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A coalition of businesses and environmental groups interested in the Bottle Bill today urged lawmakers to abandon a proposal that would add a 5-cent surcharge to the existing 10-cent deposit collected on beverage containers.
The proposal is part of House Bill 3940, which also proposes to take money from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, draw on an insurance tax, and make certain adjustments to the forest harvest tax to fund wildfire prevention and response.
But objections have emerged from a group that includes the following members:
- Association of Oregon Recyclers
- Columbia Distributing
- Northwest Grocery Retailers Association
- Oregon Beer & Wine Distributors Association
- Oregon Environmental Council
- Oregon League of Conservation Voters
- Oregon Beverage Association
- Oregon Wine Council
- Oregon Business & Industry
- Anheuser-Busch
- 7-Eleven
The message the group sent lawmakers in a letter today was pretty simple: The Bottle Bill and wildfires have nothing to do with each other.
“We understand the importance of creating more funding to fight wildfires in Oregon, but a beverage tax in Oregon’s Bottle Bill is not the solution. And now is not the time. A beverage tax would raise food costs when Oregonians can least afford it,” the group said in a letter.
“It’s a beverage tax no matter how you do it—taking from or adding to the present deposit for a new purpose. If consumers don’t receive their full deposit back or if the money is used for anything beyond the Bottle Bill, it’s a tax—and a broken promise to Oregonians.”
HB 3940 is scheduled for a hearing April 1 at 8 am in front of the House Committee on Climate, Energy and Environment.
This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering rural Oregon.