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2008 SESSION

083912652
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 112
Offered January 9, 2008
Prefiled January 8, 2008
Directing the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to include in its 2007 authorized two-year study (SJR 361) an analysis of the effectiveness of the recovery and recycling of beverage containers as a waste minimization strategy. Report.
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Patron-- Morgan
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, Senate Joint Resolution No. 361 (2007) directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study waste minimization, reuse, and recycling; and

WHEREAS, the recovery and recycling of beverage containers shifts the social and environmental costs associated with manufacturing, recycling, and disposal of container and packaging waste from government and taxpayers to those responsible for the waste; and

WHEREAS, in addition, beverage container laws increase recovery and recycling of beverage containers, reduce roadside litter and solid waste, conserve energy and natural resources, prevent pollution from the manufacturing of new containers, and create jobs and new businesses; and

WHEREAS, currently, 11 states have implemented programs to recover and recycle beverage containers; and

WHEREAS, governments in some states with bottle deposit programs are statutorily authorized to take a portion or all of unclaimed deposits, which in some states can accumulate to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and allocate those moneys to environmental initiatives; and

WHEREAS, in Michigan, unclaimed deposits total about $15 million per year and are used for cleanup and redevelopment programs, while California's $300 million annually in unclaimed deposits amount must be spent on the administration and promotion of the recycling program through grants and other means; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission be directed to include in its 2007 authorized two-year study (SJR 361) an analysis of the effectiveness of the recovery and recycling of beverage containers as a waste minimization strategy.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission for this study, upon request.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2008, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2009 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.