AN ACT CONCERNING THE REDEMPTION RATE AND REFUND VALUE OF BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.
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SB 516 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE REDEMPTION RATE AND REFUND VALUE OF BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.
Last action — FILE NO. 701
No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.
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✓Introduced
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2In Committee
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3Passed Senate
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4Passed House
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 20, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.
Prognosis
Where this bill stands today.
Odds of enactment
LowHow often bills like it became law.
Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.
Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.
Bill Text
What changed in the latest version
146 added · 9 removedPlain-language change summary
The recent changes to SB 516 include the addition of a fiscal impact statement, which provides a clearer understanding of how the bill might affect state finances in future years. This is important because it helps lawmakers and the public gauge the potential costs or revenue implications of the proposed legislation. Additionally, some previous references have been removed to streamline the document. Overall, these adjustments make the bill's financial implications more transparent and accessible to everyone involved.
Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.
516701 February Session, 2026 LCOSenate Bill No.
3319516 ReferredSenate, toApril 20, 2026 The Committee on FINANCE,Finance, REVENUERevenue ANDand BONDINGBonding Introducedreported by:through SEN.
(FIN)FONFARA ANof ACTthe CONCERNING1st THEDist., REDEMPTIONChairperson RATEof ANDthe REFUNDCommittee VALUEon OFthe BEVERAGEpart CONTAINERS.of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE REDEMPTION RATE AND REFUND VALUE OF BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.
LCOSB516 3319/ 1File of 2 Raised Bill No.
516701 (2)1 TheSB516 refundFile valueNo. shall remain at five cents until such time as the commissioner certifies, based on irrefutable evidence, that one hundred per cent of the beverage containers redeemed in this state are beverage containers originally sold in this state.
701 (2) The refund value shall remain at five cents until such time as the commissioner certifies, based on irrefutable evidence, that one hundred per cent of the beverage containers redeemed in this state are beverage containers originally sold in this state.
Section 1 from passage New section FIN Joint Favorable LCOSB516 3319/ 2File ofNo. 2
701 2 SB516 File No.
701 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ Policy & Mgmt., Off.
Uncertain - See Below See Below Potential Cost Revenue Serv., Dept.
GF - Revenue None Minimal Impact Note:
GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill, which requires the refund value of beverage containers be reduced from 10 cents to five cents under certain circumstances, results in (1) a minimal net revenue impact to the General Fund beginning in FY 28, and (2) a potential cost to the state.
Revenue Impact Based on currently available data, the redemption rate threshold established under the bill for calendar year 2026 would be triggered, thus reducing the bottle deposit amount from 10 cents to five beginning in FY 28, or after when practicable for the beverage industry to implement.
It is anticipated this would reduce redemption rates below 60% thusincreasing theGeneralFundescheatratefrom5%to 45%.
The impact of (1) the decrease in the bottle deposit amount and (2) the increase in the escheat rate results in a minimal net revenue impact to the General Fund until such time that the DRS commissioner certifies, based on irrefutable evidence, that 100% of the beverage containers 1Prior to the increase in the deposit amount from five cents to 10 cents the quarterly redemption rate was approximately 50%.
SB516 / File No.
701 3 SB516 File No.
701 redeemed in Connecticut were originally sold here.
Potential Cost Impact The bill allows deposit initiators that were over-redeemed in FY 25 and FY 26 to apply to the Office of Policy and Management for full reimbursement for financial losses.
This results in a potential cost to the state.
It is uncertain what funding, if any, would be available for such reimbursement.
3 The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to statewide and individual redemption rates.
2As of December 2025, the cumulative negative balance for deposit initiators whose total withdrawals exceeded deposits was approximately $19.2 million.
3Section 404 of PA 25-168, AAC The State Budget For The Biennium Ending June 30, 2027, And Making Appropriations Therefor, And Provisions Related To Revenue And Other Items Implementing The State Budget, provided $1.75 million in grants to over- redeemed deposit initiators.
As of March 31, 2026, approximately $30,500 remains available.
SB516 / File No.
701 4 SB516 File No.
701 OLR Bill Analysis SB 516 AN ACT CONCERNING THE REDEMPTION RATE AND REFUND VALUE OF BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.
