At a public hearing on plastic bags, Senator Bob Smith makes a dramatic announcement. (Frank Brill photo)

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor


In the middle of hours of testimony yesterday on what the New Jersey Legislature should do to curb environmental damage from throwaway plastic shopping bags, Styrofoam cups, and soda straws, Senator Bob Smith interrupted the testimony to deliver a news flash.

Gov. Phil Murphy, he was just informed, has decided to veto a bill (A-3267/S-2600) that would impose a 5-cent fee on plastic grocery bags. It had been, until that moment, the Legislature’s preferred solution to the problem of plastics.

The audience at an Aug. 23, 2018, legislative hearing on plastics n Toms River, NJ.  (Frank Brill photo).

The announcement resulted in applause from dozens of environmentalists who packed the meeting with signs and costumes and murmuring from a cadre of lobbyists for business trade associations and chemical and related industries.


** Video interviews below**Murphy’s decision had turned the plastics debate upside down. Bills to limit the disposal of plastic bags by charging consumers to use them were dead and the momentum immediately swung to bills that would outlaw them.

Smith, the author of the primary Senate ‘ban’ bill, S-2776, pounced on the opportunity, announcing that his committee would hold a hearing on his legislation in September and vote on the measure in October. Smith is chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.  


An identical bill, A-4330, is sponsored by Nancy Pinkin who chairs the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee.


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The ‘fee bill’ that’s been sitting on Murphy’s desk for weeks, was heavily lobbied but made it through both houses. A ban bill might be a tougher sell since political heavyweights like the NJ Chemistry Council, the Business and Industry Association, NJ Chamber of Commerce, and some retailers, are likely to join in opposing it.


It’s too early to predict the outcome, but plastics surely will be a hot topic when the legislature returns from its summer recess.


After yesterday’s joint hearing in Toms River by the environmental committees of both houses, we spoke with Amy Goldsmith, state director of Clean Water Action, an environmental group that favors an outright ban on plastic bags. (The state’s enviro-organizations have been fractured on the choice between fee and ban bills). 

We also interviewed Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle who sponsored the about-to-be vetoed fee bill.

Related news coverage:

Is 5-cent fee for plastic bags headed for the trash? 

Murphy signals intent to veto proposed plastic bag fee 

News of pending bag tax veto hailed (Video)

What do YOU think?  Click on over to our Facebook page where we welcome your comments not only on plastic bag fees vs. bans but on the wider issue of plastic packaging.


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