Requires paint producers to implement or participate in paint stewardship program.

A3383 TR

ASSEMBLY, No. 3383

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY

District 18 (Middlesex)

Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Sampson

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires paint producers to implement or participate
in paint stewardship program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Assembly Environment and Solid
Waste Committee with technical review.

��

An Act
requiring producers of architectural paint to implement
or participate in a paint stewardship program, 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 �Architectural Paint Stewardship Act.�

���� 2.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that local governments, businesses, and residents of the State do
not have ready access to an efficient, environmentally sound, and
cost-effective disposal method for architectural paint; and that hazardous
waste collection days are costly for local governments and insufficient,
inconvenient, and too infrequent to properly serve local businesses and
residents, resulting in missed opportunities to reduce, reuse, and recycle
paint.

���� The Legislature further finds
and declares that the producers of architectural paint are best able to assume
responsibility for the development and implementation of a cost-effective paint
stewardship program that will provide fiscal relief to local governments by
reducing the volumes of leftover paint, promoting its reuse, and providing for
the collection, transportation, and processing of such paint.

���� The Legislature therefore
determines that it is in the best interests of the State for the producers of
architectural paint to provide for the planning and implementation of a program
to collect, reuse, recycle, transport, and dispose of post-consumer architectural
paint.

���� 3.��� As used in this act:

���� �Aerosol paint� means a
pressurized coating product that contains pigment or resin that dispenses
product ingredients by means of a propellant, and is packaged in a disposable
aerosol container for hand-held application.

���� �Architectural paint� means
interior or exterior architectural coatings that are sold in containers of five
gallons or less. �Architectural paint� shall not mean industrial, original
equipment, or specialty use coatings.�

���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Environmental Protection.

���� �Department� means the
Department of Environmental Protection.

���� �Distributor� means a person
who has a contractual relationship with one or more producers to market and
sell architectural paint to retailers.

���� �Energy recovery� means a
procedure in which all or a part of the solid waste materials of architectural
paint are processed to use the heat content or other forms of energy from the
solid waste materials.

���� �Environmentally sound
management practices� means the policies or procedures for collection, storage,
transportation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of architectural paint, which
are implemented by a producer, representative organization, or their contracted
partners to ensure compliance with all applicable federal, State, and local
laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances, and the protection of human health
and the environment, and which address matters such as adequate recordkeeping,
accurate tracking and documentation of the use, reuse, recycling, or disposal
of post-consumer architectural paint within and outside of the State, and
adequate provision of environmental liability coverage for professional
services and for the operations of contractors working on behalf of a producer
or representative organization.

���� �Federal waste management
hierarchy� means the four-tiered hierarchy, established by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, that guides waste management determinations
through the promotion of source reduction, recycling, energy recovery, and
waste treatment and disposal, in that order, to the extent feasible.

���� �Paint stewardship assessment�
means the assessed amount, established pursuant to section 5 of this act, which
is included in the purchase price of architectural paint sold in the State.

���� �Post-consumer architectural
paint� means architectural paint not used and no longer wanted by a consumer.

���� �Producer� means a
manufacturer of architectural paint that is sold, offered for sale, or
distributed in the State, either under the producer�s own name or under any
other brand name.�

���� �Recycling� means any process
used to transform discarded products, components, or by-products into new
usable or marketable materials, and which process may cause those discarded
products, components, or by-products to lose their original composition or
identity.� �Recycling� shall not include energy recovery or energy generation
by means of combustion or incineration.�

���� �Representative organization�
means a nonprofit organization that is established by, and for the benefit of,
two or more architectural paint producers in the State, and which is tasked
with the development of an architectural paint stewardship program plan, in
accordance with section 4 of this act, and implementation of the plan on behalf
of, and with the participation of, each member producer.

���� �Retailer� means any person
who sells architectural paint or offers architectural paint for sale at retail
to consumers in the State.

���� �Reuse� means the return of a
product into the economic stream for use in the same kind of application
originally intended for the product, without a change in the product�s original
composition or identity.

���� �Sell� or �sale� means any
transfer of title for consideration, including, but not limited to, remote
sales transactions conducted through sales outlets, catalogs, or the Internet,
or through any other similar electronic means.

���� 4.��� a.� Within one year
after the date of enactment of this act, every producer of architectural paint,
or any representative organization established pursuant to this act, shall
prepare and submit to the commissioner, for the commissioner�s approval, a plan
for an architectural paint stewardship program.� The plan shall minimize the
involvement of, and eliminate costs to, the public sector in association with
the collection, transportation, and processing of post-consumer architectural
paint by reducing its generation, promoting its reuse and recycling, and
negotiating and executing agreements for its collection, transportation, reuse,
recycling, burning for energy recovery, incineration, and disposal using
environmentally sound management practices that are consistent with the federal
waste management hierarchy.

