SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3195

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  OCTOBER 10, 2024

      The Senate Environment and Energy Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3195.

      This bill would prohibit food service businesses in the State from providing customers with single-use utensils or condiments, except upon request. 

      Specifically, the bill would provide that, commencing on the first day of the seventh month after the bill's enactment: (1) no food service business operating in the State would be authorized to provide single-use utensils or condiments to any customer, except upon, and in accordance with, the express request of that customer; and (2) a food service business that has on-site seating capacity for 50 or more customers would be required to provide its on-site customers with easy access to reusable, washable utensils, which are to be returned to the food service business, upon completion of the on-site meal, for cleaning and reuse. 

      Any food service business that elects to supply customers with single-use utensils or condiments, upon customer request, as authorized by the bill, would be required to provide each customer with only those types and amounts of single-use utensils and condiments that have been expressly requested by the customer.  A food service business would also be prohibited from creating, acquiring, or providing customers with bundled utensil or condiment packages that contain more than one type of single-use plastic utensil or condiment.

      Any food service business that violates the bill's provisions would be liable to a civil penalty of $1,000 for the first offense, $2,500 for the second offense, and $5,000 for the third and each subsequent offense, to be collected through a summary proceeding, and each day on which a violation occurs would constitute a separate and distinct offense.  Any moneys collected from penalties imposed pursuant to the bill would be deposited into the "Clean Communities Program Fund" for use in financing litter pickup, removal, education, and enforcement programs at the State and local levels, except that municipalities and county environmental enforcement agencies would be permitted to retain 30 percent of the moneys.

      Finally, the bill would amend P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.), the law that prohibits the distribution of plastic bags and polystyrene food serviceware, to provide that entities certified pursuant to the "County Environmental Health Act," P.L.1977, c.443 (C.26:3a2-21 et seq.), would have primary enforcement responsibility for that law.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments would:

      (1) clarify that chopsticks fall under the bill's definition of "utensil";

      (2) provide that the bill's provisions would apply to any single-use utensils and condiments, rather than plastic ones only;

      (3) clarify how online meal ordering applications would comply with the bill;

      (4) exempt schools from the bill's provisions for the first five years after the effective date of the bill;

      (5) exempt food service businesses located in food courts from the bill's provisions for the first two years after the effective date of the bill;

      (6) exempt health care facilities during the time of an outbreak of an infectious disease or during outdoor recreational activities and family picnics;

      (7) remove an exemption for eco-friendly single-use utensils and condiments that was included in the original bill;

      (8) provide that municipalities and entities certified pursuant to the "County Environmental Health Act" would be authorized to enforce the bill, and to retain 30 percent of any penalties collected;

      (9) provide that entities certified pursuant to the "County Environmental Health Act" would have primary enforcement responsibility for the bill;

      (10) provide that food services businesses would be subject to a warning for a first offense, rather than a $1,000 civil penalty;

      (11) add a new section that amends P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.), the law that prohibits the distribution of plastic bags and polystyrene food serviceware, to provide that entities certified pursuant to the "County Environmental Health Act" would have primary enforcement responsibility for that law as well; and

      (12) make technical changes to the bill.