Limits liability of producers, representative organizations and retailers for antitrust, restraint of trade, or unfair trade practices arising from the performance of an action required to be undertaken under certain law or a producer plan.
Summary
A02103 amends New York’s Environmental Conservation Law to modify the state’s extended producer responsibility framework for carpet. The bill renames the relevant title to “Extended Producer Responsibility for Carpet” and adds a new section providing limited immunity from antitrust, restraint of trade, and unfair trade practice claims for producers, representative organizations, and retailers when they take actions required by the law or necessary to carry out an approved producer plan aimed at increasing carpet collection and recycling.
The liability protection is not unlimited. The bill expressly preserves potential claims where an agreement sets or affects carpet prices, except to the extent needed to fulfill producer responsibility obligations, or where an agreement restricts carpet output, production, geographic sales areas, or customers. The measure takes effect immediately and is intended to support implementation of carpet recycling programs without exposing participating entities to certain competition-law challenges.
Impact
The bill would amend the Environmental Conservation Law by adding a new liability-limitation provision within the state’s carpet extended producer responsibility program and renumbering the existing section. It affects producers, representative organizations, retailers, and any approved producer plan under the carpet recycling framework, while leaving intact antitrust scrutiny for price-fixing, output restrictions, and market allocation conduct outside the narrow statutory exception.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong, unanimous support in committee, with the Assembly Ways and Means Committee voting 32-0 and the Assembly Rules Committee voting 30-0 to advance the bill. There is no recorded committee transcript in the provided materials, but the unanimous votes suggest the measure was viewed favorably as a technical or implementation-oriented adjustment to the carpet recycling program.
Contention
The main policy issue is the scope of antitrust immunity. Supporters appear to favor shielding coordinated actions needed to run a producer responsibility program and improve carpet collection and recycling, while the bill carefully limits that protection to avoid enabling price coordination or market allocation. The explicit carve-outs for price, output, geography, and customers indicate concern about preserving competition-law safeguards even as the recycling program is implemented.
Same As
Limits liability of producers, representative organizations and retailers for antitrust, restraint of trade, or unfair trade practices arising from the performance of an action required to be undertaken under certain law or a producer plan.
Limits liability of producers, representative organizations and retailers for antitrust, restraint of trade, or unfair trade practices arising from the performance of an action required to be undertaken under certain law or a producer plan.
Establishes extended producer responsibility for textiles; requires a producer, either individually or cooperatively in a group or with a representative organization to submit to the department of environmental conservation a plan for the establishment of a collection program for textile covered products.
Establishes extended producer responsibility for textiles; requires a producer, either individually or cooperatively in a group or with a representative organization to submit to the department of environmental conservation a plan for the establishment of a collection program for textile covered products.
Enacts the "New York travel insurance act" regulating the licensing and registration of limited lines travel insurance producers and travel retailers, and the sale and marketing of travel insurance and related products.
Licensing and registration of limited lines travel insurance producers and travel retailers provided, and sale and regulation of travel insurance provided.