00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 264(CRA) 01 "An Act relating to a fee for disposable shopping bags; relating to the sale of reusable 02 shopping bags; relating to the recycling of disposable shopping bags; and providing for 03 an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05  * Section 1. AS 43.98 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Article 5. Disposable Shopping Bag Fees.  07 Sec. 43.98.080. Disposable shopping bag fees. (a) Except as provided in (b), 08 (c), and (i) of this section, a fee of 20 cents is imposed for each disposable shopping 09 bag provided by a retail seller of goods or services to a purchaser to carry away or 10 protect goods purchased from, or serviced by, the retail seller. 11 (b) The fee established in (a) of this section does not apply to a disposable 12 shopping bag that is 13 (1) used only to contain a product that does not have other packaging, 14 including bulk grains, fruit, nuts, vegetables, meat, candy, bakery goods, prepared 01 foods, or other food products or small hardware items; 02 (2) used only to contain ice; 03 (3) used only to contain or wrap flowers; 04 (4) provided by a pharmacist for the sole purpose of containing 05 prescription drugs; 06 (5) used only to package an unconsumed portion of a bottle of wine in 07 compliance with AS 04.16.120; 08 (6) used only to contain a newspaper; 09 (7) sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for use as 10 garbage, pet waste, or yard waste bags; 11 (8) a reusable bag; or 12 (9) for resale, if the purchaser provides the retail seller with a 13 certificate of use on a form prescribed by the department. 14 (c) If a municipality imposes a fee or tax on a disposable shopping bag, the 15 department shall reduce the fee imposed under this section so that the combined tax or 16 fee imposed by the municipality and the fee imposed under this section equals 20 17 cents for each disposable shopping bag. If a municipality imposes a fee or tax on a 18 disposable shopping bag that equals or exceeds 20 cents, the fee under this section 19 does not apply. 20 (d) A retail seller 21 (1) shall add the amount of the fee imposed by this section to the total 22 price of the goods or services subject to the fees; 23 (2) shall state the fee separately on any sales receipt, invoice, or other 24 record of the sale or other transfer of the disposable shopping bags subject to this 25 section; 26 (3) shall post the amount of the fee imposed under this section 27 prominently at the point of sale of the retail seller; 28 (4) shall collect the fees imposed by this section from the purchaser; 29 and 30 (5) may not rebate or reimburse a purchaser the fee imposed by this 31 section. 01 (e) A retail seller shall file with the department a return on a form prescribed 02 by the department and shall file the return and remit the fees not later than 30 days 03 after the last day of the calendar quarter of the sale for the fees collected during the 04 previous calendar quarter. 05 (f) A retail seller shall keep a record of the number of disposable shopping 06 bags the retail seller has purchased, has been provided with, or has otherwise acquired, 07 and shall keep a record of the amount paid on disposable shopping bags subject to this 08 section that are provided or sold to purchasers on a quarterly basis. The retail seller 09 shall keep the records in the manner prescribed under AS 43.99.010 for at least three 10 years after the date of sale. 11 (g) The provisions of AS 43.05 and AS 43.10 apply to this section. In addition 12 to the penalties in AS 43.05, a retail seller that violates (a) or (d) of this section may be 13 subject to an administrative fine of up to 14 (1) $250 for a first violation; 15 (2) $500 for a second violation within one year; and 16 (3) $750 for each violation after a second violation within one year. 17 (h) The department shall collect 75 percent of the fees imposed under this 18 section. The retail seller may retain the other 25 percent of the fees imposed under this 19 section. Fees that the retail seller retains under this subsection may be used to cover 20 expenses associated with recycling disposable shopping bags as required under 21 AS 46.06.145. 22 (i) This section does not apply to a retail seller in a municipality or an 23 unincorporated community if the municipality or unincorporated community has a 24 population of less than 5,500 people. 25 (j) In this section, 26 (1) "disposable shopping bag" means a bag, other than a reusable bag, 27 provided by a retail seller at a check-out stand, register, point of sale, or other point of 28 departure for the purpose of transporting food or merchandise out of the 29 establishment; a "disposable shopping bag" may be made of compostable or 30 biodegradable material; 31 (2) "retail seller" includes 01 (A) a market, grocery store, convenience store, drug store, or 02 similar establishment that 03 (i) is located in a permanent building; 04 (ii) sells at retail household supplies, perishable items, 05 or food merchandise, including meat, produce, dairy products, or snack 06 foods; or 07 (B) a retail establishment that has annual gross sales of 08 $250,000 or more in the previous calendar year and that provides disposable 09 shopping bags; 10 (3) "reusable bag" means a bag that 11 (A) is designed and manufactured to withstand repeated use 12 over time; 13 (B) is machine washable or is made from material that can be 14 cleaned and disinfected regularly; 15 (C) if it is made from plastic, is made with plastic that is at 16 least four mils thick; 17 (D) has a minimum lifetime of 75 uses; and 18 (E) has the capacity to carry at least 18 pounds. 19  * Sec. 2. AS 46.06 is amended by adding a new section to read: 20 Sec. 46.06.145. Recycling disposable shopping bags; reusable bag sales. (a) 21 A retail seller that provides as a routine part of business a disposable shopping bag to a 22 purchaser shall, at the entrance of the retail establishment, accept clean disposable 23 shopping bags and arrange for the recycling of those bags. 24 (b) A disposable shopping bag that a retail seller provides to a purchaser must 25 have printed on the bag a recycling symbol and indication that the bag can be returned 26 to the retail seller for recycling. The retail seller shall ensure that a disposable 27 shopping bag is marked as required by this subsection. 28 (c) A retail seller shall make reusable bags available for purchase at the point 29 of sale of the retail establishment. 30 (d) A retail seller that violates this section may be subject to an administrative 31 fine of up to 01 (1) $250 for a first violation; 02 (2) $500 for a second violation within one year; and 03 (3) $750 for each violation after a second violation within one year. 04 (e) This section does not apply to a retail seller in a municipality or an 05 unincorporated community if the municipality or unincorporated community has a 06 population of less than 5,500 people. 07 (f) In this section, 08 (1) "disposable shopping bag" has the meaning given in 09 AS 43.98.080(j); 10 (2) "retail seller" has the meaning given in AS 43.98.080(j); 11 (3) "reusable bag" has the meaning given in AS 43.98.080(j). 12  * Sec. 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2019.