Government Affairs



LEGISLATIVE ISSUES – Spring 2009

The following is a list of legislation currently pending before the 212th State Legislature. If passed, these bills will have a significant impact on the food distribution industry. This list was compiled after a thorough review of the NJFC bill tracking system and discussions with several legislators. While it is impossible to definitively determine what pieces of legislation the New Jersey Legislature will review and take action on, it is likely that a number of these bills will be heard and or voted on during this session.



Liquor Licensing

Liquor Licensing
A-732 (Greenwald/Giblin)
Position:SUPPORT
Impact: Remove two license limit on retail distribution license holders.<<TOP

Consumer Affairs

Radio Frequency Identification Systems
A-1760(Watson Coleman)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires businesses to notify customers concerning use of radio frequency identification systems that collect information about customer.<<TOP

Abandoned Gift Cards
A-2603 (Fisher/Cryan)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires abandoned gift card balances to escheat to the State<<TOP

Manufacturer's Rebate
A-1494 Aca (1R)(Burzichelli/Biondi/Moriarty/Cohen/Prieto/Wisniewski)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires retail mercantile establishment to provide manufacturer's rebate at time of consumer purchase.<<TOP

Bisphenol A Packaging Ban
A-2112 (Lampitt/Greenstein/Wolfe/Huttle)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Prohibits sale of food and beverage packaging and containers made with bisphenol A<<TOP

Price Quoting Over the Telephone
A-2306 (Huttle/Cruz-Perez)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires prices to be quoted over the telephone<<TOP

Sales Tax Fee Ban
A-2261 (Wiesniewski)
Position: SUPPORT
Impact: Prohibits financial institutions from charging any fee on sales and use tax portion of retail sales transaction<<TOP

Labor

Healthy Workplace Act
A-1551 (Greenstein/Oliver)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes the "Healthy Workplace Act"<<TOP

Immigration Bill
S-1312 (Sweeney, Adler)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Prohibits the employment of unauthorized aliens<<TOP

Minimum Wage
S-784 (Sweeney)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Increases Minimum Wage to $8.50, then makes annual adjustments based on increases in the statewide average weekly wage<<TOP

Loss Prevention

Sale of Stolen Goods on Website
A-1097 (Cryan)
Position: SUPPORT
Impact: Prohibits the sale of stolen goods on websites governed by Internet based resale companies.<<TOP

Security Industry Regulation Act
A-3206 (Johnson))
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Regulates in-house security guards under "Security Industry Regulation Act".<<TOP

Environment

Plastic Bag Recycling Programs
A-1326 (Stender/Greenstein/Lampitt)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires retail store operators to establish in-store recycling programs that provide opportunities for customers to return clean plastic carryout bags.<<TOP

Plastic Bag Recycling Act
A-1395(Conaway/Conners/Lampitt)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes "Plastic Bag Recycling Act."<<TOP

Plastic Container Recycling Enhancement Act
A-1622 (McKeon)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes Plastic Container Recycling Enhancement Act<<TOP

Plastic Bag Ban
A-1641 (McKeon/Schaer)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Provides for decrease and eventual ban on use of non-compostable plastic grocery bags.<<TOP

DEP Studies
A-2730 (Stender)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires DEP to conduct study concerning single-use paper bags and plastic bags.<<TOP

Plastic Bag Reduction Act
A-2921(Cruz-Perez)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes Plastic Bag Reduction Act.<<TOP

Reduce Plastic and Paper Bag Usage Act
S-994 (Smith)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes Reduce Plastic and Paper Bag Act<<TOP

Plastic Carryout Bag and Film Plastic Recycling Act
S-1079 (Bateman)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes Plastic Carryout Bag and Film Plastic Recycling Act.<<TOP

The Toxic-Free Children's Products Act
S-1428 (Weinberg/Ruiz)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes the "Toxic-Free Children's Products Act"<<TOP

The "Smart Container" Act
A-121 (Huttle)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes the "Smart container Act"<<TOP

Reuse Of Plastic Containers
A-2110 (Lampitt)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Prohibits reuse of disposable plastic beverage containers<<TOP

Recycling Food and Beverage Containers
A-2111 (Lampitt)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires certain businesses to recycle recyclable food and beverage containers<<TOP

Formula Rates Legislation
S-2428(Lesniak)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Authorizes electric or gas public utilities to implement formula based rates<<TOP

Prevailing Wage
S-2340(Sweeney, Buono)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Concerns prevailing wage in construction projects connected with Board of Public Utilities financial assistance.<<TOP

Food Issues

Truth in Beef Packaging Act of 2008
A-1252 (Moriarty and Lampitt)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Establishes the "Truth in Beef Packaging Act of 2008.".<<TOP

Labeling of Origin of Raw Produce
A-1327 (Stender)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires retailers to provide consumers with information on origin of raw produce.<<TOP

Loyalty Card Program
S-1572 (Turner)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Requires retailers to provide food product recall notices through loyalty card programs.<<TOP

Sale of Product Containing DXM
S-2251 (Buono and Kean)
Position: OPPOSE
Impact: Prohibits sale of products containing dextromethorphan to minors under 18 years of age.<<TOP

Federal Issues

Card Check
Position: Oppose
Impact: NJFC strongly opposes this bill which will create federal law recognizing unionization of a workplace by Card Check method. The bill would take away a worker’s right to a federally supervised private ballot election when deciding whether or not to join a union. Under this system, a worker’s vote is made public to the employer, the union organizer and co-workers. <<TOP