ASSEMBLY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2065

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 17, 2022

      The Assembly State and Local Government Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 2065 (1R).

      As amended by the committee, this bill would:  (1) provide food banks and food pantries with a six month extension of the deadline set forth in section 3 of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.128), which prohibits stores and food service businesses from selling or providing single-use plastic or paper carryout bags to customers; and (2) require the Department of Environmental Protection, as part of the Statewide public information and education program it is required to conduct pursuant to section 8 of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.133), to provide 500,000 free reusable carryout bags to the State’s food banks to be proportionally distributed based on the population served by each food bank.

      As used in the bill, “food bank” means the same as the term is defined in section 2 of P.L.1982, c.178 (C.24:4A-2), i.e., “a nonprofit food clearinghouse that solicits, stores, and distributes donations of edible but unmarketable surplus food.  The food is distributed to nonprofit organizations that feed the needy.”  The bill defines “food pantry” as “a nonprofit organization or government entity that distributes food to individuals in need of assistance, including, but not limited to, a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or religious organization.”

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

      The committee amended the bill to:

      1)   omit section 1 of the bill which would have expanded the definition of “reusable carryout bag”;

      2) remove the exemption provided in the bill for food banks and food pantries and instead provide them with a six-month extension of the deadline that prohibits the distribution of single-use plastic or paper carryout bags;

      3)   require the Department of Environmental Protection, as part of the Statewide public information and education program it is required to conduct pursuant to section 8 of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.133), to provide 500,000 free reusable carryout bags to be proportionally distributed to the State’s food banks based on the population served by each food bank; and

      4)   update the synopsis of the bill to reflect the amendments.