WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

SB 917

SS/SB 917 - This act creates provisions relating to a post-consumer paint recycling program. Under the act, producers of architectural paint sold in the state may establish or join a representative organization, as defined in the act. The duties of the representative organization shall be on behalf of all its member producers. Any producer who is not a member of a representative organization shall have the duties under the act separately. A representative organization or a producer of architectural paint sold at retail in the state that is not a member of such representative organization shall develop and submit to the Director of the Department of Natural Resources for the Director’s approval a plan for the establishment of a post-consumer paint collection program. Additional paint products may be proposed in a subsequent program plan in consultation with the Department. The structure of the program includes reduction of post-consumer paint, promotion of reusing and recycling of post-consumer paint, and other specifics described in the act. Requirements of the plan, including costs, transportation and recycling, an independent financial auditor, enforcement, and other specifics are described in the act. The Department shall establish an administrative fee to be paid by each producer or representative organization submitting the plan under the act. The Department shall set the administrative fee amount when paid by every producer or representative organization that submits the plan as described in the act. The act creates the Paint Stewardship Subaccount within the Solid Waste Management Fund. All administrative fees received under the act shall be deposited into the subaccount. The administrative fees collected under this provision shall be dedicated, upon appropriation, to the Department for the administration of the provisions of the act. Moneys and interest earned on moneys in the subaccount shall not revert to the General Revenue Fund at the end of each biennium. Upon implementation of the program under the act, each producer shall include in the price of any architectural paint sold to retailers and distributors in the state a paint assessment fee in the approved plan as described in the act. Retailers may incorporate the paint assessment fee into the price of architectural products as described in the act. After the paint collection program is implemented, no producer or retailer shall sell or offer for sale architectural paint to any person in this state unless the producer of a paint brand or a representative organization is implementing or participating in such program as required under the act. A retailer shall be deemed to be in compliance with this act if, on the date the architectural paint was offered for sale, the producer is listed on the Department’s website as implementing or participating in the program or if the paint brand is listed on the Department’s website as being included in the program. A paint collection site authorized under the act shall not charge any additional amount for the disposal of paint when the paint is offered for disposal. A producer or a representative organization that organizes the collection, transport, and processing of post-consumer paint under the act shall not be liable for anticompetitive activity arising from conduct undertaken in accordance with the program. Before March 31st of each year, the producers or representative organizations shall submit an annual report for the previous year to the Director that details the program. The requirements of such report are described in the act. The producers or the representative organization shall implement the program on January 1, 2028, or six months after the approval of the plan, whichever occurs later. Generators of household waste, as defined in the act, and conditionally exempt small quantity generators may transport or send architectural paints to a paint collection site to the extent permitted by a paint collection program approved by the Director. Paint collection sites may collect and temporarily store architectural paints generated by entities specified in the act in accordance with the requirements of the program in lieu of any otherwise applicable requirements of state laws or regulations. Nothing in the act shall be construed to restrict the collection of architectural paint by a program where such collection is authorized by any other state laws or regulations. Nothing in the act shall be construed to affect any requirements applicable to facilities that treat, dispose, or recycle architectural paint under any other state laws or regulations. The act is similar to SB 239 (2025), HB 2152 (2024), HCS/HB 1216 (2025), SCS/SB 936 (2024), SB 639 (2023) and HB 880 (2023). JULIA SHEVELEVA

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Jamie Burger

The bill reduces merchants’ interchange fees by excluding sales tax and gratuity from the fee base and limits use of transaction data.

Informal Calendar S Bills for Perfection
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 917

Summary — SB 917: Electronic Payment Transactions — Interchange Fees; Calculation and Use of Data

Status note
- The materials provided include mixed records (an unrelated Illinois draft and a Maryland fiscal note). The bill text summarized below is Maryland Senate Bill 917 (Sen. Kramer). The top of your file lists the bill as "Withdrawn by Sponsor," but the legislative-action timeline in the file also includes passage and a gubernatorial signature with an effective date of 9/1/2025. Because those records conflict, confirm current enactment status with the official Maryland General Assembly or state code before relying on effective-date or enforcement details.

Purpose and intent
- Require payment-system participants to exclude sales tax and voluntary gratuity amounts from the base used to calculate interchange fees, and to limit how electronic payment transaction data may be used or distributed. The aim is to reduce merchants’ interchange-fee burden on tax/gratuity amounts and to constrain commercial uses of transaction data.

Key provisions
- Definitions: establishes terms (acquirer bank, authorization, clearance, debit/credit card, electronic payment transaction, gratuity, interchange fee, issuer, merchant, payment card network, processor, settlement, tax, and “tax and gratuity documentation”).
- Exclusion of tax/gratuity from interchange base:
- A merchant may request that an issuer, payment card network, acquirer bank, or processor exclude the amount of sales tax or gratuity included in a transaction from the amount on which an interchange fee is charged by transmitting supporting documentation as part of the authorization or settlement.
- If documentation is provided in the authorization/settlement, the required exclusion must be applied.
- If not provided at authorization, a merchant may submit documentation to the acquirer (or designee) within 180 days of the transaction; within 30 days of such submission the issuer must credit the merchant the amount of interchange fees charged on the tax/gratuity portion.
- Payment card networks are not made liable for the accuracy of merchant-submitted documentation.
- Anti‑avoidance: entities may not respond by increasing interchange rates or otherwise manipulating fees to offset the exclusion.
- Restrictions on transaction-data use: non-merchant entities may not distribute, sell, exchange, transfer, disseminate, or use electronic payment transaction data except for:
1. facilitating or processing the transaction;
2. fraud monitoring/prevention;
3. supporting loyalty, rewards, or promotions;
4. tailoring products/services to customer needs;
5. otherwise required by law.
- Enforcement and penalties:
- Failure to exclude tax/gratuity or to credit the merchant after proper documentation exposes the offending entity to a civil penalty of $1,000 per transaction.
- Violations are deemed unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practices under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (MCPA) and are subject to MCPA enforcement (civil penalties, potential misdemeanor penalties where applicable).

Who is affected
- Merchants (especially small businesses): likely financial benefit from lower effective interchange fees on tax/gratuity amounts, but may face operational/technology costs (POS upgrades or reporting changes) to provide required documentation.
- Issuers, payment card networks, acquirer banks, and processors: new operational, compliance, and potential penalty exposure.
- Consumers: indirect effects via merchant costs/pricing; privacy protections around transaction data may benefit consumers.

Fiscal and operational impacts
- State and local fiscal impact is expected to be minimal (existing MCPA enforcement handled within current resources).
- Small businesses: meaningful net benefit from fee reductions, offset in part by potential equipment, software, or reporting compliance costs.

Implementation/timing
- The bill text provides a 180‑day lookback window for merchants to submit documentation and requires issuers to credit merchants within 30 days of such submission.
- Verify the bill’s enactment and effective date (records indicate an effective date of 9/1/2025, but confirm due to conflicting status notes).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.