Senate Bill 54 Summary

• Expands the definition of "beverage" to include all nonalcoholic carbonated or noncarbonated drinks in liquid form intended for human consumption, removing previous limitations on soft drinks and carbonated beverages.

• Adds exemptions from deposit requirements for unflavored rice milk, unflavored soymilk, milk, and dairy-derived products.

• Clarifies beverage container requirements by specifying that nonalcoholic beverages in metal, glass, or plastic containers (1 gallon or less) are covered, with specific exclusions for aluminum-plastic or aluminum-paper composite containers meeting certain weight thresholds.

• Establishes minimum deposit and refund amounts of not less than 10 cents for returnable containers, applied uniformly across all covered beverage types.

• Effective date: January 1, 2011.