Donation bin permit law stalls
Some legislators say they don’t understand purpose of proposal
A proposal to require companies to get a permit from Ulster County before placing a clothing donation box anywhere within the county has hit a snag, with legislators from both sides of the political aisle questioning the need for the law.
The county Legislature is to vote next Tuesday to set a public hearing on the proposed local law, which also would require that the boxes carry a message stating either that the donated items will be used for charitable purposes and that the value of the items are tax- deductible; or that the donated items will be used for profit, that the donations are not tax- deductible and that the donations will be sold by a business and might not be entirely used to benefit a charitable purpose.
But during party caucuses Tuesday, both Democrats and
Republicans questioned the need for the law, with several legislators saying they didn’t understand the issue the law is trying to address.
“It’s the difference bet ween non- prof i t and profit,” said Legislator John Parete, D-Boiceville.
“I’m not sure it should make a difference.”
County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach called on the Legislature to adopt a local law regulating donation bins after state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman last October announced a $700,000 settlement with the forprof it business Thrif t Land USA of Yonkers Inc. for misleading the public into believing clothing
donated to the company would go to charity when it actually was sold at “a huge profit.”
The state recently adopted a l aw requiring anyone who places a collection bin to include information about the organization that operates it. The state law also bans bins from public property and requires those placed on private property to have the owner’s consent
and include the organization’s website, email address, physical address and phone number.
Auerbach said he found t hat many of t he bins i n Ulster County don’t clearly state whether they belong to not-for-profit or profit- making organizations.
He said the bins should clearly st ate on t hem whether they are operated by a not-for-profit agency,
thereby making the donations tax- deductible, or a for- profit business. Donations to profit-making businesses are not tax- deductible.
“The average person, in their good- heartedness, probably assumes their donations are going to some charitable organization,” Auerbach has said.
Auerbach said t he county l aw could have the secondary benefit of
reducing the “proliferation” of the donation bins, along with the litter that sometimes accompanies them, across the county.
The measure goes to legislative committees on Thursday, at which time l awmakers will decide whether to move it forward to a vote on a public hearing or to delay act ion while t hey gather more information about the proposal.