BILL NUMBER: S7507A
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
banning paper receipts for certain purchases and requiring businesses to
provide proof of purchases electronically
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would help conserve resources and reduce the generation of
single-use paper receipts.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill would add a new section 27-1601 to the environ-
mental conservation law (ECL) requiring after January 1, 2028, for a
paper receipt to be provided to a consumer by a business only at the
consumer's option. Violations of this section shall be punishable by $20
per violation following a warning, not to exceed $300 annually.
Section 2 states the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Many shoppers find paper receipts unnecessary and discard them before
they even leave the store. Businesses have started to take steps to
address unnecessary paper receipts by looking at different applications
that allow for the electronic transmission of receipts. This new tech-
nology has allowed consumers to receive their receipt through either a
text message or an e-mail. The applications are more convenient and
better for the environment.
In the United States, paper receipt production uses an estimated 12.4
million trees, 13.2 billion gallons of water, and emits 4 billion pounds
of CO2 each year. Point-of-sale receipts are also so thin that they
rarely contain any recycled materials. Requiring consumers to request a
paper receipt is intended to reduce the number of paper receipts gener-
ated, which will conserve the resources needed to make the receipts and
reduce unnecessary paper waste. While recycling is vital to the environ-
ment, it is even more important for New York to make progress towards
reducing single-use materials.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S7940 - Died in Environmental Conservation.
2021-2022: S771 - Died in Environmental Conservation.
2019-2020: S6090 - Died in Environmental Conservation.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.