Bill > A1840

Introduced Session

This bill would immediately prohibit the use, in the State, of potentially toxic paper receipts, and it would additionally phase-in a blanket prohibition on the use of all paper receipts in the State. Specifically, the bill would provide that: (1) as of the bill's effective date, a retailer or service provider will be prohibited from providing a consumer in the State with a business or banking record, including a receipt or other proof of purchase, a credit, deposit, or withdrawal slip, or a record of a debit or credit card transaction, or with any associated coupon or advertisement, that is printed on paper to which bisphenol-A (BPA) or bisphenol-S (BPS) has been added during the manufacturing process; and (2) commencing on the first day of the thirteenth month next following the bill's effective date, a retailer or service provider will be prohibited from providing a consumer in the State with a business or banking record, including a receipt or other proof of purchase, a credit, deposit, or withdrawal slip, or a record of a debit or credit card transaction, or with any associated coupon or advertisement, that is printed on paper. The bill would specify that nothing in its provisions may be deemed to prohibit a retailer or service provider from providing a consumer with an electronic receipt through email, text message, or other digital means. A retailer or service provider that violates the bill's provisions would be subject to a civil penalty of $250 to $500, to be recovered in a summary proceeding. In the case of a continuing violation, each day on which the violation continues would constitute a separate and distinct offense. The bill also authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection, a county, a municipality, or any entity certified pursuant to the "County Environmental Health Act," P.L.1977, c.443 (C.26:3A2-21 et seq.), to institute a summary civil action for a civil penalty or injunctive relief to enforce the bill's provisions or prohibit and prevent a violation thereof. The United States annually consumes more than three million trees and approximately nine billion gallons of water, creates approximately 300 million pounds of solid waste, and emits approximately five billion pounds of carbon dioxide (the same amount emitted from 400,000 cars) in the production and use of paper receipts. In addition, an estimated 93 percent of paper receipts are coated with BPA and BPS, which are toxic chemicals that have been banned from water bottles and other plastic products due to the chemicals' association with reproductive impairment, type 2 diabetes, thyroid conditions, endocrine system disruption, metabolic and neurological problems, cancer, and other health conditions. When present on receipts, these chemicals can enter a person's body simply through touch, and, as a result, the use of paper receipts containing these chemicals poses a major health risk, not only to consumers, but to the workers who regularly handle them. For these reasons, the bill's prohibitions are necessary both to protect the health and welfare of consumers and retail and service workers in the State and to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the negative effects on the environment that result from paper receipt production and use.

Committee Categories

Clinton Calabrese (D)*,  Jim Kennedy (D)*,  Annette Quijano (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document