Prohibits use of paper receipts containing bisphenol-A or bisphenol-S; provides for phased-in prohibition on use of all paper receipts; authorizes continued use of electronic receipts.

A1851

ASSEMBLY, No. 1851

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Assemblyman CLINTON CALABRESE

District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Quijano

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits use of paper receipts containing
bisphenol-A or bisphenol-S; provides for phased-in prohibition on use of all
paper receipts; authorizes continued use of electronic receipts.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning
paper receipts and supplementing
Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� This act shall be known,
and may be cited, as the �Paper Receipt Reduction Act.�

���� 2.��� The Legislature finds
and declares the following:

���� a.���� Although the rise of
digital technologies in recent years and the COVID-19 pandemic have each
contributed to a slight decline in the use of some paper products, global paper
consumption continues to rise and now exceeds 400 metric tons per year, with 71
million metric tons of paper being consumed annually in the United States.�

���� b.��� While paper receipts
represent only a small fraction of the total amount of paper being consumed in
the United States, paper receipts are not a necessary item, and the continued
use of these receipts has significant negative impacts both on the environment
and on public health.

���� c.���� According to a 2020
report by Green America, every year, the United States 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 in association with the production and use of
paper receipts.�

���� d.��� The amount of carbon
dioxide annually emitted from the production of paper receipts is equal to the
amount of greenhouse gasses emitted annually from over 400,000 cars.

���� e.���� An estimated 93 percent
of paper receipts are also coated with bisphenol-A (BPA) or bisphenol-S (BPS),
toxic chemicals that have been banned from use in various plastic products,
such as children�s toys and water bottles, due to their association with reproductive
impairment, type 2 diabetes, thyroid conditions, endocrine system disruption,
metabolic and neurological problems, cancer, and other health conditions.�

���� f.���� Because BPA and BPS are
added to receipt paper in their free form, without being bound to the paper or
polymerized to stop transference, the chemicals can be easily transferred to
the human body through a person�s ordinary handling of the receipt paper.� As a
result, the ongoing use of paper receipts that are contaminated with BPA or BPS
endangers the health of both consumers and the workers who handle these
receipts on a regular basis.�

���� g.��� Thermal paper receipts,
which are are composed of more than one material, are nearly impossible to
separate in the recycling process due to the risk of releasing BPA and BPS into
the air.

���� h.��� The cost of thermal
receipt paper has also continued to rise due to a shortage of leuco dye used in
the paper.� In 2019, the retail sector spent more than $312 million on thermal
receipt paper alone, despite the fact that receipts are normally discarded by
consumers.�

���� i.���� In 2020, the retail
pharmacy, CVS, announced that it would switch to the use of phenol-free paper
receipts in all of its stores and would additionally increase the promotion of
its digital receipt option.� The company has reported that the increased use of
digital receipts will save 49 million yards of receipt paper per year, or more
than enough to circle the globe.�

���� j.���� In order to protect the
health and welfare of consumers and workers in the State against threats posed
by the use of BPA and BPS in receipt paper, and in order to reduce, and
ultimately eliminate, the negative impacts that receipt paper production and disposal
have on the environment, it is both reasonable and necessary for New Jersey to
require retailers and service providers in the State to immediately cease the
use of receipt paper and other similar paper products containing BPA and BPS,
and to phase out the use of all paper receipts within one year after the
effective date of this act.

���� 3.��� As used in this act:

���� �Business or banking record�
means any document that is used to record a business or banking transaction.�
�Business or banking record� includes, but is not limited to, a receipt or
other proof of purchase, as defined in section 2 of P.L.1982, c.29
(C.56:8-2.15), a credit, withdrawal, or deposit slip, or a record of a debit or
credit card transaction.

���� �Consumer� means a person
present in New Jersey who purchases merchandise at retail, and not for purposes
of resale, or who purchases or otherwise receives a service from a service
provider.

���� �Electronic receipt� means a
receipt or other business or banking record that is provided to a consumer
through email, text message, or other electronic or digital means, and which is
not provided to the consumer in a hard copy, paper format.

���� �Retailer� means any person,
including a product manufacturer or distributor, who engages in the sale of
merchandise, at retail, to any person in the State.

���� �Service provider� means any
person, public or private institution, agency, or business concern that
lawfully provides a service to consumers in the State.

���� 4.��� a.� (1) Commencing on
the effective date of this act, no retailer or service provider shall provide a
consumer with, or shall use for any other purpose, a receipt or other business
or banking record, or any associated coupon or advertisement, that is printed
on paper to which bisphenol-A or bisphenol-S has been added during the
manufacturing process.�

���� (2)�� Commencing on the first
day of the thirteenth month next following the effective date of this act, no
retailer or service provider shall provide a consumer with, or shall use for
any other purpose, a receipt or other business or banking record, or any
associated coupon or advertisement, that is printed on paper.�

���� (3)�� Nothing in this
subsection shall be deemed to prohibit a retailer or service provider from
providing a consumer with an electronic receipt.�

���� b.��� Any retailer or service
provider that violates the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall be
subject to a civil penalty of not less than $250 nor more than $500 for each
offense, to be collected in a civil action by summary proceeding under the
�Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), or in
any case before a court of competent jurisdiction wherein injunctive relief has
been requested.� If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during
which the violation continues shall constitute an additional, separate, and
distinct offense.� The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have
jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the �Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999�
in connection with this act.

���� c.���� 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.), may institute a civil action for a civil penalty or injunctive relief
to enforce the provisions of this act or prohibit and prevent a violation
thereof, and the court may proceed in the action in a summary manner.

���� 5.��� The Commissioner of
Environmental Protection shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the
�Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be
necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect on the 45th day following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of
Environmental Protection may take anticipatory administrative action, in
advance of the effective date, as may be necessary to implement the provisions
of this act.

STATEMENT

���� 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.