SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2977

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 9, 2026

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2977.

      As amended, this bill requires children’s meals, and beverages if served with a children’s meal, sold or offered for sale in chain restaurants, and beverages served with a children’s meals sold or offered for sale in restaurants to adhere to certain nutritional standards outlined in the bill.

     Specifically, a chain restaurant would not sell, offer for sale, or serve children’s meals unless two or more such meals, or 25 percent or more of the children’s meals on the children’s menu, contains 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, if a children’s meal is served with a beverage at a chain restaurant or a restaurant, that beverage would be:  water, sparkling water, or flavored water with no added natural or artificial sweetener; flavored or unflavored nonfat or low-fat, such as one percent, dairy milk or a non-dairy beverage that is nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk, such as soy milk, in a serving size of 8 ounces or less; 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.

     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.

     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, “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 or 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 or restaurant and order appropriate action to be taken, if it has reason to suspect that a violation has occurred.

     Under the bill’s provisions, an owner, operator, or the proprietor of a chain restaurant or 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 and restaurants, both in print and in an easily printable format on its Internet website, a fact sheet to notify and inform chain restaurant and restaurant owners of the requirements of the bill; and provide an informational poster containing the information found in the fact sheet to chain restaurants and restaurants for use and display at every location in their restaurants where customers may place food or drink orders.

     This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2026-2027 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

     The committee amendments separate the provisions of section 3 into two sections to clarify that restaurants and chain restaurants that sell or offer for sale children’s meals with beverages would be required to adhere to nutritional standards, as provided for in section 4 of the bill, for the beverage served with the children’s meal.

     The committee amendments extend certain provisions of the bill to restaurants, which provisions would allow the Department of Health or local boards of health to enter the restaurant to determine compliance with the bill, establish penalties and increase public awareness of the bill’s provisions.  As introduced, these provisions only applied to chain restaurants.

     The committee amendments revise the title and the synopsis of the bill to reflect these changes.