Notice of Public Hearing for House Bill 1488 - Update: 10 Year Analysis Complete

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HB 1488, titled AN ACT Relating to the management of plastic packaging materials, has been scheduled for a public hearing by the House Committee on Environment & Energy.

Date and Time: 02/11/2021 1:30PM (Subject to change by the Legislature.)
Location: , Virtual, ,

The Office of Financial Management has identified this bill as requiring a ten-year projection of increased cost to the taxpayers or affected fee payers.

Ten-year projection:

Fiscal Year		Plastic Packaging Fee
2022		$
2023		0
2024		18,500,000
2025		18,500,000
2026		18,500,000
2027		18,500,000
2028		18,500,000
2029		18,500,000
2030		18,500,000
2031		18,500,000
Total:		$ 148,000,000

Department of Ecology:

Section 5 would provide that a plastic packaging producer in violation of this chapter would be subject to an annual fee. Ecology would be required to adopt rules to implement the fees which must be structured to meet minimum and maximum total revenue levels as prescribed in the bill. Ecology assumes rulemaking to establish the fees would take two years to complete, beginning July 1, 2021, and adopted by June 2023, with fee revenue collection beginning in FY 2024.

Cash receipts from fees is Indeterminate. The fee structure would be established as part of the rulemaking process. Based on comparisons to the Recycle BC program and other packaging programs in Canada, Ecology assumes 1,500 plastic packaging producers would be required to comply with the recycled content requirements. The number and level of violations of those who do not meet minimum post-consumer recycled content is unknown. While companies have made progress in increasing their recycled content use over the last few years, Ecology assumes that a significant number of producers will not meet the minimum postconsumer content requirements beginning in 2023. Ecology assumes similar rates of non-compliance will continue as the minimum requirements are increased. 

Under the bill, the fee amount would not exceed $200 per ton, and could be lowered for producers that achieve partial compliance. The fee would be set at $200 per ton if the estimated revenues fall below these established range. The total amount raised would be between $30 million and $40 million per biennium.

Based on the average of the range of fee revenue under section 5, and assuming a fee level that would cover Ecology’s estimated costs to administer the bill within the ten percent limit, Ecology estimates cash receipts of $18.5 million per fiscal year beginning in FY 2024 for purposes of this analysis. 

All fee revenue would be deposited in the Recycling Improvement Account, with the exception of $1 million in FY 2024 which would be deposited in the Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Litter Control Account as prescribed under section 6.

Ten-year projection prepared in consultation with the following agencies:

Department of Ecology


Bill sponsors and contact information:

Representative Jake Fey, Prime Sponsor
Democrat
(206) 653-9974
jake.fey@leg.wa.gov

Representative Tana Senn
Democrat
(360) 786-7894
tana.senn@leg.wa.gov

Representative Amy Walen
Democrat
(425) 883-3366
WALEN_AM@leg.wa.gov

Representative Strom Peterson
Democrat
(564) 888-2336
strom.peterson@leg.wa.gov

Representative Debra Lekanoff
Democrat
(360) 419-5266
LEKANOFF_DE@leg.wa.gov

Representative David Hackney
Democrat
(206) 490-0914
David.Hackney@leg.wa.gov

Representative Vandana Slatter
Democrat
(425) 458-7240
vandana.slatter@leg.wa.gov

Representative Davina Duerr
Democrat
(425) 318-1303
DUERR_DA@leg.wa.gov

Representative Gerry Pollet
Democrat
(206) 307-0409
gerry.pollet@leg.wa.gov


House Committee on Environment & Energy members and contact information:

Representative Peter Abbarno
Republican
(360) 786-7896
Peter.Abbarno@leg.wa.gov

Representative Liz Berry
Democrat
(206) 709-5260
Liz.Berry@leg.wa.gov

Representative Matt Boehnke
Republican
(509) 315-2315
BOEHNKE_MA@leg.wa.gov

Representative Davina Duerr
Democrat
(425) 318-1303
DUERR_DA@leg.wa.gov

Representative Mary Dye
Republican
(564) 888-2380
mary.dye@leg.wa.gov

Representative Jake Fey
Democrat
(206) 653-9974
jake.fey@leg.wa.gov

Representative Joe Fitzgibbon
Democrat
(564) 888-2362
joe.fitzgibbon@leg.wa.gov

Representative Keith Goehner
Republican
(360) 786-7954
GOEHNER_KE@leg.wa.gov

Representative Kirsten Harris-Talley
Democrat
(206) 971-1222
Kirsten.Harris-Talley@leg.wa.gov

Representative Mark Klicker
Republican
(360) 786-7836
Mark.Klicker@leg.wa.gov

Representative Alex Ramel
Democrat
(360) 786-7970
alex.ramel@leg.wa.gov

Representative Sharon Shewmake
Democrat
(360) 746-6939
sharon.shewmake@leg.wa.gov

Representative Vandana Slatter
Democrat
(425) 458-7240
vandana.slatter@leg.wa.gov



Legislative Bill Information Website: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/

Initiative 960 Website: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/tax/default.asp