Revises law prohibiting feeding of bears; establishes program in DEP for distribution of bear-proof garbage cans.

This bill creates a "Bear Smart Fund" within New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to finance the distribution of bear-proof garbage cans. The fund will be supported by civil penalties from existing bear-feeding violations, state/federal appropriations, and investment earnings. The DEP will prioritize distributing these cans in counties with high bear populations - Sussex, Warren, Morris, and Passaic - to reduce human-bear conflicts, potentially charging residents a small fee or partnering with local governments for cost efficiency. The bill also updates the state's bear-feeding law to clarify prohibited actions (like leaving food accessible to bears) and directs penalty collections into the new fund.