Prohibits hotels from providing guests with personal care products in single-use plastic containers under certain circumstances.

ASSEMBLY, No. 4965 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 222nd LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026 Sponsored by: Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER District 37 (Bergen) SYNOPSIS Prohibits hotels from providing guests with personal care products in single-use plastic containers under certain circumstances. CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT As introduced. An Act concerning certain single-use plastic personal care products in hotels and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes. Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. As used in this act: "Hotel" means a building or portion of a building, which is regularly used for the lodging of guests and is subject to taxation pursuant to the "Hotel Occupancy Tax Act," P.L.1981, c.77 (C.40:48E-1 et seq.). "Personal care product" means any article intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, or any item intended for use as a component thereof. "Single-use plastic bottle" means a plastic bottle, tube, sachet, or other plastic container with less than a six-ounce capacity that is not intended to be reusable by the end user. 2. a. Beginning six months after the effective date of this act, a hotel with 50 rooms or more shall not provide single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products in any space within a sleeping room accommodation, within bathrooms shared by the public or guests, or to a customer of the hotel staying in a sleeping room accommodation. b. Beginning 12 months after the effective date of this act, a hotel shall not provide single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products in any space within a sleeping room accommodation, within bathrooms shared by the public or guests, or to a customer of the hotel staying in a sleeping room accommodation. c. A hotel may provide personal care products in single-use plastic bottles to a person only upon, and in accordance with, the express request of the individual and only in a place other than a sleeping room accommodation, a space within the sleeping room accommodation, or a space within bathrooms shared by the public or guests. 3. a. A hotel that violates the provisions of section 2 of this act shall be subject to a warning for a first offense and a civil penalty of up to $1,500 for a second and each subsequent offense. Each instance in which a violation occurs shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. b. A penalty imposed pursuant to this section shall be collected in a summary proceeding pursuant to the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and municipal courts shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," for the purposes of this section. A penalty recovered under the provisions of this section shall be recovered by and in the name of the State or by and in the name of the municipality. The penalty shall be paid into the treasury of the municipality in which the violation occurred for the general uses of the municipality. c. Notwithstanding any provision of this act to the contrary, a hotel shall be authorized to acquire, and to maintain on its premises, an adequate supply of single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products for the purposes of providing such single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products to individuals upon request, in accordance with subsection c. of section 2 of this act, and no hotel shall be subject to a penalty pursuant to subsection a. of this section, for acquiring, possessing, or maintaining a supply of single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products for the limited purposes authorized by this subsection. 4. a. A municipality or county shall not adopt any rule, regulation, code, or ordinance concerning the regulation or prohibition of single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products in hotels after the effective date of this act. b. The provisions of this act shall supersede and preempt any municipal or county rule, regulation, code, or ordinance concerning the provision of single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products by hotels that was enacted prior to the effective date of this act. 5. This act shall take effect immediately. STATEMENT This bill would prohibit hotels from providing personal care products in single-use plastic bottles to guests and the public under certain circumstances. Specifically, the bill would prohibit, six months after the bill's effective date, a hotel with 50 rooms or more from providing single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products in any space within a sleeping room accommodation, within bathrooms shared by the public or guests, or to a customer of the hotel staying in a sleeping room accommodation. This prohibition would apply to all hotels one year after the bill's effective date. Under the bill, a hotel would be allowed to provide personal care products in single-use plastic bottles to a person upon, and in accordance with, the express request of the individual and only in a place other than a sleeping room accommodation, a space within the sleeping room accommodation, or a space within bathrooms shared by the public or guests. A hotel that violates the bill's provisions would be subject to a warning for the first offense and a civil penalty of up to $1,500 for the second and each subsequent offense, to be to be collected through a summary proceeding, and each instance in which a violation occurs would constitute a separate and distinct offense. Finally, the bill would prohibit municipalities and counties from adopting a rule, regulation, code or ordinance concerning the regulation or prohibition of single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products in hotels after the bill's effective date and the bill's provisions would supersede any municipal or county rule, regulation, code, or ordinance concerning the provision of single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products by hotels that was enacted prior the bill's effective date.