NJ Gov. Phil Murphy To Veto Plastic Bag Fee, Sources Say

Gov. Phil Murphy will veto a bill that would impose a 5-cent fee on plastic grocery store bags, according to sources close to the administration.

The move will be an "absolute veto" without any conditions, which means lawmakers will have to go back to the drawing board.

The news came just hours after state Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, reportedly drew loud applause from environmentalists in Toms River when he made the announcement that Murphy would veto the bill approved by the state Legislature in June. The same advocates hope the governor will push for an outright ban on plastic bags.

Smith, who heads the Senate environment committee, said Murphy called the bill's sponsors this week and told them he would veto the bill, according to The Record. Murphy's office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Smith announced the veto Thursday morning at a joint committee hearing at Toms River City Hall, according to The Press of Atlantic City.

Republican Assemblyman Hal Wirths issued the following statement on the governor's intentions:

“Less than 60 days ago Governor Murphy signed over $1.5 billion in new tax hikes that New Jersey taxpayers can’t afford to pay, but today he plans to veto a tax purely because the environmental special interest just wants an outright ban on bags. I applaud his veto but this just goes to show how out of touch he is with struggling families. Rather than having their backs, he’s more concerned about what the special interests think.”

New Jersey lawmakers approved legislation two months ago that would impose a 5-cent fee for single-use paper and plastic bags being used by supermarkets and other retailers. The Senate and Assembly Thursday approved the legislation 41-32 and 23-16. The bill now heads to Gov. Phil Murphy may sign it into law or veto it.

If Murphy had approved it, the legislation would become law Oct. 1. People who get government assistance to pay for their groceries would be exempt from the fee.

Retailers would get to keep 1 cent of every 5-cent fee collected. The remaining 4 cents would be used to fund state efforts to remove and replace old lead pipes and water fountains containing lead in schools and community buildings and stripping lead-based paint from schools and residential housing.

Senator Joe Pennacchio wanted Murphy to veto the bill. Pennacchio said he would introduce legislation to repeal the bag tax if it is signed into law.

“Democrats will literally nickel and dime New Jerseyans through a new five-cent tax on each grocery bag you use,” Pennacchio said. "This overtaxing of everything we do in New Jersey needs to stop."

Banning plastic bags would help relieve some of the pollution that plagues waterways like the Passaic and Raritan rivers and Newark bays, Beth Ravit, co-director of the Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability at Rutgers University.

In a recent study, Rutgers researchers found high levels of tiny pieces of plastic — often fragments of bigger items — in the Raritan and Passaic rivers. They identified more than 300 organic chemical compounds that appeared to be associated with microplastics in the rivers.

"Until we get control of the ubiquitous use of plastics in everyday life, I don’t know how we reduce the particles we’re seeing,” Ravit said. “Single-use consumer products are a great place to start. Things like banning plastic bags and straws would be a great thing for New Jersey to do. It’s amazing when you start looking around you and think about how much plastic we all use every day.”

Longport Borough in Atlantic County was the first New Jersey town to impose a fee for plastic bags. Officials imposed the 10-cent fee in 2015 to encourage people to use reusable bags. Earlier this year, Long Beach Township and Point Pleasant Beach approved similar rules. Teaneck banned plastic bags in 2015.

Long Beach provided its residents and visitors with reusable bags. Point Pleasant officials said they enacted the change to "conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste and litter and to protect the public health, welfare, and safety."

The Senate Environmental Energy Committee approved a similar measure in 2012 that would have imposed a similar 5-cent tax. The bill would have also given shopper a a 5-cent rebate or credit for every reusable bag used. In addition, the bill would have required stores to only offer recyclable carryout bags by 2015. The 5-cent fee outlined in that legislation would have gone toward the DEP's Barnegat Bay Restoration Fund, which works to improve the water quality of polluted Barnegat Bay.

Dan Hubbard contributed to this story

Photo: Governor Murphy photo, and a plastic bag along the Raritan River in New Brunswick. (By Todd Bates of Rutgers University, used with permission)