Designates Earth Day week each year as Litter Law Enforcement Week for special effort to enforce littering laws.

A1589

ASSEMBLY, No. 1589

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN

District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Designates Earth Day week each year as Litter Law
Enforcement Week for special effort to enforce littering laws.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning the enforcement of littering laws,
designating Earth Day week each year
as Litter Law Enforcement Week, and
supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� The week in which Earth
Day, April 22nd, in each year occurs, is hereby designated as Litter Law
Enforcement Week in New Jersey.

���� 2.��� a.��� During Litter Law
Enforcement Week each year, the Department of Environmental Protection and the
New Jersey State Police shall make enforcement of the State�s litter laws a
priority unless they are unable to do so due to an emergency or crisis.� In
particular, during the course of Litter Law Enforcement Week, the department
and the State Police shall increase, to the greatest extent possible,
enforcement efforts with regard to the following provisions of law:

���� (1)�� section 6 of P.L.1999,
c.90 (C.2C:36-6.1);

���� (2)�� R.S.12:4-10 and
R.S.12:4-11;

���� (3)�� section 9 of P.L.1995,
c.401 (C.12:7-78);

���� (4)�� section 9 of P.L.1970,
c.39 (C.13:1E-9);

���� (5)�� sections 2 and 3 of
P.L.1989, c.118 (C.13:1E-9.3 and C.13:1E-9.4);

���� (6)�� section 20 of P.L.1989,
c.34 (C.13:1E-48.20);

���� (7)�� section 8 of P.L.1985,
c.533 (C.13:1E-99.3);

���� (8)�� sections 10 and 23 of
P.L.1983, c.324 (C.13:1L-10 and C.13:1L-23);

���� (9)�� sections 4 and 9 of
P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-4 and C.13:9A-9);

���� (10) sections 17 and 21 of
P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-17 and C.13:9B-21);

���� (11) section 23 of P.L.1979,
c.111 (C.13:18A-24);

���� (12) R.S.23:5-28;

���� (13) section 4 of P.L.1990,
c.29 (C.23:7-1.1);

���� (14) section 1 of P.L.1954,
c.38 (C.23:7-9);

���� (15) sections 1 and 2 of
P.L.1964, c.64 (C.32:1-146.8 and C.32:1-146.9);

���� (16) R.S.39:4-63;

���� (17) R.S.39:4-64;

���� (18) section 3 of P.L.1988,
c.61 (C.58:10A-49); and

���� (19) any other littering laws
enacted subsequently to this act.

���� b.��� The department and State
Police shall encourage all municipal and county law enforcement agencies and
prosecutors to engage in the special annual effort to enforce these laws and
any relevant local ordinances prohibiting littering, and shall provide appropriate
support to municipalities and counties electing to participate in the annual
effort.

���� c.���� The department and
State Police shall publicize Litter Law Enforcement Week each year to municipal
and county law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, and through postings made
available for public viewing on the Internet, informational newspaper, radio,
television, and other print and electronic media announcements, and any other
available means.

���� 3.��� Notwithstanding the
provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, all fines for
violations of the laws listed in section 2 of this act that are collected by
the department or State Police during Litter Law Enforcement Week in any year
shall be deposited in equal proportions into the following State funds:

���� a.���� The �Clean Communities
Program Fund,� established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2002, c.128
(C.13:1E-217), to be dedicated for the purposes of State litter pick-up and
removal, and for the purposes of enforcing litter-related laws and ordinances
in State-owned and public places;

���� b.��� The �Coastal Protection
Trust Fund,� established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1993, c.168
(C.39:3-27.50), to be dedicated for the purposes of implementing the provisions
of the �New Jersey Adopt a Beach Act,� P.L.1992, c.213 (C.13:19-22 et seq.),
and for the purposes of financing any program that utilizes prisoners to clean
up or maintain the State�s beaches; and

���� c.���� The �Municipal
Stormwater Management and Combined Sewer Overflow Abatement Assistance Fund,�
established pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1988, c.90 (C.58:25-29), to be
dedicated for the purposes of providing grants to municipalities or other
public entities to control or eliminate sources of litter associated with
stormwater infrastructure, nonpoint sources of pollution, and combined sewer
overflows.

���� 4.��� Municipalities and
counties electing to participate in Litter Law Enforcement Week in any year may
donate to one or more of the State funds listed in section 3 of this act any or
all of the fine moneys collected thereby during Litter Law Enforcement Week for
violation of the laws listed in section 2 of this act.

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would designate the
week in which Earth Day, April 22nd, in each year occurs, as Litter Law
Enforcement Week in New Jersey.

���� The bill would require the
Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey State Police to
participate in Litter Law Enforcement Week on an annual basis, by making
enforcement of the State�s litter laws a priority unless they are unable to do
so due to an emergency or crisis.� The department and the State Police also
would be required to encourage all municipal and county law enforcement
agencies and prosecutors to engage in the special annual effort to enforce
these laws and any relevant local ordinances prohibiting littering, and to
provide appropriate support to the participating municipalities and counties.

���� The bill identifies a number
of specific State litter laws for which increased State enforcement would be
required during the course of Litter Law Enforcement Week.� In addition, the
bill would provide that any fines collected by the State in relation to the
enforcement of such litter laws during Litter Law Enforcement Week would be
deposited in equal proportions into the following State funds:

(1)

the
�Clean Communities Program Fund�;

(2)

the
�Coastal Protection Trust Fund�; and

(3)

the
�Municipal Stormwater Management and Combined Sewer Overflow Abatement
Assistance Fund.�

���� The bill would further provide
that any municipalities or counties that have elected to participate in Litter
Law Enforcement Week in any year may donate to one or more of the above-listed
State funds any or all of the fine moneys collected thereby during the week for
violations of the laws identified in the bill.

���� Finally, the bill would
dedicate all moneys deposited in the specific State funds listed in the bill
for use only for certain specified, litter abatement-related purposes, which
include:

(1)

the
financing of litter removal programs and litter law enforcement;

(2)

the
implementation of the �New Jersey Adopt a Beach Act,� and the financing of
programs that utilize prisoners to clean up or maintain the State�s beaches;
and

(3)

the
provision of grants to municipalities or other public entities to control or
eliminate sources of litter associated with stormwater infrastructure, nonpoint
sources of pollution, and combined sewer overflows.