The following provides a summary of noteworthy education-related activity at the State House over the past week.

Senate Environment and Energy Committee

The Senate Environment and Energy Committee met on Thursday, Oct. 10, and advanced the following bills affecting New Jersey school districts:

Banning Single-Use Utensils S-3195 would prohibit “food service businesses” in New Jersey from providing customers with access to single-use utensils or condiments, except in certain limited cases. As defined in the bill, food service businesses include schools. Any school with an on-site seating capacity for 50 or more customers would be required to provide its on-site customers with easy access to reusable, washable utensils that may be used while consuming meals on the premises, and which are to be returned to the school upon completion of the on-site meal so they can be cleaned and reused. The current version of the bill would provide schools with a five-year grace period, after which they would be required to abide by the stipulations of the bill. As introduced, the bill would have allowed food service businesses to provide “eco-friendly alternative utensils and condiments,” including those that are compostable, but that provision was deleted from the current draft. Finally, the bill includes progressive penalties for noncompliance.

The New Jersey School Boards Association testified in opposition to the bill and sought an amendment to explicitly exempt schools. While supportive of sustainability initiatives, the NJSBA cited various operational and financial concerns with the bill. Among those concerns was the potential physical harm the use of metal utensils could cause to students and staff. The Association also expressed concerns about the potential for increased costs associated with procuring reusable products and with obtaining and installing the necessary infrastructure in each school building across the state to ensure reusable utensils are cleaned in accordance with health and safety guidelines.

The bill will now head to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Water Quality Notifications S-984/A-1400 requires the owner or operator of a public water system to immediately notify the governing body of a municipality and the chief administrator of every school located within the municipality whenever the public water system violates any drinking water quality standard. The bill also requires the owner or operator of the public water system to provide information on suggested remedies that a customer may take to address the violation.

The NJSBA supports the bill, which was passed by the Assembly on Sept. 26 and will now head to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

To view the full text of any of the bills summarized above, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.