���� b.��� The plan submitted
pursuant to this section shall:

���� (1)�� provide for convenient
and available Statewide collection of post-consumer architectural paint from
urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State in a manner that, at a minimum,
ensures collection rates and a level of convenience equal to or greater than
that provided by other collection programs available to consumers prior to the
establishment of the architectural paint stewardship program;

���� (2)�� provide collection site
locations Statewide that will accept post-consumer architectural paint, through
the use of geographic information modeling, such that at least 90 percent of
State residents have a permanent collection site within 15 miles of their
residence, that permanent collection sites be established for every 30,000
residents of a population center, and that collection sites be distributed to
provide convenient and equitable access for residents within each population
center, unless otherwise authorized by the department.� For those persons who
do not have a permanent collection site within 15 miles of their residence, the
plan shall provide for annual collection events, unless more frequent
collection events are deemed to be necessary, and are required, in writing, by
the department;

���� (3)�� address, to the extent
reasonably feasible and mutually agreeable, the coordination of the
architectural paint stewardship program with the existing infrastructure of
local governments and the existing household hazardous waste collection
infrastructure in the State, to the extent that there are no additional costs
to the local, county, or State government for the collection, transportation,
or processing of post-consumer architectural paint;

���� (4)�� describe how the program
will follow a hierarchy that is consistent, to the extent feasible, with the
federal waste management hierarchy;

���� (5)�� describe the educational
materials and outreach efforts that will be used to inform consumers about the
architectural paint stewardship program and the paint stewardship assessment.�
Educational materials shall include, but need not be limited to, information
identifying the end-of-life management options that are available for
post-consumer architectural paint through the architectural paint stewardship
program, as well as a notice provision stating that the costs of program
operation will be included in the purchase price of all architectural paint
sold in the State;

���� (6)�� in accordance with the
provisions of section 5 of this act, identify an appropriate amount for the
paint stewardship assessment;

���� (7)�� identify, in two
separate lists:� (a) each producer participating in the program; and (b) the
brands of architectural paint that are included in the program; and

���� (8)�� include a proposed
budget that has been reviewed and certified by an independent financial
auditor, and which confirms that the paint stewardship assessment included in
the price of each unit of paint sold in the State will cover and sustain, but
not exceed, the costs of the architectural paint stewardship program.� The cost
of any work performed by an independent financial auditor pursuant to this
paragraph shall be funded by the architectural paint stewardship program.� The
proposed budget shall also include a description of surplus funds, if any, that
are in reserve for future use.

���� c.���� A producer of
architectural paint, or a representative organization established pursuant to
this act, shall notify the department, in writing, within 30 days of any of the
following changes to a plan approved pursuant to section 6 of this act:

���� (1)�� the location or number
of collection sites identified in the plan;

���� (2)�� the identity of the
processors that manage the post-consumer architectural paint collected; or

���� (3)�� the transporters of the
post-consumer architectural paint collected by the program.�

���� d.��� A producer of
architectural paint, or a representative organization established pursuant to
this act, shall submit an amendment to the plan approved by the department
within 120 days after:

���� (1)�� any change to the amount
of the paint stewardship assessment imposed pursuant to section 5 of this act;
or

���� (2)�� any change to the goals
of the program as approved in the plan.

���� The department shall review
the amendments to the plan and shall approve or disapprove them in accordance
with the procedures established pursuant to section 6 of this act.

���� e.���� The department shall
charge and collect from each producer or representative organization that
submits a plan for an architectural paint stewardship program pursuant to this
section an annual administrative fee, which shall not exceed the department�s
costs in administering the provisions of this act.�

���� f.� No sooner than the fifth
year, and no later than the sixth year, following the effective date of this
act, all architectural paint stewardship plans shall be amended to provide for
the environmentally sound collection, transportation, reuse, recycling and
disposal of aerosol paint.

���� 5.��� a.� The producer or
representative organization submitting a plan pursuant to section 4 of this act
shall establish, as a funding mechanism for the program and the implementation
of its plan, a paint stewardship assessment amount to be uniformly applied to
the sale price of all brands of architectural paint covered under the architectural
paint stewardship program.� The paint stewardship assessment shall not exceed
the costs of implementing and sustaining the architectural paint stewardship
plan and the architectural paint stewardship program.�

���� b.��� A paint stewardship
assessment, as established by subsection a. of this section, shall be included
in the cost of each container of architectural paint sold by a producer to a
retailer or distributor in the State, and each retailer or distributor shall include
the paint stewardship assessment in the purchase price of the producer�s
architectural paint.�

���� c.���� If a producer is a
member of a representative organization, the producer shall remit to the
representative organization the paint stewardship assessment received for each
container of architectural paint sold by the producer in the State.

