Bill Text: NJ S2595 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires persons who transport, store, or sell secondhand mattresses to encase mattresses with protective materials.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-12-30 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee [S2595 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S2595-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires persons who transport, store, or sell secondhand mattresses to encase mattresses with protective materials.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning secondhand mattresses and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Bed bugs are small insects with flat bodies, antennae and small eyes; adult bed bugs are oval, wingless and rusty-red in color and are visible to the naked eye, and often hide in cracks and crevices; in homes, bed bugs are commonly found in areas where people sleep, concentrating in mattresses, box springs, and bed frames; bed bugs feed primarily on the blood of humans, usually at night when people are sleeping;
b. According to a joint statement issued by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, bed bugs have been common throughout United States history; although bed bug populations dropped dramatically during the mid-20th century, the United States is one of many countries now experiencing an alarming resurgence in the population of bed bugs, and public health agencies across the country have been overwhelmed by complaints about bed bugs;
c. According to the Department of Health and Senior Services, in most cases, bed bugs are transported from infested areas to non-infested areas when they cling onto a person's clothing, or crawl into luggage, furniture, or bedding that is then brought into the home; if a mattress is contaminated with bed bugs, it is easy for bed bugs to spread to non-contaminated items that are within close proximity;
d. Although bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, they are considered to be an extreme nuisance to the general public and can cause a variety of negative physical and mental health concerns and economic consequences; and
e. To help curtail widespread infestation of bed bugs it is necessary to take measures to prevent cross-contamination of bed bugs from secondhand mattresses to other furniture or bedding.
2. a. As used in this act, "mattress" means any quilted pad, mattress, mattress pad, bunk quilt, or cushion stuffed or filled with wool, hair or other soft material, except feathers, to be used on a couch or other bed for sleeping or reclining purposes.
b. No secondhand mattress shall be transported, stored, or sold in this State unless the secondhand mattress has been encased in plastic, polyethylene film, or similar material designed to prevent the transfer of insects or other contaminants, by the person responsible for transporting the secondhand mattress.
c. A person who violates the provisions of this act shall be subject to a fine of not less than $50 or more than $1,000 for each violation. A penalty for a violation of this act shall be sued for and recovered in a summary proceeding before the municipal court that has jurisdiction, by and in the name of the Department of Health and Senior Services or by the local health agency for the municipality in which the violation occurred, pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
When the plaintiff is the Department of Health and Senior Services, the penalty recovered shall be paid by the department to the State Treasurer. When the plaintiff is a local health agency, the penalty recovered shall be paid by the local health agency into the treasury of the municipality in which the violation occurred.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires persons who transport, store, or sell secondhand mattresses to encase those mattresses with protective materials in order to prevent cross-contamination of bed bugs from secondhand mattresses to other furniture or bedding.
Bed bugs are commonly found in areas where people sleep, concentrating in mattresses, box springs, and bed frames, and feed primarily on the blood of humans, usually at night when people are sleeping. Once virtually eliminated in this country, the United States is now one of many countries experiencing an alarming resurgence in the population of bed bugs.
According to the Department of Health and Senior Services, in most cases, bed bugs are transported from infested areas to non-infested areas when they cling onto a person's clothing, or crawl into luggage, furniture, or bedding that is then brought into the home; if a mattress is contaminated with bed bugs, it is easy for bed bugs to spread to non-contaminated items that are within close proximity.
Under the bill, a person who violates the provisions of this bill shall be subject to a fine of not less than $50 or more than $1,000 for each violation. A penalty for a violation of this bill shall be sued for and recovered in a summary proceeding by Department of Health and Senior Services or by the local health agency of the municipality in which the violation occurred.
