25. The bill includes enforcement measures the sponsor described as a ‘‘band‑aid’’ to limit out‑of‑state redemptions and provide short‑term relief while the legislature develops a broader fix.
Republican senators argued the best immediate remedy would be to reduce the deposit from 10¢ back to 5¢ to eliminate cross‑border arbitrage; Senator Hart (and others) offered an amendment to that effect. Supporters of the 5¢ amendment said the higher deposit incentivizes bringing out‑of‑state containers into Connecticut for profit. Opponents (including the bill sponsor) argued a simple return to 5¢ would not address underlying enforcement or distribution issues and that a comprehensive bill in the environment committee should be the vehicle for a longer-term solution.
The 5¢ amendment was put to a roll call and failed (11 yeas, 25 nays). Following that result, the base bill was approved by the Senate and ordered transmitted to the House.
What happens next: The bill will be considered by the House; the environment committee has other pending bottle‑bill proposals and further work is expected during the session.
