March 1, 2003
Union News
Fee: Romney out to expand bottle law
By DAN RING
BOSTON - Gov. W. Mitt Romney said yesterday he is seeking expansion of the bottle deposit law to help clean up the environment.
"Bottles on the side of the roads and on the beaches just drive me nuts," Romney said in a brief interview in his Statehouse office. "If we're going to be serious about gettingbottles out of the landscape, let's get all of them out."
The governor said he will work hard for legislative approval of his proposal to expand fees on bottle deposits. It's one of 34 new fees and increases on 57 existing fees the governor is seeking in his version of the $22.8 billion state budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Under Romney's proposal, the 5-cent deposit requirement would be expanded to include containers of noncarbonated beverages such as cans or bottles of water, fruit and vegetable juices and drinks, coffee and tea drinks, sport drinks and soda and mineral water.
The governor also wants to impose a 15-cent deposit on bottles of alcohol or wine bigger than 16 ounces.
Romney's enthusiasm for the bottle fees is worrying critics. They said expanding the 20-year-old bottle deposit law would increase prices for water and other beverages not covered by the law.
"It will hurt the consumer," said Paul R. Hervieux, 45, manager of Fettes Wine and Spirits in Springfield. "They will have to pay more."
Romney said the main point is to rid the environment of discarded cans and bottles. Milk bottles would be exempt, Romney said.
"We will work hard for the fair application of the bottle bill to all bottles," Romney said. "We aim to treat all bottles equally."
Jon B. Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said the proposed expansion would amount to a tax increase on consumers. Hurst said businesses would pass to consumers the added costs of handling more bottles that are returned for refunds.
Hurst said that some businesses in border communities would suffer because New Hampshire has no bottle deposit law. If Romney's proposal is approved by the Legislature, the Massachusetts law would cover many bottles exempt from deposit laws in Vermont and New York.
Environmentalists long have sought approval to expand the bottle deposit law in Massachusetts. But after failing to win much support from other governors over the past decade, they now have a new ally in Romney.
Hurst said he was shocked to see Romney include the proposal as a rider in his state budget unveiled Wednesday.
"We are extremely troubled by that and will oppose it," Hurst said. "It doesn't make much sense to me."
Romney said he is opposed to raising taxes. But Romney said fees are different from taxes because they affect a limited group of people and they pay for services that are generally voluntary.
The governor's budget seeks to raise $58.6 million next year through new fees or fee increases on a host of services. Romney next week is also expected to sign into law a bill that would raise about $200 million by hiking an array of fees at the state's registries of deeds.
Karen A. Powell of Springfield, a member of the Citizens for Limited Taxation, said she doesn't view a fee as a tax. Powell said Romney needs to seek other ways of raising state revenues besides cutting the budget.
"There's only so much you can cut," Powell said. "You don't want to cut education."
Romney last month approved $343 million in budget cuts, including $114 million in local aid, to help close a $650 million deficit in the budget for the current fiscal year.
Romney is also seeking to cut $232 million in local aid for the 2004 fiscal year.
Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, said businesses and people would get hit with many new fees in Romney's budget. Brewer said he is especially leery of Romney's proposal to raise the fee for registering a firearm from $25 to $75. "That appears to be a tax on people's rights to keep and bear arms," Brewer said.
Dan Ring can be reached at dring@union-news.com
