Bill Text - HB1570 (2020)

Establishing an architectural paint program.


Revision: Dec. 3, 2019, 11:41 a.m.

HB 1570-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2020 SESSION

20-2673

08/05

 

HOUSE BILL 1570-FN

 

AN ACT establishing an architectural paint program.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Buchanan, Merr. 15; Rep. Read, Rock. 17

 

COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill establishes an architectural paint recycling program.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

20-2673

08/05

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

 

AN ACT establishing an architectural paint program.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Subdivision; Architectural Paint Can Recycling Program.  Amend RSA 149-M by inserting after section 60 the following new subdivision:

Architectural Paint Can Recycling Program

149-M:61  Definitions.  In this subdivision:

I.  “Architectural paint” means interior and exterior architectural coatings sold in containers of 5 gallons or less.  “Architectural paint” shall not include industrial, original equipment or specialty coatings.

II.  “Commissioner” means the commissioner of the department of environmental services.

III.  “Department” means the department of environmental services.

IV.  “Environmentally sound management practices” means procedures for the collection, storage, transportation, reuse, recycling and disposal of architectural paint, to be implemented by the producer or representative organization or by the producers or representative organization’s contracted partners to ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and any regulations and ordinances for the protection of human health and the environment and these procedures shall address adequate record keeping, tracking and documenting of the final disposition of materials and adequate environmental liability coverage for professional services and for the operations of the contractors working on behalf of the producer or representative organization.

V.  “Postconsumer paint” means architectural paint not used and no longer wanted by a purchaser.

VI.  “Producer” means a manufacturer of architectural paint who sells, offers for sale, or distributes the architectural paint in the state under the producer’s own name or brand.

VII.  “Program” means the postconsumer paint collection program established pursuant to RSA 149-M:62.

VIII.  “Recycling" means a process by which discarded products, components and by-products are transformed into new usable or marketable materials in a manner in which the original products may lose their identity.

IX.  “Representative organization” means a nonprofit organization established by a producer to implement the postconsumer paint collection program.

X.  “Retailer” means a person that offers architectural paint for sale at retail in the state.

149-M:62  Architectural Paint Recycling Program.

I.  A producer of architectural paint sold at retail in the state or a representative organization shall submit to the commissioner for approval a plan for the establishment of a postconsumer paint collection program.  The program shall minimize public sector involvement in the management of postconsumer paint by reducing its generation, promoting its reuse and recycling and negotiating and executing agreements to collect, transport, reuse, recycle and dispose of postconsumer paint using environmentally sound management practices.  

II.  The plan submitted by the producer or representative organization to the department under this subdivision shall:

(a)  Provide a list of participating producers and brands covered by the program.

(b)  Provide information on the architectural paint products covered under the program, such as interior or exterior water- and oil-based coatings, primers, sealers, or wood coatings.

(c)  Describe how the program will collect, transport, recycle, and process postconsumer paint for end-of-life management, including recycling, energy recovery, and disposal, using environmentally sound management practices.

(d)  Describe how it will provide for convenient and cost-effective statewide collection of postconsumer architectural paint in the state.  The producer or representative organization may coordinate the program with existing household hazardous waste collection infrastructure as is mutually agreeable.  A paint retailer may be authorized by the producer or representative organization as a paint collection site if the paint retailer volunteers to act as such, complies with all applicable laws and regulations, and the retail location is consistent with the maintenance of a cost-effective network of paint collection locations.

(e)  Provide geographic modeling to determine the number and distribution of sites for collection of postconsumer architectural paint based on the following criteria:  (1) at least 90 percent of New Hampshire residents shall have a collection site within a 15-mile radius; and (2) one additional site will be established for every 50,000 residents of an urbanized area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, unless otherwise approved by the commissioner.

(f)  Describe how postconsumer paint will be managed in the most environmentally and economically sound manner, including following the waste-management hierarchy.  The management of paint under the program shall promote reuse, recycling, energy recovery, and disposal.

(g)  Describe education and outreach efforts to inform consumers about the program.  These materials shall include:  (1) information about collection opportunities for postconsumer paint; (2) information about the charge for the operation of the program that shall be included in the purchase price of all architectural paint sold in the state; and (3) efforts to promote the source reduction, reuse, and recycling of architectural paint.

(h)  Be reviewed by an independent financial auditor to assure that any added cost to paint sold in the state as a result of the postconsumer paint collection program does not exceed the costs of the program.  The independent auditor shall verify that the amount added to each unit of paint will cover the costs of the postconsumer paint collection program.  

(i)  Be submitted no later than July 1, 2021.

III.  The independent financial auditor may be selected by the department and the department shall review the work product of the independent auditor.  The department may terminate the services of any such independent auditor.  The cost of any work performed by such independent auditor shall be funded by the program.

IV.  Not later than 60 days after submission of the plan under this section, the commissioner shall make a determination, in writing, whether to approve the plan as submitted or disapprove the plan.

