Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §1861, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1979, c. 731, §19, is further amended to read:

2. Intent. It is the intent of the Legislature to create incentives for the manufacturers, distributors, dealers and consumers of beverage containers to reuse or recycle beverage containers thereby removing the blight on the landscape caused by the disposal of these containers on the highways and lands of the State and reducing the increasing costs of litter collection and municipal solid waste disposal.

This chapter will be administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources with the authority to interpret the chapter and to issue the necessary rules and regulations in order to carry it into effect.

Sec. 2. 32 MRSA §1862, sub-§§8-A and 8-B are enacted to read:

8-A.__Initiator of deposit.__"Initiator of deposit" means a manufacturer, distributor or other person who initiates a deposit on a beverage container under section 1863-A.

8-B.__Local redemption center.__"Local redemption center" means a place of business that deals in acceptance of empty returnable beverage containers from either consumers or from dealers, or both, and that must be licensed under section 1871-A.

Sec. 3. 32 MRSA §1865, sub-§3 is enacted to read:

3.__Label registration.__An initiator of deposit shall register the container label of any beverage offered for sale in the State on which it initiates a deposit.__Registration must be on forms or in an electronic format provided by the department and shall include the universal product code for each combination of beverage and container manufactured.__The initiator of deposit shall renew a label registration annually and whenever that label is revised by altering the universal product code or whenever the container on which it appears is changed in size, composition or glass color.__The initiator of deposit shall also include as part of the registration the method of collection for that type of container, identification of a collection agent and proof of the collection agreement.__The department may charge a fee for registration and registration renewals under this subsection.__ Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection that establish fees are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A and subject to review by the joint standing