A 3256 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Requires restaurant to disclose mandatory gratuity to patrons.

This New Jersey bill (A3256) requires restaurants to clearly disclose any mandatory gratuity fee to customers. It mandates that the fee be visible on menus, at the restaurant entrance, on the customer's bill, and on the restaurant's website. Restaurants that fail to disclose the fee face fines of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second, and $5,000 for the third or subsequent offenses, with each day of violation counted separately. The law directly affects restaurants operating in New Jersey and ensures customers are informed about mandatory service charges before paying.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

General Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action May 18, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Reprint · 4 edits

MODERATE

Bill A3256 moved from its introduced version to a First Reprint as reported by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee on February 12, 2026, with amendments. The most substantive change is that the effective date was extended from three months after enactment to seven months after enactment, giving restaurants more time to comply with the mandatory gratuity disclosure requirements. Additional co-sponsors were added and the bill's status was updated to reflect committee action.

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from the first day of the third month following enactment to the first day of the seventh month following enactment, delaying when the law takes effect by four additional months.

TECHNICAL

Additional co-sponsors were added: Assemblymen Scharfenberger and Karabinchak (reordered), and Assemblywomen Brennan, Speight, Morales, and Haider.

The bill status was updated from 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel' to 'As reported by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee on February 12, 2026, with amendments.'

The STATEMENT section summarizing the bill's provisions (disclosure requirements and penalty structure) was removed from the reprint version.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the General Assembly by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 18, 2026

Committee

Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee

upper

May 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by the Assembly (74-0-1)

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee

lower

2 primary · 10 co-sponsors