Amd Art 27 Title 27 Title Head, §27-2701, add Art 27 Title 27 §27-2706, En Con L; add §399-tt, Gen Bus L; amd
§1352, Pub Health L
 
Prohibits single-use plastic straws and beverage stirrers in food service establishments; defines terms; provides that no food service establishment in the state shall offer to consumers any single-use beverage straw or beverage stirrer made of plastic or any other non-biodegradable material; further provides for exceptions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8873
IN SENATE
May 31, 2018
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, the general business
law and the public health law, in relation to prohibitions on single-
use plastic straws and beverage stirrers in food service establish-
ments
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The title heading of title 27 of article 27 of the environ-
2 mental conservation law, as added by chapter 641 of the laws of 2008, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 PLASTIC BAG, PLASTIC STRAW, AND BEVERAGE STIRRER
5 REDUCTION, REUSE AND RECYCLING
6 § 2. Section 27-2701 of the environmental conservation law, as added
7 by chapter 641 of the laws of 2008, is amended by adding eight new
8 subdivisions 8,9,10,11,12,13,14 and 15 to read as follows:
9 8. "Food service establishment" means any diner or other eating or
10 beverage establishment, which offers for sale food or beverages to the
11 public, guests, members, or patrons, where the food or beverages are
12 customarily consumed on the premises. For purposes of this title, "food
13 service establishment" shall include a fast food establishment, bar,
14 coffee shop, cafeteria, luncheonette, or short order cafe; however,
15 "food service establishment" shall not include a sandwich stand, soda
16 fountain, drive-through portion of a restaurant, drive-in restaurant, or
17 any establishment or portion of a restaurant where food or beverages are
18 customarily consumed off the premises.
19 9. "Beverage straw" means a tube used for transferring a beverage from
20 its container to the mouth of a consumer.
21 10. "Beverage stirrer" means a device used by a consumer that is
22 designed solely for the purpose of mixing liquids intended for internal
23 human consumption.
24 11. "Biodegradable" means the ability of a material to breakdown,
25 within one year, into natural materials in the natural environment with-
26 out causing harm.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16087-01-8
S. 8873 2
1 12. "Disability" means a physical, intellectual or sensory impairment
2 that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
3 13. "Medical condition" means any illness, disease, disorder or injury
4 that requires medical treatment.
5 14. "Plastic" means a synthetic material made from organic polymers,
6 including, but not limited to, polypropylene and polystyrene, that can
7 be molded into shape while soft, and then set into a rigid or slightly
8 elastic form.
9 15. "Single-use" means a product that is designed and intended to be
10 used only once for drinking or eating, and is generally recognized by
11 the public as an item that is to be discarded after one use.
12 § 3. Title 27 of article 27 of the environmental conservation law, as
13 added by chapter 641 of the laws of 2008, is amended by adding a new
14 section 27-2706 to read as follows:
15 § 27-2706. Single-use plastic straws and beverage stirrers.
16 1. No food service establishment in the state shall offer to consumers
17 any single-use beverage straw or beverage stirrer made of plastic or any
18 other non-biodegradable material. Food service establishments may
19 provide suitable beverage straws or beverage stirrers, including those
20 prohibited by this section, to a person that requires a straw due to a
21 disability or medical condition as defined by this section.
22 2. In consultation with other state agencies, the department shall
23 conduct outreach and education to food service establishments and stores
24 to inform them of the provisions of this section and provide assistance
25 with identifying replacement material. Such outreach and education
26 shall be offered in multiple languages.
27 3. The department and the department of health shall have the authori-
28 ty to enforce the provisions of this section.
29 4. Any person who violates this section or any rule promulgated pursu-
30 ant thereto shall be liable for a civil penalty recoverable in a civil
31 action brought in the name of the commissioner and the commissioner of
32 health in the amount of one hundred dollars for the first violation, two
33 hundred dollars for the second violation committed on a different day
34 within a period of twelve months, and four hundred dollars for the third
35 and each subsequent violation committed on different days within a peri-
36 od of twelve months, except that such commissioners shall not issue a
37 notice of violation, but shall issue a warning and provide information
38 on replacement material, for any violation that occurs within one year
39 of the effective date of this section.
40 § 4. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399-
41 tt to read as follows:
42 § 399-tt. Single-use plastic straws and beverage stirrers. Food
43 service establishments shall only provide single-use plastic straws or
44 beverage stirrers to customers where explicitly requested by the custom-
45 er pursuant to title twenty-seven of article twenty-seven of the envi-
46 ronmental conservation law, as added by chapter six hundred forty-one of
47 the laws of two thousand eight.
48 § 5. Subdivision 2 of section 1352 of the public health law is amended
49 to read as follows:
50 2. (a) It shall be unlawful to furnish or serve in any public eating
51 or drinking establishment, any straw, tube or similar device for drink-
52 ing out of glasses, cups or containers of any type unless such straw,
53 tube or similar device conforms to and is furnished or served in accord-
54 ance with title twenty-seven of article twenty-seven of the environ-
55 mental conservation law, as added by chapter six hundred forty-one of
56 the laws of two thousand eight and the following requirements: When
S. 8873 3
1 offered for use, it shall be completely enclosed in an impervious or a
2 bactericidal wrapper to be opened by the ultimate user; if unwrapped it
3 may be used if it is kept in an approved sanitary dispenser loaded from
4 the original package without handling, which dispenses one such straw,
5 tube or device at a time directly to the user and which is so
6 constructed that the interior may be cleaned and kept in a sanitary
7 condition; unused loose straws, tubes or devices already dispensed from
8 the dispensing container shall not be used again. No single-service
9 paper containers, paper cups, paper spoons, paper forks or paper plates
10 shall be used a second time.
11 (b) It shall be unlawful to furnish or serve in any food service
12 establishment a beverage stirrer as defined in subdivision ten of
13 section 27-2701 of the environmental conservation law.
14 § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
15 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
16 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
17 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
18 completed on or before such effective date.