STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator DECLAN J. O'SCANLON, JR.
District 13 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Holzapfel
SYNOPSIS
Revises hotel sanitization protocols to remove requirement that occupied guest rooms be cleaned and sanitized daily.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning hotel sanitation and amending P.L.2020, c.37.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2020, c.37 (C.55:13A-30) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. The Commissioner of Health shall issue protocols for the sanitization of each hotel in the State. These protocols shall include, but not be limited to, directives requiring hotels to:
(1) maintain continuous 24 hour, seven day a week coverage of a front desk by at least one employee, and by at least one additional employee per every 200 guest rooms;
(2) train a front desk employee to respond to a guests' inquiry related to health and safety, including but not limited to, the location of hospitals in the vicinity of the hotel, emergency telephone numbers, and options for seeking treatment or testing for virus diseases during a public health crisis;
(3) ensure that every guest room is cleaned and sanitized and provided with an adequate supply of clean towels, sheets, and pillowcases prior to occupancy by a new guest;
(4) [ensure that every occupied guest room is cleaned and sanitized every day, and that the room is provided with an adequate supply of clean towels, sheets, and pillowcases and that the towels, sheets, and pillowcases are changed no less frequently than once every day;] (deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
(5) ensure that all public spaces are cleaned and sanitized at least once every day, and that all guest touch-points are cleaned and sanitized regularly throughout each day;
(6) provide their employees with anti-microbial cleaning products certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that are approved for use against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), other coronaviruses, influenza viruses, or other viral diseases. These products shall be used when cleaning and sanitizing each guest room, guest touch-point, and public space; and
(7) train its employees on the proper use of anti-microbial cleaning products and on proper cleaning protocols that maximize the sanitary condition of each guest room, guest touch-point, and public space.
b. The Bureau of Housing Inspection in the Department of Community Affairs shall distribute the guidelines developed by the Department of Health pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and shall inspect each hotel in the State for the purpose of determining the extent to which each hotel complies with the provisions of this act and the regulations promulgated hereunder.
(cf: P.L.2020, c.37, s.2)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill revises the protocols the Commissioner of Health is required to promulgate with regard to hotel sanitization to remove a requirement that the protocols require hotels ensure that every occupied guest room is cleaned and sanitized every day, and that the room is provided with an adequate supply of clean towels, sheets, and pillowcases and that the towels, sheets, and pillowcases are changed no less frequently than once every day.
It is the sponsor's belief that requiring hotels to provide these services on a daily basis, even when guests do not want them, is a costly and wasteful practice.