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An Act To Allow an Earlier Implementation Date for an Architectural Paint Stewardship Program
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §2144, sub-§5, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 395, §1, is amended to read:
 
A. BeginningUnless an earlier implementation date is proposed in a plan and approved by the commissioner, beginning July 1, 2015 or 3 months after a plan is approved by the commissioner under subsection 23, whichever occurs later, a producer or a representative organization shall implement the plan. If an earlier implementation date is proposed in a plan and approved by the commissioner, a producer or representative organization shall implement the plan beginning on that date.
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §2144, sub-§5, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 395, §1, is amended to read:
 
E. By October 15, 2016, and annually thereafter, the operator of a paint stewardship program shall submit a report to the commissioner regarding the paint stewardship program. If implementation of a plan begins before December 31, 2014, the commissioner may establish an earlier date for submission of the initial report. The report must include, but is not limited to:
 
(1) A description of the methods used to collect, transport, reduce, reuse and process post-consumer paint in the State;
 
(2) The volume of post-consumer paint collected in the State;
 
(3) The volume and type of post-consumer paint collected in the State by method of disposition, including reuse, recycling and other methods of processing;
 
(4) The total cost of implementing the paint stewardship program, as determined by an independent financial audit funded from the paint stewardship assessment. The report of total cost must include a breakdown of administrative, collection, transportation, disposition and communication costs;
 
(5) A summary of outreach and educational activities undertaken and samples of educational materials provided to consumers of architectural paint;
 
(6) The total volume of post-consumer paint collected by the paint stewardship program and a breakdown of the volume collected at each collection site;
 
(7) Based on the paint stewardship assessment collected by the paint stewardship program, the total volume of architectural paint sold in the State during the preceding year;
 
(8) A list of all processors used to manage post-consumer paint collected by the paint stewardship program in the preceding year up to the paint's final disposition, the volume each processor accepted and the disposition method used by each processor; and
 
(9) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the paint stewardship program compared to prior years and anticipated steps, if any are needed, to improve performance throughout the State.
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §2144, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 395, §1, is amended to read:
 
7. Retailers.   BeginningUnless an earlier implementation date is approved by the commissioner pursuant to subsection 5, paragraph A, beginning July 1, 2015 or 3 months after a plan is approved by the commissioner under subsection 23, whichever occurs later, a retailer may not sell architectural paint unless, on the date the retailer orders the architectural paint from the producer or its agent, the producer or the paint brand is listed on the department's publicly accessible website as implementing or participating in an approved paint stewardship program. A retailer may participate as a paint collection point pursuant to the paint stewardship program on a voluntary basis and pursuant to all applicable laws and rules. A retailer that collects post-consumer paint must follow a collection site procedure manual developed by a producer or representative organization to ensure the use of environmentally sound management practices when handling architectural paints at collection locations. If an earlier implementation date is approved by the commissioner pursuant to subsection 5, paragraph A, the provisions of this subsection apply with respect to the plan as of that date.
 
Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 126th Legislature, Second Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.