Like energy costs and everything else, people who complain about "affordability" never see the connection between feel-good, useless mandates like this and increased costs

No room for a dishwasher here — will Maryland Man have to self-deport?

Restaurant bill would ban plastic utensils and condiment packets from on-site dining in most circumstances

Restaurant group warns the proposal could burden small businesses with operational challenges

A bill introduced in New Jersey would ban on-site restaurants rom providing single-use utensils to their customers unless they explicitly request them.

Senate Bill 2195 [Error: correct number is SB 3195 — ED] Instead of plastic utensils, it would require restaurants to provide reusable, washable utensils for customers who are eating their meals on site.

Restaurants may also not provide condiments to on-site customers. They may provide them to takeout customers only if the condiments are specifically requested.

Daniel Klim, president of the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association (NJRHA), told Fox News Digital the group's concern is not the bill’s intent, but how it would actually work in practice.

"Restaurants operate in fast-paced, high-volume environments," he said.

"Policies that don’t fully reflect those realities can create operational challenges and added costs, particularly for small, independently-owned businesses.” [spoiler alert — increased costs are felt by, and passed on to customers at McDonalds, as well as Jose’s hot dog stand — ED]

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Bob Smith, would cover food trucks, convenience stores, entertainment and sports venues, and more. 

Excerpts from the proposed law:

     “Food service business” means and includes a restaurant, café, food truck, vendor station, cafeteria, or any other facility or premises, or section or part thereof, including, but not limited to, a section or part of a grocery store, convenience store, hospital, school, sports arena, entertainment venue, or other similar facility or venue, where meals are prepared and served to customers for immediate consumption thereby on or off the premises, whether on a take-out, eat-in, drive-thru, or delivery basis.

     “Single-use plastic utensils or condiments” means utensils or condiment packets or packages which are composed of conventional plastics and are designed to be discarded, by the consumer, after a single use.

     “Utensil” means an instrument, including, but not limited to, a knife, fork, or spoon, which is commonly used by humans to eat meals served thereto by a food service business.

      (1)   no food service business operating in the State shall provide single-use plastic utensils or condiments to any customer, except upon, and in accordance with, the express request of that customer.  The provisions of this paragraph shall be applicable regardless of whether a customer is receiving meals from the food service business on an eat-in, take-out, drive-thru, or delivery basis, and regardless of whether the customer’s meal order is placed in person, over the phone, online, or using other available means or methods; and

     (2)   a food service business that has on-site seating capacity for 50 or more customers shall provide its on-site customers with easy access to reusable, washable utensils for use thereby while consuming meals on the premises, and shall require each customer using such utensils to return those utensils to the food service business, for the purposes of cleaning and reuse, upon completion of the customer’s on-site meal. 

     b.    Any food service business that elects to supply customers with single-use plastic utensils or condiments, upon request, as authorized by paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section:

     (1)   shall provide each customer with only those types and amounts of single-use plastic utensils and condiments that have been expressly requested thereby; and

     (2)   shall not create, acquire, or provide customers with bundled packages that contain more than one type of single-use plastic utensil or condiment, regardless of the nature of any customer request therefor. 

     3.    a.  Any covered food service business that violates the provisions of section 2 … shall be liable to a civil penalty of $1,000 for the first offense, $2,500 for the second offense, and $5,000 for the third and each subsequent offense.  Each day on which a violation occurs shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.

 Lawyers must be salivating.