HB 3145 Bottle Bill surprise: Mandates deposits on much in the store?

HB 3145 Bottle Bill surprise may mandate deposits on much of the items in the store including ketchup bottles and liquid pills?
By Taxpayer Association of Oregon

Read the open ended amendment here and the Association of Food, Beverage and Consumer Products statement here.

The House Energy, Environment and Water Committee has slipped into the latest version of House Bill 3145 (Bottle Bill), a wild and far reaching amendment that could expand the Oregon bottle bill to include all manner of liquids intended for human consumption. Already criticisms of the “human consumption” clause means that it could include ketchup, Worchester sauce, vinegar and maple syrup. The expanded bottle bill might even accidently require deposits on liquid prescription and non-prescription drugs. So in addition to paying deposits on beer and pop bottles, you could soon start paying deposits on bottles of liquid Tylenol and other liquid drugs. It is like the legislature is imposing a sales tax on prescription and non-prescription drugs sold in liquid form.

Those who will have to work with the bill told the Register Guard that it “[W]ill create logistical nightmares for them and a purchasing disincentive for consumers”

This accidental overreach consequence is not what lawmakers intended. But intended or not, this could happen if the version of House Bill 3145 now awaiting a vote on the House floor were to pass.

Enormous law changes at the burden of businesses should include broad base support of those businesses that have to deal with it and without suspicion of surprise clauses that will explode on everyone after it passes.

— updated to add more links, details on this evolving issue