Rep. Lucius Parshall
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits restaurants, retail food stores, and large food facilities from automatically providing single-use plastic items like utensils, straws, and condiment packets to customers, requiring them to ask first instead. It mandates that these businesses display signs explaining the ban and its environmental goals, while also requiring online ordering platforms to let customers explicitly choose whether they want these items. The rules apply to large facilities starting in 2025 and to all other food service establishments and retail stores by 2026, with a $100 daily fine for violations. Exceptions allow businesses to provide certain items like cup lids and sleeves without a request to prevent spills during takeout or delivery, and pre-packaged items like those in juice boxes remain unaffected.
Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a new beverage container recycling program in New Hampshire that requires producers and importers to pay a deposit on containers, which consumers can redeem for cash when returning empty bottles and cans. The refund amount is set at ten cents for containers of 24 fluid ounces or less and fifteen cents for larger containers, with the state Department of Environmental Services authorized to adjust these rates based on recycling performance. Large retail stores must provide space and equipment to process these returns, while the collected containers are owned by the responsible organization and can be sold for recycling or reused. The legislation defines specific rules for what counts as a recyclable container and outlines how facilities must handle materials to ensure they are recycled rather than burned or landfilled.