���� 6.��� a.� Within 90 days after
the department�s receipt of a plan submitted in accordance with section 4 of
this act, the commissioner shall approve or disapprove the plan, including the
paint stewardship assessment identified therein, and provide written notice of
its determination to the producer or representative organization, as the case
may be.� If the department does not provide notice of its determination within
90 days after its receipt of the plan, the plan shall be deemed to have been
approved, and the producer or representative organization, as the case may be,
shall proceed to implement the plan.

���� b.� If the commissioner
disapproves a plan submitted pursuant to section 4 of this act, the written
notice provided pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be accompanied
by a list, prepared by the department, describing the plan requirements,
established in section 4 of this act, that have not been satisfied, and the
changes that are required for the plan to be approved.� No more than 45 days
after receipt of the department�s written notice and accompanying statement of
the reasons for the disapproval of a plan submitted pursuant to section 4 of
this act, the producer or representative organization, as appropriate, shall
submit a modified plan to the department for approval.

���� c.���� Within 45 days after
receipt of a modified plan that has been submitted in accordance with
subsection b. of this section, the department shall approve the plan or reject
it, and shall certify the approval or rejection to the producer or
representative organization, as the case may be.� Upon the department�s
disapproval of any modified plan submitted pursuant to subsection b. of this
section, or upon the failure of the producer or representative organization to
submit a modified plan as required, the department shall propose any revisions
to the plan the department deems necessary, and shall transmit the proposed plan
revisions to the producer or representative organization, as the case may be.�
Upon receipt of the department�s proposed revisions to the plan, the producer
or representative organization, as appropriate, shall implement the revised
plan unless otherwise agreed to by the department.

���� d.��� Within 90 days after the
department�s approval of, or revisions to, a plan submitted in accordance with
section 4 of this act:

���� (1)�� the producer or
representative organization, as appropriate, shall implement the architectural
paint stewardship program described in the plan; and

���� (2)�� the department shall
post, at a publicly accessible location on its Internet website, two separate
lists respectively identifying (a) each producer participating in the
architectural paint stewardship program, and (b) the brands of architectural
paint included in the program.

���� 7.��� a. A producer,
distributor, or retailer shall not sell architectural paint or offer
architectural paint for sale to any person in the State unless the producer of
the architectural paint, or a representative organization of which the producer
is a member, is engaged in the implementation of, or has fully implemented, a plan
approved or revised by the commissioner pursuant to section 6 of this act.�

���� b.��� A distributor or
retailer shall be deemed to be in compliance with subsection a. of this section
if, on the date architectural paint is ordered thereby, the producer of the
paint and the brand name of the paint are each identified on the producer and
brand lists maintained on the department�s Internet website pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subsection d. of section 6 of this act.

���� c.���� (1) Any producer,
distributor, or retailer who violates the provisions of subsection a. of this
section shall be subject to: �(a) a written warning for a first offense; and
(b) a penalty of $500 for each subsequent offense.� Any applicable penalty
under this subsection shall be collected by the State 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.� The Superior Court and the
municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the
�Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999� in accordance with the provisions of this
act.�

���� (2)�� The department may
institute a civil action for injunctive relief to enforce the provisions, or
prevent a violation, of this section, and the court may proceed in the action
in a summary manner.

���� (3)�� Whenever the department
determines that any producer, distributor, or retailer is in violation of a
provision of this act, the department may assess a civil administrative penalty
of not more than $500 for each violation, not to exceed a maximum penalty of
$10,000 during a calendar year, and each day of violation shall constitute an
additional, separate, and distinct violation.� A civil administrative penalty
shall not be levied until a violator has been provided with written notice, by
certified mail or personal service, of the following:

���� (a) the statutory or
regulatory basis of the violation;

���� (b) the specific act or
omission that constituted the violation;

���� (c) the amount of the civil
administrative penalty to be imposed;

���� (d) the right of the violator
to contest, through a hearing, any matter contained in the notice; and

���� (e) the procedures for
requesting a hearing on any contested matter.

���� (4)�� (a) A producer,
distributer, or retailer who violates this act may, within 20 calendar days
following receipt of the notice of violation, issued pursuant to paragraph (3)
of this subsection, request a hearing on any matter contained in the notice.�
Any person requesting a hearing shall comply with all requisite procedures
therefor, as specified in the notice.� Failure to submit a timely request or to
comply with all requisite procedures shall constitute grounds for denial of a
hearing request.� After a hearing and upon a finding that a violation has
occurred, the department shall issue a final order assessing the amount of the
civil administrative penalty specified in the notice.� If a violator does not
request a hearing or fails to satisfy the statutory and administrative
requirements for requesting a hearing, the notice of assessment of a civil
administrative penalty, issued pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection,
shall become a final order on the 21st calendar day following receipt of the
notice by the violator.� If the department denies a hearing request made
pursuant to this paragraph, the notice of denial shall become a final order
upon receipt of the notice by the violator.

