To promote environmentally sound practices for the handling of unused architectural paint that the purchaser of the paint no longer wants (postconsumer architectural paint), the bill requires that, on or before July 1, 2015, each producer of architectural paint being sold in Colorado participate in a paint stewardship program that establishes standards and practices for the collection, transportation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of postconsumer architectural paint.

A producer, group of producers, or stewardship organization contracted by a producer or group of producers is required to submit for approval a paint stewardship program plan to the executive director of the department of public health and environment (executive director) by January 1, 2015. The plan must:

• Describe the environmentally sound collection, transportation, reuse, recycling, and disposal standards and practices that the proposed program will implement to handle postconsumer architectural paint;
• Establish enough postconsumer architectural paint collection sites throughout the state to ensure that at least 90% of Colorado residents have permanent collection sites within 15 miles of their homes;
• Establish postconsumer architectural paint collection events for the portion of Colorado residents who will not have permanent collection sites established within 15 miles of their homes;
• Develop an education and outreach program; and
• Provide sufficient funding for the program by imposing a uniform, per-container assessment on retailers and distributors that the retailers and distributors will recoup by adding to the purchase price of the architectural paint.

The producer, group of producers, or stewardship organization implementing a paint stewardship program is required to submit an annual report to the executive director describing the progress of the program.

The bill establishes an administrative penalty for a violation of the relevant statutes and rules, and creates the paint stewardship program cash fund for the executive director's collection of fees associated with a paint stewardship program.