SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 3195
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: DECEMBER 8, 2025
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3195 (1R).
As amended, this bill would prohibit food service businesses in the State from providing customers with single-use utensils or condiments, under certain circumstances.
Specifically, the bill would provide that, commencing on the first day of the seventh month after the bill's enactment: (1) no full-service restaurant that has on-site seating capacity for 10 or more customers operating in the State would be authorized to provide single use utensils or condiments to its on-site customers, (2) casual dining establishments operating in the State would be authorized to provide single-use utensils or condiments to a customer only upon the express request of that customer, and (3) an online ordering application for any food service business may allow customers to request single-use utensils or condiments for take-out meals, provided that the default selection is "no utensils or condiments," and the food service business would bear final responsibility for ensuring that no utensils or condiments are provided except upon request. Under the bill, a casual dining establishment that is unable to accommodate a verbal request for single-use utensils or condiments would be authorized to provide a utensil dispenser for customers to use. The bill defines “utensil dispenser” as a dedicated appliance for the dispensing of food utensils, which dispenses a single-use utensil at the push of a button, lever, or other similar method. Under the bill, “utensil dispenser” does not include an open tray or other similar system from which more than one single-use utensil may be taken at a time but the bill provides an exception for sports arenas and entertainment centers.
The bill would exempt pre-packaged food items delivered to a food service business, which have a single-use utensil attached to it as a part of the item’s manufacturing process. Additionally, public or nonpublic elementary or secondary schools in the State offering K-12 education, health care facilities licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), and county and State correctional facilities would be exempt from the bill’s provisions.
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. Beginning 12 months after the bill’s effective date, 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 subject to a warning for the first offense, a civil penalty of $1,000 for the second offense, and a civil penalty of $2,500 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.
The bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection, to develop a 180-day education campaign to educate citizens of the State on the financial and environmental benefits of reducing the amount of single-use utensils and condiments offered without necessity, and to encourage responsible use by reminding individuals not to take more items than needed from a self-serve condiment station or utensil dispenser.
The bill would prohibit municipalities and counties from adopting a rule, regulation, code or ordinance concerning the regulation or prohibition of single-use utensils or condiments after the bill’s effective date and the bill’s provisions would supersede any municipal or county rule, regulation, code, or ordinance concerning the regulation or prohibition of single-use utensils or condiments that was enacted prior to the effective date of the bill.
Finally, the bill would amend P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.), which 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 P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.).
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amended the bill to:
(1) add definitions for the terms “casual dining establishment,” “full-service restaurant,” “NAICS,” “self-serve condiment station,” “single-use portion cup,” and “utensil dispenser;”
(2) modify the definition of “condiment” to include sweeteners;
(3) prohibit full-service restaurants with a seating capacity of 10 or more customers from providing single-use utensils or condiments, except under certain circumstances;
(4) limit providing single-use utensils and condiments upon request to casual dining establishments and meals ordered through online ordering applications for food service businesses;
(5) require casual dining establishments to provide a utensil dispenser for use in the event the casual dining establishment is unable to accommodate a verbal request for single-use utensils;
(6) allow food service businesses one year after the bill’s effective date to stop providing bundled packages of single-use utensils or condiments;
(7) exempt schools, hospitals, and correctional facilities from the bill’s provisions;
(8) exempt pre-packaged food items delivered to a food service business which have a single-use utensil attached to it as a part of the item’s manufacturing process from the bill’s provisions;
(9) decrease the civil penalty for violating the bill’s provisions for a second offense from $2,500 to $1,000 and a third offense from $5,000 to $2,500;
(10) require the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a 180-day education campaign to educate citizens of the State on the financial and environmental benefits of reducing the amount of single-use utensils and condiments offered without necessity;
(11) prohibit municipalities and counties from adopting after the bill’s effective date any rule, regulation, code, or ordinance concerning the provision of single-use utensils or condiments by food services businesses;
(12) preempt any municipal or county rule, regulation, code, or ordinance concerning the provision of single-use utensils or condiments by food services businesses that was enacted prior to the effective date of the bill; and
(13) make technical changes to the bill.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) determines that the bill would result in an indeterminate impact on State and local expenditures and an indeterminate increase in State and local revenues.
The OLS finds that a reduction in the use of single-use utensils would likely impact State and local expenditures. There may be increases, particularly in the short term if more costly alternatives to single-use utensils are purchased, and there may also be savings, particularly in the long term if there is a sustained reduction in usage.
The OLS also finds that State and local expenditures would increase due to additional administrative and enforcement responsibilities under the bill. The State would also incur additional expenditures to conduct the educational campaign required by the bill.
The OLS estimates there will be State and local revenue increases from penalties collected for violations of the bill’s provisions, but cannot predict the frequency of violations nor the ensuing enforcement actions and penalty collections.