SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1939

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 9, 2025

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1939.

      As amended by the committee, this bill concerns children’s meals sold or offered for sale in chain restaurants to adhere to certain nutritional standards outlined in the bill.

      Specifically, as amended by the bill, a children’s meal sold, offered for sale, or sold by a chain restaurant would contain no more than: 550 calories per serving, 700 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of added sugars, 10 percent of calories from saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, at least 0.5 cups of fresh fruits or vegetables (fruits and vegetables would not include juices, condiments, jellies, jams, or spreads), and either a whole grain product, a lean protein, or at least 0.5 cups of non-fat or one percent milk, low fat yogurt, or one ounce of reduced fat cheese.

      Under the bill, as amended, if the children’s meal is served with a beverage, that beverage would be: water, sparkling water, or flavored water with no added natural or artificial sweetener; nonfat milk, one percent milk, or a non-dairy milk alternative, nutritionally similar to cow’s milk, containing no added natural or artificial sweeteners or flavorings; or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice or fruit or vegetable juice combined with water or carbonated water, with no added natural or artificial sweetener, in a serving size of no more than 6.75 ounces.

      As amended, the bill stipulates that substitutions of any of the items contained in a children’s meal are permissible under the bill upon request by a customer.

      A chain restaurant using a standard printed menu would be required to list the nutritional content of the meal, as required pursuant to the provisions of the bill, and if the meal includes a beverage, also list the caloric information for the beverage, next to a children’s meal on the menu, using a font and format that is at least as prominent, in size and appearance, as that used to post either the name or price of the meal.

      As amended by the committee, the bill exempts chain restaurants from certain provisions of the bill if the nutritional content of a children’s meal is listed on their company websites or mobile applications.

      As defined in the bill, as amended by the committee, “children’s meal” means a combination of food items or food items and a beverage, sold together at a single price, primarily intended for consumption by children, “ restaurant" means any facility or part thereof in which food is prepared and provided or served for consumption on the premises, and “chain restaurant” means a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name, regardless of the type of ownership of the locations, and substantially offers the same menu items for sale.

      The Department of Health (DOH) or a local board of health would: have the right to enter the premises of a chain restaurant at which a children’s meal is sold, offered for sale, or served, at any time during normal business hours and upon presentation of appropriate credentials, in order to determine compliance with the provisions of the bill; and advise the owner, operator, or proprietor of the chain restaurant and order appropriate action to be taken, if it has reason to suspect that a violation has occurred.

      As amended, under the bill’s provisions, an owner, operator, or the proprietor of a chain restaurant who sells, offers to sell, or serves a children’s meal in violation of the provisions of the bill will be issued a warning for a first offense, liable to a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for the second offense, and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.  Penalties against an owner, operator, or the proprietor of the chain restaurant could not exceed $5,000 during a 30-day period.

      The bill requires that within three months after enactment of the bill, the DOH, in consultation with the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association, is to: prepare and make available for distribution to chain restaurants, both in print and in an easily printable format on its Internet website, a fact sheet to notify and inform chain restaurant owners of the requirements of the bill; and provide an informational poster containing the information found in the fact sheet to chain restaurants for use and display at every location in their restaurants where customers may place food or drink orders.

      The bill also stipulates that within six months of the bill’s enactment, every owner, operator, or the proprietor of a chain restaurant in the State is to require that all restaurant staff complete a training course, approved by the DOH, on the provisions of the bill and how chain restaurants are to comply with its requirements, and to provide documentation demonstrating course completion as part of any inspection of the chain restaurant conducted by the DOH or a local board of health.

      The bill was prefiled for introduction in the 2024-2025 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments clarify that the provisions of the bill apply to chain restaurants.

      The committee adds the definition of “chain restaurant” to mean a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name, regardless of the type of ownership of the locations, and substantially offers the same menu items for sale.

      The committee amendments require that a children’s meal sold, offered for sale, served by an owner, operator, or the proprietor of a chain restaurant must contain no more than 550 calories per serving, 700 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of added sugars, 10 percent of saturated fat, and 0 grams of trans fat, instead of 600 calories per serving, 770 milligrams of sodium, 35 percent of calories from total fat, 35 percent calories from total sugars, 10 grams of saturated fat, and, 0.5 grams of trans fat, as originally provided in the bill.

      The committee amendments remove the requirement that the children’s meal include a whole grain product containing no less that 51 percent by weight of a whole grain ingredient, and requires that the children’s meal contain a whole grain product which equals 50 percent whole grains by weight of product or contains 50 percent whole grains by weight of grains.

      The committee amendments specify that if the beverage served as part of the children’s meal is a non-dairy milk alternative, the milk alternative must be nutritionally similar to cow’s milk and contain no added natural or artificial sweeteners or flavorings.

      The committee amendments stipulate that a beverage served as part of the children’s meal can also be a 100 percent vegetable juice or a combination of 100 percent vegetable juice combined with water or carbonated water, with no added natural or artificial sweetener, instead of just a 100 percent fruit juice or a combination of fruit juice with water or carbonated water, as originally provided in the bill.

      The committee amendments require that the fruit or vegetable juice or the combination of fruit or vegetable juice with water or carbonated water served as a beverage as part of a children’s meal must be in a serving size of no more than 6.75 ounces, instead of eight ounces, as originally provided in the bill.

      The committee amendments stipulate that substitutions of any of the items contained in a children’s meal are permissible under the bill upon request by a customer.

      The committee amendments exempt chain restaurants from certain provisions of the bill if the nutritional content of a children’s meal is listed on their company websites or mobile applications.

      The committee amendments revise the penalty structure outlined in the bill to require that a chain restaurant who sells, offers to sell, or serves a children’s meal in violation of the provisions of the bill will be issued a warning for a first offense, be liable to a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for the second offense, and $1,000 for each subsequent offense, instead of being liable to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a first offense, up to $2,000 for the second offense, and up to $3,000 for subsequent offenses, as originally provided by the bill.  The committee amendments require that penalties against an owner, operator, or the proprietor of the chain restaurant could not exceed $5,000 instead of $15,000, as originally provided in the bill, during a 30-day period.

      The committee amendments require that within three months after enactment of the bill, the Department of Health (DOH), in consultation with the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association, is to: prepare and make available for distribution to chain restaurants, both in print and in an easily printable format on its Internet website, a fact sheet to notify and inform chain restaurant owners of the requirements of the bill; and provide an informational poster containing the information found in the fact sheet to chain restaurants for use and display at every location in their restaurants where customers may place food or drink orders.

      The committee amendments stipulate that within six months of the bill’s enactment, every owner, operator, or the proprietor of a chain restaurant in the State is to require that all restaurant staff complete a training course, approved by the DOH, on the provisions of the bill and how chain restaurants are to comply with its requirements, and to provide documentation demonstrating course completion as part of any inspection of the chain restaurant conducted by the DOH or a local board of health.

      The committee amendments make technical changes to reorganize certain provisions in, and update the title and the synopsis of, the bill to reflect the changes made by the committee amendments.