BILL REQ. #:  H-4626.1 

Read first time 01/31/08.   Referred to Committee on Local Government.

     AN ACT Relating to the recovery of shopping carts; and adding a new section to chapter 35.21 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 35.21 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) To assist with the overall appearance, quality, public health, safety, and welfare, and aesthetic values of local communities, the legislature clarifies the existing authority of all incorporated cities and towns, including unclassified cities and towns operating under special charters, to adopt ordinances regulating the care, safety, and retrieval of abandoned shopping carts from grocery stores and other retail establishments.
     (2) Incorporated cities and towns adopting a new ordinance, or reaffirming an existing ordinance, shall provide an exception from enforcement provisions, penalties, and additional administrative fees for retail establishments demonstrating, through a mutually agreeable process, that they have established or have contracts in place with a vendor to establish a qualified shopping cart recovery program. For the purposes of this section, a qualified shopping cart recovery program is a program that meets the following minimum requirements:
     (a) Utilizes a toll-free number, which must be displayed on all shopping carts used by the retail establishment, for the reporting of shopping carts that have been removed from the retail establishment's property;
     (b) Maintains a maximum response time of seventy-two hours for the recovery of shopping carts reported abandoned via the toll-free number, unless the location of the shopping cart requires a person to risk personal harm in recovering the shopping cart;
     (c) Conducts patrols during normal business hours for the purpose of (i) identifying locations where shopping carts are commonly abandoned and (ii) recovering shopping carts removed from the retail establishment's property that have not yet been reported via the toll-free number; and
     (d) Provides for the retrieval of shopping carts collected and transported to a central location by city or town personnel within one business day of a notification via the toll-free number.
     (3) Incorporated cities and towns may adopt penalties of up to fifty dollars per shopping cart for retail establishments that establish and administer a qualified shopping cart recovery program if the program fails to retrieve a shopping cart within the time frames described under subsection (2) of this section, and may provide for the disqualification of a previously qualified shopping cart recovery program if the program repeatedly fails to meet the minimum requirements under subsection (2) of this section.
     (4) Retail establishments that elect not to establish or contract with a vendor for a qualified shopping cart recovery program are subject to all applicable processes, enforcement provisions, fees, and penalties imposed under local ordinances that govern abandoned shopping carts.
     (5) All incorporated cities and towns retain the authority to address abandoned shopping carts that pose an identifiable and immediate risk to public health, safety, and welfare, and to utilize fee and penalty provisions of local ordinances that govern the recovery and return of such carts.