Raised Bill No. 5351, introduced in the February Session, 2024, is an act concerning the study of the need for an extended producer responsibility program specifically for carpets sold and distributed in the state. The bill mandates the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to conduct a comprehensive study to determine the necessity of such a program. The study is to cover various aspects, including the identification of labeling requirements for carpets, assessing the exclusion of PFAS (as defined in section 22a-255h of the general statutes) from carpet manufacturing, defining the producers who must participate, listing stewardship organization requirements, identifying collection methods and locations, determining recycling goals, and describing any other relevant components of the stewardship program.
The bill requires the commissioner to submit a report with the study's findings and any recommendations regarding the establishment of the extended producer responsibility program to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly with jurisdiction over environmental matters by January 1, 2025. The act is to take effect from the date of passage and is introduced with the purpose of exploring the establishment of a program that holds carpet producers responsible for the end-of-life management of their products. There are no deletions indicated in the provided text; the insertions include the bill number, the effective date of Section 1 from passage, and the new section to be added to the statutes.