V.  The department shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A to enforce the plan, including the circumstances under which a new plan or an amendment to the plan must be filed by the producer or representative organization.

VI.  No later than the implementation date of the program, information regarding the approved plan, the names of participating producers, and the brands of architectural paint covered by the program shall be posted on the department’s website and on the website of the representative organization.

VII.  Upon implementation of the program, each producer shall include in the price of any architectural paint sold to retailers and distributors in the state the per container amount in the approved program plan.  A retailer or distributor shall not deduct this amount from the purchase price.

VIII.(a)  A producer or retailer shall not sell, or offer for sale, architectural paint to any person in the state unless the producer of a paint brand or a producer’s representative organization is implementing an approved paint collection program plan as required under this subdivision.

(b)  A retailer shall comply with this subdivision if, on the date the architectural paint was offered for sale, the producer is listed on the department’s website as implementing or participating in an approved program or if the paint brand is listed on the department’s website as being included in the program.  A paint collection site authorized under the provisions of this subdivision shall not charge any additional amount for the disposal of paint when it is offered for disposal.  

(c)  A manufacturer or the representative organization that organizes the collection, transport, and processing of postconsumer paint, in accordance with the postconsumer paint collection program, shall not be liable for any claim of a violation of antitrust, restraint of trade or unfair trade practice arising from conduct undertaken in accordance with the program pursuant to this section.

(d)  Annually, the producer or representative organization shall submit a report to the commissioner that includes the following:  (1) a description of the methods used to collect, transport and process postconsumer paint in the state; (2) the volume and type of postconsumer paint collected, by method of disposition, including reuse, recycling and other methods of processing; (3) samples of educational materials provided to consumers of architectural paint; and (4) the total cost of the program and an independent financial audit.  The report or information relating to the report shall be posted on the department’s website.  The producer or representative organization shall submit the first report no later than October 15, 2021.  The report shall be posted on the website of the representative organization.

(e)  Financial, production, or sales data reported to the department by a producer or by the representative organization shall not be subject to disclosure but the commissioner may release a summary form of such data that does not disclose financial, production, or sales data of the producer, retailer, or representative organization.

IX.  Beginning not later than January 1, 2021 or 6 months after the plan is approved under this section, whichever occurs later, the representative organization shall implement the postconsumer paint collection program.

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBAO

20-2673

11/21/19

 

HB 1570-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT establishing an architectural paint program.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [ X ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [    ] Other

 

 

 

 

 

COUNTY:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

 

 

 

 

 

LOCAL:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill would establish a post consumer paint take back program funded by a recycling/disposal fee, assessed per container and incorporated into the retail price of paint at the point of sale. Unwanted post consumer paint would be collected at retail stores such as hardware stores,  paint stores, or other authorized collection sites.  Recycling or disposal of post consumer paint would be implemented by paint producers, or on behalf of paint producers by a "representative organization" using money collected from the recycling/disposal fee collected from sale of new paint.  The Department of Environmental Services assumes the following:

 

  • The Department would receive and review only one plan from a single "representative organization".
  • The additional responsibilities placed on the Department will require additional  resources and could not be absorbed by existing program staff.  An additional part-time Waste Management Specialist IV position would be needed  to coordinate the following responsibilities:
    • Review the initial plan and ongoing annual reports submitted to the Department.
    • Select an independent auditor and review the work of the auditor.
    • Conduct rulemaking.
    • Provide technical assistance to the general public.
    • Enforce the program.
  • The work of the independent financial auditor will be funded by the program.
  • The cost to the Department in fulfilling its duties under this proposal will be funded with general funds.
  • The initial plan is likely to be submitted to the Department during the latter part of     FY 2021, and the Department would begin the administrative and enforcement responsibilities FY 2021.
  • Currently, the cost of managing post consumer paint is borne primarily by municipalities and solid waste districts.  Implementation of this proposal would likely reduce these local expenditures.  However, the Department cannot quantify such fiscal impacts.
  • Construction and renovation projects implemented by state, county and local entities would likely incur indeterminable additional expenses related to the procurement of paint as the disposal/recycling fee would be included in the cost of the paint at time of purchase.

 

The annual cost of the additional part-time Waste Management Specialist IV position would be approximately $48,500-$52,500 including salary, benefits and other associated expenses.  Due to the number of variables, the Department is unable to accurately calculate complete costs or impacts.  There are likely to be indeterminable costs to the State beyond the position costs such as  expenditures for the procurement of paint for state construction and renovation projects.

 

It is not possible to estimate the fiscal impact on county or local governments.  The Department assumes there would be a decrease in expenditures by local governments currently responsible for management of post consumer paint.  County and local governments may also experience an increase in expenditures to purchase paint for construction and renovation projects.

 

It is assumed this bill will not take effect until FY 2021.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Environmental Services