Assembly Bill A602

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    602
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. ROSENTHAL, LUPARDO, GLICK, TAYLOR, SEAWRIGHT,
   SIMON, BARRETT, BRONSON, STECK, WEPRIN, RAMOS, REYES, EPSTEIN, PAULIN,
   COLTON, JACOBSON, OTIS, McMAHON,  BURDICK,  GONZALEZ-ROJAS,  ZINERMAN,
   HEVESI,  KELLES, SHIMSKY, K. BROWN, NOVAKHOV -- read once and referred
   to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT
   to amend the environmental conservation law and the  general  business
 law, in relation to prohibitions on single-use plastic straws and stirr-
 ers in restaurants
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Article 27 of the environmental conservation law is amended
 by adding a new title 34 to read as follows:
 
                                 TITLE 34
                  PLASTIC STRAW AND STIRRER RESTRICTIONS
 SECTION 27-3401. DEFINITIONS.
         27-3403. SINGLE-USE PLASTIC STRAWS AND STIRRERS.
         27-3405. ENFORCEMENT.
 § 27-3401. DEFINITIONS.
   FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS TITLE, "RESTAURANT" MEANS ANY DINER OR  OTHER
 EATING OR BEVERAGE ESTABLISHMENT, WHICH OFFERS FOR SALE FOOD OR BEVERAG-
 ES  TO  THE  PUBLIC,  GUESTS,  MEMBERS,  OR PATRONS, WHETHER CONSUMPTION
 OCCURS ON OR OFF THE PREMISES.
 § 27-3403. SINGLE-USE PLASTIC STRAWS AND STIRRERS.
   1. (A) RESTAURANTS MAY NOT PROVIDE SINGLE-USE  PLASTIC  STRAWS  UNLESS
 EXPLICITLY REQUESTED BY THE CUSTOMER.
   (B)  NO  INQUIRY  INTO  THE  REASON FOR THE REQUEST SHALL BE MADE BY A
 RESTAURANT OR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES IN CARRYING OUT THE  REQUEST  AUTHOR-
 IZED BY PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02014-01-5
 A. 602                              2
 
   2. RESTAURANTS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH SINGLE-USE
 PLASTIC STIRRERS.
   3.  (A)  NOTHING  IN  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  PRECLUDE A RESTAURANT FROM
 PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH NON-PLASTIC STRAWS OR STIRRERS AS  AN  ALTERNA-
 TIVE  TO  SINGLE-USE  PLASTIC  STRAWS  AND  STIRRERS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO, STRAWS AND/OR STIRRERS MADE FROM PAPER, SUGAR  CANE,  BAMBOO
 OR COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS.
   (B) RESTAURANTS THAT PROVIDE COMPOSTABLE STRAWS OR STIRRERS TO CUSTOM-
 ERS ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE ACCESS TO CURBSIDE COLLECTION OF FOOD WASTE FOR
 COMPOSTING.
   4.  SINGLE-USE  PLASTIC  STRAWS  PROVIDED BY A RESTAURANT, PURSUANT TO
 SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION, SHALL NOT BE  INDIVIDUALLY  WRAPPED  IN
 PLASTIC,  EXCEPT  FOR  PREPACKAGED  INDIVIDUAL SERVING BEVERAGES WHERE A
 PLASTIC STRAW IS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGING.
 § 27-3405. ENFORCEMENT.
   EVERY LOCAL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SHALL  ENSURE  COMPLIANCE  WITH  THIS
 TITLE AS PART OF AN INSPECTION OF A FOOD PLACE PURSUANT TO SECTION THIR-
 TEEN  HUNDRED  FIFTY-ONE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW, THE PROVISIONS OF THE
 SANITARY CODE AND PROVISIONS OF LOCAL ORDINANCES OR  REGULATIONS.    ANY
 ESTABLISHMENT  THAT  VIOLATES  THIS  TITLE  SHALL  BE LIABLE FOR A CIVIL
 PENALTY IN THE AMOUNT OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR  THE  FIRST  VIOLATION,
 THREE  HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THE SECOND VIOLATION COMMITTED ON A DIFFERENT
 DAY WITHIN A PERIOD OF TWELVE MONTHS, AND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS  FOR  THE
 THIRD AND EACH SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION COMMITTED ON DIFFERENT DAYS WITHIN A
 PERIOD  OF  TWELVE  MONTHS,  EXCEPT  THAT THE LOCAL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
 SHALL NOT ISSUE A NOTICE OF VIOLATION, BUT SHALL  ISSUE  A  WARNING  AND
 PROVIDE  INFORMATION  ON COMPLIANCE WITH SUCH SECTION, FOR ANY VIOLATION
 THAT OCCURS WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section  399-
 tt to read as follows:
   §  399-TT.  SINGLE-USE  PLASTIC  STRAWS.  RESTAURANTS MAY ONLY PROVIDE
 SINGLE-USE PLASTIC STRAWS TO CUSTOMERS WHERE EXPLICITLY REQUESTED BY THE
 CUSTOMER PURSUANT TO TITLE THIRTY-FOUR OF ARTICLE  TWENTY-SEVEN  OF  THE
 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.