���� (b)�� A civil administrative
penalty may be settled by the department on such terms and conditions as the
department may determine.

���� (c)�� Payment of a civil
administrative penalty shall not be deemed to affect the availability of any
other enforcement remedy in connection with the violation for which the penalty
was levied.

���� (5)�� If a civil
administrative penalty imposed pursuant to this section is not paid within 30
days of the date that the penalty is due and owing, and the penalty is not
contested by the producer, distributor, or retailer against whom the penalty
has been assessed, or if the producer, distributor, or retailer fails to make a
payment pursuant to a payment schedule entered into with the department, an
interest charge shall accrue on the amount of the penalty from the 30th day
that the amount was due and owing. �In the case of an appeal of a civil
administrative penalty, if the amount of the penalty is upheld, in whole or in
part, the rate of interest shall be calculated on that amount as of the 30th
day from the date the amount was due and owing under the administrative order.�
The rate of interest shall be that established by the New Jersey Supreme Court
for interest rates on judgments, as set forth in the Rules of Court.

���� d.� The department may post on
its Internet website a list of producers, distributors, and retailers that are
in violation of this act.

���� 8.��� a.� Except as provided
in subsection b. of this section,
a producer or the
representative organization participating in an architectural paint stewardship
program shall not be liable for any claim of a violation of antitrust,
restraint of trade, unfair trade practice, or other anticompetitive conduct
arising from conduct undertaken in accordance with the program, including,
without limitation, the types or quantities of paint being managed consistent
with the federal waste management hierarchy
.

���� b.��� Subsection a. of this
section shall not apply to: (1) any agreement establishing or affecting the
price of architectural paint, except an agreement to establish a paint
stewardship assessment, as authorized by this act; or (2) any agreement
restricting the output or production of architectural paint or the geographic
area or customers to which paint will be sold.

���� 9.��� a.� One year after the
department provides notification to a producer or representative organization
of its approval of a plan in accordance with section 6 of this act, and
annually thereafter, the producer or representative organization, as the case
may be, shall submit a report to the department describing its architectural
paint stewardship program.� The report shall include, at a minimum:

���� (1)�� a description of the
methods used to reduce, reuse, collect, transport, recycle, and process
post-consumer architectural paint under the program,
consistent
with the federal waste management hierarchy
;

���� (2)�� the pounds of latex and
oil-based post-consumer architectural paint collected under the program during
the preceding year;

���� (3)�� the volume of
post-consumer architectural paint processed under the program by method of
disposition, including reuse, recycling, energy recovery, incineration, and
disposal in accordance with environmentally sound management practices;

���� (4)�� the estimated volume of
post-consumer architectural paint collected at each collection site under the
program;

���� (5)�� a list of all processors
of post-consumer architectural paint from the time of collection to final
disposition that are used in the program and the disposition method used by
each processor;

���� (6)�� a list of all producers
participating in the program;

���� (7)�� the total volume of
architectural paint sold in the State during the preceding year based upon the
collection of the paint stewardship assessment;

���� (8)�� the total cost of
implementing the program, which shall include, but need not be limited to,
separate figures for the cost of collection, transportation, disposition,
communication, and independent financial audit;

���� (9)�� an evaluation of the
effectiveness of the program and any steps necessary to improve the program;

���� (10) samples of the
educational materials provided to consumers of architectural paint, together
with an evaluation of the methods used to disseminate those materials and an
assessment of the educational and outreach effectiveness of those materials;
and

���� (11) a certification to the
validity of the information contained in the report.

���� b.��� Within 90 days after
receipt of an annual report, the department may meet with interested
stakeholders to review it.� If the department chooses to meet with interested
stakeholders, the department shall post the minutes of each stakeholder meeting,
on its Internet website, within 30 days after the date of the meeting.

���� c.���� Each report submitted
pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be posted on the department's
Internet website. �The department shall not disclose financial, production, or
sales data reported by a producer or representative organization pursuant to
this section, except that the department may disclose such data in aggregate or
summary format, provided that individual producers, distributors, or retailers
and their financial, production, or sales data are not specifically identified,
and the summary omits any reference to unique characteristics from which the
identities of individual producers, distributors, or retailers might be inferred
or otherwise ascertained.

���� 10.� The department shall
adopt, pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the
purposes of this act.

���� 11.� This act shall take
effect immediately, except that section 7 of this act shall take effect on the
first day of the 18th month after the date of enactment of this act.