Schwarzenegger vetoes bottle bill

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (Oct. 13, 4:25 p.m. ET) -- The effort to expand the bottle bill in California has failed, doomed by a combination of state budgetary problems and the failure of the bill to provide a solution that would help repair the state’s beverage container recycling fund.

In vetoing SB 402 — which had passed both the Senate and Assembly with a 60 percent majority — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cited numerous flaws in the bill, including its failure to contain “solutions for the long-term repair” of the state’s beverage container recycling fund, which is facing a $200 million deficit for fiscal year 2009-2010.

“SB 402 fails to make the hard choices that need to be made with regard to providing a lasting solution” for the financial solvency of the fund, say Schwarzenegger Oct. 11 in his veto message. In addition, he said the bill “unjustifiably” called for increased grants for some state recycling programs and reduced grants for public education programs needed to explain the expansion of the programs and fees to consumer.

The bill, supported by large beer companies, California retailers, bottled water groups and environmental groups, would have increased beverage container deposits from 5 cents to 10 cents on July 1 and extended deposits to containers 20 ounces. Current laws restrict deposits to bottles 24 ounces and larger.

In addition, SB 402 would have added approximately 1.5 billion bottles to the deposit program by including in the program all juices and other fruit drinks sold in paperboard and aseptic packaging, large bottles of fruit juice, and soy, nut, rice and other grain beverages, regardless of their container type.

“The expansion to include fruit and vegetable juices and soy-based drinks is inappropriate given that these products are often dietary necessities for families” — and because the bill kept “wine and distilled spirits, typically paid for from consumer’s disposable income, exempt from the program,” said Schwarzenegger.

He said the changes in SB 402 would have been “merely a patch” that would have only provided relief for one fiscal year.

The governor also said that when legislators tackle bottle bill legislation again that they need to include provisions that would “prohibit any additional loans” from the state’s beverage container fund to the state’s general fund and provisions to require the general fund to repay past loans it received from the beverage container fund.

In fiscal 2009-2010, the beverage container fund loaned over $100 million to the state’s general fund to help balance the state budget.

Californians Against Waste said the veto could trigger the shutdown of as many as 1,200 supermarket-based recycling centers because the state won’t be able to restore cuts made in reimbursement fees to groups handing container redemption and returns.

In addition, the veto leaves the state without funds to resume the recycling and market development incentives grants and loans which were suspended July 1.

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