Colorado § 25-17-505 - Carryout bag fee - disposition of money.

§ 25-17-505. Carryout bag fee - disposition of money.

(1) Repealed.

(2) (a) On and after January 1, 2024, a store may provide a customer with one or more recycled paper carryout bags at the point of sale only if the customer pays a carryout bag fee of ten cents per recycled paper carryout bag, or a higher fee if a municipality or county in which the store is located raises the fee amount by ordinance or resolution. For each carryout bag fee collected pursuant to this subsection (2), the store shall:

(I) Remit, in accordance with subsection (3)(d) of this section, sixty percent to the municipality within which the store is located or, if the store is not located within a municipality, to the county within which the store is located, which municipality or county shall use the remitted fee to pay:

(A) Its administrative and enforcement costs incurred as a result of this section; and

(B) For any recycling, composting, or other waste diversion programs and related outreach and education activities; and

(II) Retain forty percent, which portion of the fee does not count as revenue for the purpose of calculating sales tax.

(b) The carryout bag fee set forth in subsection (2)(a) of this section does not apply to a customer that provides evidence to the store that the customer is a participant in a federal or state food assistance program.

(c) Repealed.

(3) In providing carryout bags for a fee pursuant to this section, a store shall:

(a) For each customer provided a carryout bag for a fee, provide on the customer's transaction receipt a record of the number of carryout bags provided as part of the transaction and the total amount of fees charged for the carryout bags provided, itemized by type of carryout bag;

(b) Not refund to the customer any portion of the carryout bag fee, either directly or indirectly, or advertise or otherwise convey to customers that any portion of the carryout bag fee will be refunded;

(c) Conspicuously display a sign in a location inside or outside the store, which sign alerts customers about the carryout bag fee; and

(d) (I) On a quarterly basis, remit from the total amount of carryout bag fees collected in the previous quarter the amount that is owed to the municipality or county:

(A) To the finance department or division or equivalent agency of the municipality within which the store is located; or

(B) If the store is not located within a municipality, to the finance department or division or equivalent agency of the county within which the store is located.

(II) A store need not remit carryout bag fees collected in any quarter in which the collected fees total less than twenty dollars. The store shall retain those collected fees until the store has more than twenty dollars worth of collected fees to remit and shall remit those fees as part of the next quarterly remittance.

(III) If a municipality or county has not established a process to accept fees remitted pursuant to subsection (3)(d)(I) of this section, the store shall retain and use the portion of the fees collected in the previous quarter that would have been remitted to the municipality or county for the purposes listed in subsections (1)(a)(I)(B) and (2)(a)(I)(B) of this section and to purchase reusable bags.

Source: L. 2021: Entire part added, (HB 21-1162), ch. 440, p. 2913, § 2, effective July 6. L. 2023: IP(3)(d)(I) amended and (3)(d)(III) added, (HB 23-1285), ch. 295, p. 1771, § 1, effective June 1.

Editor's note: (1) Subsection (2)(c)(II) provided for the repeal of subsection (2)(c), effective July 1, 2024. (See L. 2021, p. 2913.)

(2) Subsection (1)(c) provided for the repeal of subsection (1), effective September 1, 2024. (See L. 2021, p. 2913.)