Bill Text: NJ S2363 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends applicability of law prohibiting sale and distribution of plastic and paper carryout bags to food banks and food pantries.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-24 - Substituted by A2065 (3R) [S2363 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S2363-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator A.M.Bucco
SYNOPSIS
Amends applicability of law prohibiting sale and distribution of plastic and paper carryout bags to food banks and food pantries.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain single-use and reusable carryout bags and amending P.L.2020, c.117.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.128) is amended to read as follows:
3. a. Beginning 18 months after the effective date of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.):
(1) no store or food service business shall provide or sell a single-use plastic carryout bag to a customer; and
(2) no grocery store shall provide or sell a single-use paper carryout bag to a customer.
b. A municipality or county shall not adopt any rule, regulation, code, or ordinance concerning the regulation or prohibition of single-use plastic carryout bags or single-use paper carryout bags after the effective date of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.).
c. Beginning 18 months after the effective date of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.), this section shall supersede and preempt any municipal or county rule, regulation, code, or ordinance concerning the regulation or prohibition of single-use plastic carryout bags or single-use paper carryout bags that was enacted prior to the effective date of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.).
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section to the contrary, beginning 24 months after the effective date of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.), no food bank or food pantry shall provide a single-use plastic carryout bag or single-use paper carryout bag to a customer.
As used in this subsection:
"Food bank" means the same as the term is defined in section 2 of P.L.1982, c.178 (C.24:4A-2).
"Food pantry" means a nonprofit organization or government entity that distributes food to individuals in need of assistance, including, but not limited to, a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or religious organization.
(cf: P.L.2020, c.117, s.3)
2. Section 8 of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.133) is amended to read as follows:
8. No later than six months after the effective date of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.):
a. the Department of State, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall establish a program to assist businesses in complying with the provisions of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.), including, but not limited to, developing and publishing on its Internet website guidance on compliance with the act, and establishing an online clearinghouse of vendors who provide environmentally sound alternatives to single-use plastic carryout bags, single-use paper carryout bags, polystyrene foam food service products, and single-use plastic straws; and
b. the organization under contract with the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2002, c.128 (C.13:1E-218) shall, in cooperation with local governments and the business community, develop and implement a Statewide public information and education program concerning the provisions of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.). The program shall include, but need not be limited to, educational programs, public service announcements, and the distribution of free reusable carryout bags throughout the State. The program established pursuant to this subsection shall include the distribution of 500,000 free reusable carryout bags proportionally distributed to the State's food banks, as defined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1982, c.178 (C.24:4A-2), based on the population served by each food bank.
(cf: P.L.2020, c.117, s.8)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would: (1) provide food banks and food pantries with a six month extension of the deadline set forth in section 3 of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.128), which prohibits stores and food service businesses from selling or providing single-use plastic or paper carryout bags to customers; and (2) require the Department of Environmental Protection, as part of the Statewide public information and education program it is required to conduct pursuant to section 8 of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.133), to provide 500,000 free reusable carryout bags to the State's food banks to be proportionally distributed based on the population served by each food bank.
As used in the bill, "food bank" means the same as the term is defined in section 2 of P.L.1982, c.178 (C.24:4A-2), i.e., "a nonprofit food clearinghouse that solicits, stores, and distributes donations of edible but unmarketable surplus food. The food is distributed to nonprofit organizations that feed the needy." The bill defines "food pantry" as "a nonprofit organization or government entity that distributes food to individuals in need of assistance, including, but not limited to, a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or religious organization."
