December 1, 2010
WDEL 1150 AM
Democrat defends "bottle bill" replacement
A day after a Republican state lawmaker slammed the measure that replaced Delaware's "bottle bill", a Democrat has come out to defend the new law.
In a statement, Wilmington Manor-area Representative Mike Mulrooney says the universal recycling program Senate Bill 238's four-cent-per-bottle fee will finance will improve Delaware's lagging recycling effort and replaces the 30-year-old 5-cent-per-bottle deposit, which Mulrooney says was unpopular and didn't work.
Mulrooney maintains the bottle fee will expire in 4 years, as outlined in the bill, and that Markell administration officials have met several times with beverage retailers to prepare them for the new law.
Tuesday, Ocean View Republican Gerald Hocker called the bottle fee "Delaware's first sales tax", saying he was concerned the fee could be made permanent, and that the bill passed the state House with less than the three-quarters majority the state Constitution requires.
http://www.wdel.com/story.php?id=609587276674
