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LD2141 • 2025

An Act Regarding Enforcement of the Annual Reporting Requirement of the Laws Governing Unclaimed Beverage Container Deposits

An Act Regarding Enforcement of the Annual Reporting Requirement of the Laws Governing Unclaimed Beverage Container Deposits

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Senator Stacy Brenner
Last action
2026-04-16
Official status
Signed by the Governor
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific information about penalties or enforcement mechanisms.

Law to Make Beverage Container Reports Mandatory

This law makes it mandatory for companies that sell drinks with deposits to report their sales annually and sets penalties if they do not comply.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires companies that put a deposit on drink containers to send yearly reports about how many containers they sold.
  • Says that not sending the report is against the law and can lead to penalties.
  • Prohibits companies from selling drinks with deposits if they do not follow reporting rules.
  • Allows other sellers to stop selling drinks from companies that don't report their sales.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Companies that sell drinks with deposit requirements
  • The state department responsible for enforcing these laws

Terms To Know

Deposit
Money paid when buying a drink in a container, which is returned when the empty container is brought back.
Initiator of deposit
The company that puts a deposit on drink containers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify what happens if a report is late or incorrect.
  • Does not explain how penalties are decided or enforced.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Adopted by House & Senate

Plain English: The amendment changes how unclaimed beverage container deposits are used by adding new requirements for funding activities that promote reusable containers and providing specific amounts to certain funds.

  • Adds a requirement for the cooperative to fund activities and infrastructure designed to increase the use of refillable and reusable beverage containers, with a minimum annual allocation of $500,000.
  • Specifies that starting October 1, 2026, $2 million annually will be paid to the Lake Water Quality Restoration and Protection Fund and another $2 million to the Maine Working Farmland Access and Protection Program.
  • Clarifies that unclaimed deposits for nonrefillable beverage containers managed by a specific bureau are not subject to the requirements of this section.
  • The exact nature and extent of activities funded under new paragraph (4-A) may vary widely, making it difficult to predict their impact without more details.
  • Some parts of the amendment text were truncated in the provided material, so a complete understanding of all changes is not possible.
Sponsored By Senator Brenner of Cumberland , Adopted by House & Senate

Plain English: This amendment changes the title of a bill and removes most of its sections, leaving only the part that gives the Department of Environmental Protection authority to enforce annual reporting requirements for unclaimed beverage container deposits.

  • Changes the title of the bill to 'An Act Regarding Enforcement of the Annual Reporting Requirement of the Laws Governing Unclaimed Beverage Container Deposits'
  • Removes sections 1 to 3 and section 5 from the original amendment
  • Gives the Department of Environmental Protection authority to enforce annual reporting requirements for unclaimed beverage container deposits
  • The exact penalties or consequences for failing to submit an annual report are not specified in this amendment text.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-16 Governor

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2026-04-14 House

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED . Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.

  3. 2026-04-14 Senate

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED , in concurrence.

  4. 2026-04-01 Committee

    Reported Out; OTP-AM/ONTP

  5. 2026-03-04 Committee

    Work Session Held

  6. 2026-03-04 Committee

    Voted; Divided Report

  7. 2026-01-07 Committee

    Referred to Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

Official Summary Text

An Act Regarding Enforcement of the Annual Reporting Requirement of the Laws Governing Unclaimed Beverage Container Deposits
Sponsor:
Senator Stacy Brenner
Reference committee:
Environment and Natural Resources
Governor action:
Signed by the Governor

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Page 1 - 132LR2854(05)
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
_____
S.P. 859 - L.D. 2141
An Act Regarding Enforcement of the Annual Reporting Requirement of the
Laws Governing Unclaimed Beverage Container Deposits
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §3119, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2025, c. 241, §18, is further
amended by enacting at the end a new first blocked paragraph to read:
An initiator of deposit that fails to report annually to the department in accordance with the
requirements of this subsection commits a violation of this chapter, is subject to penalties
under section 3111 and, as long as the violation exists, is prohibited from selling or
distributing in the State any beverage container subject to the requirements of this chapter.
A distributor or dealer may not sell or distribute in the State any such containers of the
initiator, and the department may remove from sale any such containers of the initiator.
APPROVED
APRIL 16, 2026
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
731
PUBLIC LAW