The bill, S226, is sponsored by state senators Bob Smith and John McKeon, both Democrats. It passed in the New Jersey Senate, following a 21-15 vote on 28 June 2024.
S226 would ‘prohibit any large online retailer or major retailer in the State of New Jersey from utilizing a shipping box to ship a product to a consumer that is greater than two times the volume of the product being shipped’.
‘Large online retailer’ in this context refers to any business that ‘sells goods over the internet, sends goods by mail or parcel delivery, and has annual gross sales equal to or greater than US$1 million in or into the state’, while ‘major retailer’ refers to any retail establishment that ‘occupies at least 75,000ft² and has 50 or more employees’.
Retailers that meet the aforementioned criteria would be subject to a civil penalty of ‘not less than $250 nor more than $500 for each offence’.
