DES MOINES — Iowa lawmakers have once again crushed a proposal to expand the state's 1978 bottle bill.
A panel of lawmakers Wednesday heard testimony on House Study Bill 652, which would expand Iowa's beverage container control law, the anti-litter law more commonly known as the "bottle bill," to include water bottles and sports drinks.
But the bill's floor manager made clear that the legislation isn't going anywhere this year.
"I'm not a big fan of expanding the bottle bill," said State Rep. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig. "I'm not sold on the positives. Back home, the district tells me they're interested in keeping what we have. I don't have a lot of interest from constituents in expanding and storing and hauling more bottles, more containers."
Iowa is one of 10 states with a bottle bill.
State law requires Iowans to pay a 5-cent deposit on cans and bottles for all carbonated and alcoholic beverages including beer, soft drinks, wine and liquor. That money is returned if the empty containers are returned to a grocery store or redemption center.
Bill Wimmer, a lobbyist for Hy-Vee Inc. and the Iowa Beverage Association, said part of the problem with Iowa's bottle bill is that no neighboring states have a similar law.
"We are an island of a bottle bill surrounded by states that don't have it," Wimmer said. "We have a lot of cross-border fraud that goes on."
But advocates of expanding the law argue that the types of beverage containers have changed and grown in number since Iowa's law was enacted in 1978. They say the law should be updated to include water bottles and sports drinks.
"As a consumer, I think it would keep the environment cleaner," said Donald Fick, a veterinarian from Muscatine. "If I were a grocery store manager and had to deal with that, I may look at it differently. But you do not see many 'depositable' cans along the roadsides, on the streets, and there's a reason for that."
House Study Bill 652 also would double the "handling fee" paid to retailers by distributors from 1 cent to 2 cents for plastic containers. The fee helps retailers cover the cost of handling the containers.
House Study Bill 652 will not clear this week's self-imposed legislative "funnel" deadline, which requires bills to clear one committee to be considered alive for the remainder of the session.
But advocates say the proposal remains alive with a new bill in the Iowa Senate that contains an appropriation. Budget and tax bills are exempt from the legislative funnel.
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