Chapter 140 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 6B the following section:–

Section 6C. (a) As used in this section the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Food establishment”, an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption, including but not limited to any establishment requiring a permit to operate in accordance with the State Food Code.

“Single-use plastic straw”, a single-use, disposable tube made predominantly of plastic derived from either petroleum or a biologically based polymer, such as corn or other plant sources, used to transfer a beverage from a container to the mouth of the person drinking the beverage. “Single-use plastic straw” shall not include a straw made from non-plastic materials, including, but not limited to, paper, pasta, sugar cane, wood, or bamboo.

(b) A food establishment shall not provide a single-use plastic straw to a customer unless requested by the customer.

(c) The relevant licensing authority applicable to the food establishment may enforce the provisions of this section for a first violation of this section by providing a written warning and for a second or subsequent violation a fine of $25 for each day food establishment is in violation, but not to exceed $300 annually.