Overview
- The proposal requires reusable utensils for dine‑in service unless customers request otherwise and limits plastic utensils for takeout to customer requests.
- The measure advanced in the Senate this week, and a companion bill is filed in the Assembly with timing for final votes and the governor’s decision not yet set.
- Penalties are structured as a warning for a first offense, a $1,000 fine for a second offense, and $2,500 for subsequent violations, though lawmakers are negotiating softer fines and allowances for good‑faith compliance.
- One‑third of collected fines would go to the Clean Communities Program Fund, and the bill also restricts automatic distribution of condiment packets and bundled utensil kits.
- Schools, prisons, and health care facilities would be exempt, while restaurant owners raise cost and logistics concerns and supporters cite waste and health risks highlighted by WWF’s data on global plastic pollution.