(a) The department shall develop a risk-based process to select, for periodic audit, certain deposit beverage distributor and redemption center reports submitted to the deposit beverage container program. The department may hire personnel or external consultants to perform the audits. In developing a risk-based process to audit certain deposit beverage distributor and redemption center reports, the department shall:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 342G-121.5

  • Department: means the department of health. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342G-101
  • Deposit beverage: means beer, ale, or other drink produced by fermenting malt, mixed spirits, mixed wine, tea and coffee drinks regardless of dairy-derived product content, soda, or noncarbonated water, and all nonalcoholic drinks in liquid form and intended for internal human consumption that is contained in a deposit beverage container. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342G-101
  • Deposit beverage container: means the individual, separate, sealed glass, polyethylene terephthalate, high density polyethylene, or metal container less than or equal to sixty-eight fluid ounces, used for containing, at the time of sale to the consumer, a deposit beverage intended for use or consumption in this State. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342G-101
  • Deposit beverage distributor: means a person who is a manufacturer of beverages in deposit beverage containers in this State, or who imports and engages in the sale of filled deposit beverage containers to a dealer or consumer. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342G-101
  • Program: means the particular combination of waste management methods selected by each county and designed to achieve the objectives of the state and county integrated solid waste management plans. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342G-1
  • Redemption center: means an operation which accepts from consumers and provides the refund value for empty deposit beverage containers intended to be recycled and ensures that the empty deposit beverage containers are properly recycled. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342G-101
(1) Consider a variety of risk factors, including but not limited to the amount of money transacted, prior audit findings, and frequency of the deposit beverage distributor’s or redemption center’s prior audits;
(2) Require deposit beverage distributors to send monthly or semi-annual distribution reports and supporting records, such as schedules of invoices, shipping documents, point-of-sale reports, and other documentation as required by the department, to the deposit beverage container program; and
(3) Ensure that the audit process includes a risk assessment derived from deposit beverage distributor and redemption center data based on the reports submitted, including but not limited to carrying out analytics and trend analyses to target certain deposit beverage distributors and redemption centers having unusual fluctuations.
(b) The department shall:

(1) Summarize the results of the deposit beverage distributor and redemption center audits and assess whether enforcement actions should be considered to ensure that the amounts that are being reported are accurate;
(2) Consider conducting follow-up audits; and
(3) Consider publicly announcing violations.
(c) All deposit beverage distributors shall:

(1) Develop and submit to the deposit beverage container program for approval an internal control process to ensure that the monthly or semi-annual distribution report forms contain accurate data and that adequate records are maintained; and
(2) Obtain independent audits for years ending in an odd number.