RELATING TO DEPOSIT BEVERAGE CONTAINER RECYCLING.

Producers now have two registration options: register directly with the department and implement a program individually, or register with and join a producer responsibility organization. Previously all producers were required to join a PPO.

The de minimis producer threshold changed from 'less than one ton of deposit beverage containers' (weight-based) to 'fewer than two million deposit beverages in deposit beverage containers' (volume-based), significantly raising the bar for small-producer exemption.

The definition of 'dealer' was broadened from 'for off-premises consumption in the State' to 'for consumption in the State,' removing the off-premises limitation and potentially including on-premises beverage sales.

A new definition of 'redemption rate' was added, defined as the percentage of eligible deposit beverages successfully returned by consumers out of the total number of containers eligible for refund.

The 'producer' definition was clarified so that the first-distributor provision applies only as a fallback when no importer of record exists in the State, rather than as an independent alternative basis for producer status.

A new section 342G-S establishes a violations framework: penalties for noncompliance, authority for the department to use audit findings as evidence of violations, authority to conduct investigations, and a requirement that producers or PPOs report known violations to the department within seven days and cooperate in enforcement.

Third-party audit requirements were substantially expanded: audits now cover producers and redemption centers (not just the PPO), must be submitted to the department within seven days, a remediation plan must be submitted within a set number of days, and the completed audit must be posted on the organization's website.

New redemption rate goals were added to section 342G-Q with specific percentage targets and deadlines (left as blanks), replacing the previous open-ended 'performance targets' language in the program plan.

Redemption network convenience standards changed from a PPO-proposed quantitative standard for department approval to specific distance-based requirements: set numbers of redemption centers within set mile radii of every dealer in urban, suburban, and rural areas respectively.

Producer data reporting requirements were expanded to include manufacture of deposit beverages, importation and exportation of deposit beverage containers, in addition to sales data. Producers registering directly with the department now submit reports to the department rather than a PPO.

The program plan's fraud prevention requirement was expanded to include ensuring compliance with the approved plan and this part, identifying and reporting violations to the department, and conducting corrective actions primarily through producer or PPO-led measures.

A new section 8 provides that unexpended balances in the deposit beverage container deposit special fund will be split between producers/PPOs (for program operation) and the general fund, with specific percentages left as blanks. Previously the remaining balance would simply lapse to the general fund.

The deposit payment provision was moved from section 342G-I to section 342G-G and now allows payment to either the department or the producer responsibility organization, reflecting the new dual registration pathway.

The effective date was changed from July 1, 2026 to a placeholder date (July 1, 3000), with sections 7 and 8 given a separate effective date. This suggests the bill is not yet ready for immediate implementation.