SUMMARY This bill makes several changes related to the state’s beverage container redemption law (“bottle bill”).
It requires the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) commissioner, by February 15, 2027, to determine the 2026 (1) statewide average beverage containers redemption rate and (2) beverage containers redemption rate for each deposit initiator.
(The bill specifies that this is to evaluate the effectiveness of the antifraud and enforcement measures enacted under PA 26-2.
It does not specifically define “deposit initiator,” but under the bottle bill, a deposit initiator is generally the first entity to collect a deposit on a beverage container.) If the DRS commissioner determines that either the statewide redemption rate or any deposit initiator’s redemption rate was more than 100%, the bill requires the refund value of beverage containers to be reduced from 10 cents to 5 cents.
This change applies regardless of existing law and is effective July 1, 2027, or as soon as practicable after that date for the beverage industry to implement the change.
Show all 57 changed lines (17 more)
Under the bill, if the refund value is reduced to five cents, it must remain so until the DRS commissioner certifies, based on irrefutable evidence, that 100% ofthe beverage containersredeemedin Connecticut are beverage containers originally sold in the state.
(“Irrefutable” commonly means incapable of being disproved or countered effectively (Black’s Law Dictionary, 12th ed.).) Additionally, the bill allows certain deposit initiators to apply for full reimbursement of their financial losses resulting from the over- SB516 / File No.
701 5 SB516 File No.
701 redemption of beverage containers.
(In the context of the bottle bill, over-redemption is generally considered to be the illegal or improper redemption of containers.) Existing law requires deposit initiators to deposit the refund value of containers they sell into special interest- bearing bank accounts and use the funds in these accounts to reimburse dealers and redemption centers for therefunds on redeemed containers.
If a deposit initiator does not have enough money in its account in any quartertopaytheserefunds,it must subtractthedeficiencyfromitsnext quarterly remittance of unclaimed bottle deposits until the deficiency is completely subtracted.
The bill allows deposit initiators that submit a quarterly report showing a negative balance in their special accounts during FYs 25 and 26 because of the over-redemption of beverage containers (and the payment of handling fees associated with them) to apply to the Office of Policy and Management secretary, in a way he prescribes, for full reimbursement.
Lastly, the bill specifies that it does not affect the existing handling fee rate.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Upon passage BACKGROUND Bottle Bill & Handling Fee Rate The state’s bottle bill generally requires a deposit to be charged on each beverage container at the time of purchase, which is then refunded to the consumer when it is redeemed at a retailer or redemption center.
By law, distributors must pay dealers and redemption center operators, in addition to the container’s refund value, a handling fee of 2.5centsforeachcontainerofbeer,hardseltzer,hardcider,orothermalt beverage, and 3.5 cents for each container of mineral water, soda water, and similar carbonated soft drinks or other noncarbonated beverage returned for redemption.
Related Act PA 26-2 also makes several changes to the bottle bill, including (1) reducing thehandling feedistributorspay tocertainredemptioncenters SB516 / File No.
701 6 SB516 File No.
701 by up to one cent if the redemption center does not use certain scanning technology to redeem beverage containers and (2) authorizing a rebate to certain deposit initiators who reported a negative balance in their special account for the quarter ending June 30, 2026.
Related Bill sSB 457 (File 479), favorably reported by the Environment Committee, also makes various modifications to the bottle bill, including banning (1) dealers from collecting or charging arefund value on beverage containers not purchased in Connecticut and (2) dealers and redemption centers from misrepresenting the size, brand, or quantity of beverage containers given to distributors.
COMMITTEE ACTION Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee Joint Favorable Yea 38 Nay 15 (03/31/2026) SB516 / File No.
701 7
Show all 57 changed rows (17 more)
Action History
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FILE NO. 701
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SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 432
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FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.
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RPTD. OUT OF LCO
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REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/20/26
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FILED WITH LCO
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Joint Favorable
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PUBLIC HEARING 0327
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REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Finance, Revenue and Bonding
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →0 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 187 not signed on
Sponsors (0)
None.
Co-sponsors (0)
None.
Not signed on (187)
187 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 187 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Subjects
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- This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 20, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
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