Hearing On Legislation Proposed To Prohibit Sale Of “Nips”
When: Thursday, January 27, 2022 at the Rise of the House (approximately 4 or 5 p.m.)
Where: The meeting will be televised on Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox Channels 15 and 61, in high definition on Cox Channel 1061, on Full Channel on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 by Verizon subscribers. It will also be live streamed at http://rilegislature.gov/CapTV/Pages/default.aspx
How to participate: Written testimony is strongly encouraged and may be submitted as described below
Rhode Island Representative David A. Bennett, who represents Warwick, has introduced legislation that would prohibit the sale of miniature alcoholic beverage containers (commonly known as “Nips”) in Rhode Island.
The legislation was introduced on January 12 and referred to the House Environment and Natural Resource Committee. The proposed law is identified as 2022 – H 7064.
The introduction of the bill makes clear that the roadside litter created by nips is a state wide problem and that nips also facilitate drinking and driving.
How To Submit Written Testimony
- Written testimony is strongly encouraged and may be submitted by sending email to HouseEnvironmentandNaturalResources@rilegislature.gov
- Indicate your name, bill number, and viewpoint (for/against/neither) at top of message.
- Deadline – written testimony should be submitted no later than three (3) hours prior to the posted meeting time. Every effort will be made to share written testimony submitted before the deadline with committee members prior to the hearing.
- Testimony received after deadline will be posted to the website as soon as possible.
- For faster processing, it is recommended that testimony is submitted as a PDF file.
The full text of the bill is at http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText22/HouseText22/H7064.pdf
Visit Our “Trash Talk” Page For More On The Litter Issue
January 26, 2022 @ 2:44 pm
Empty nips can not be recycled in RI and thus are purely a (hazardous) waste. They are plastic, will not degrade and can not be recycled. I think this rationale for elimination of the sale of nips should also be mentioned.
January 26, 2022 @ 1:31 pm
Living near the Charlestown Package store, (lovely owners and building), I suffer from the rude deposit of NIPS.
Worse being that the NIPS are carelessly tossed, as they are instantly consumed upon pulling out of the store parking area. Talk about drink an drive !!
January 26, 2022 @ 11:16 am
My experience with “nips” on the highway was not a very good experience. I suspect that there are other people who bike on the roadways and who have had similar experiences. I left my home in Charlestown, it was a great fall day and I decided to bike towards the Westerly area. The ride too me into the area of Misquamicut beach along the main drag of the area. I was returning back home and was at the area where the bridge goes over the canal when the front tire of the bike caught a broken “nip” bottle that was partially covered with sand and it took out the sidewall of the front tire. The tire instantly went flat. As I was about to change out the tire and tube along the side side of the roadway and rain squall came in off of the water and it turned a beautiful sunny day into a blowing wind/rain storm within minutes. It was raining so hard the water ran down my back, filled my shoes and wiped my cell phone out; all withing a minute’s time!!!! I managed to get across the street from the bridge where there was an ice cream shop (closed due to the season) that had a canopy over one side where I got out of the rain and attempted to repair the tire. Due to the rain everything was soaked and that turned a tire repair into not being an option!! I was starting to get hypothermic because I was soaked and the temperature had dropped and the wind never laid down. There was no one around because everything was closed due to the season. Fortunately a man with a truck came along, saw that I was trying to fix the tire and offered to take me to Benny’s to get a tire. I told him that I if he was willing to give me a ride to Benny’s, I would gladly give him $20 if he would take me home. He brought me home, however passed on the $20. I know this is a long story, and with Benny’s being in the equation it was some time ago; however, it was that “little nip” that put me in danger. Instead of a tire it could have been a young child or another person’s foot that was damaged. I guess that one could argue that it was carelessness on my part, or carelessness on the person who threw the nip out the window’s fault. Nonetheless the nip was the tool that caused the problem. So in my opinion, “yes” there is a problem with the availability of nips, and perhaps the world could survive without them; however, I am not sure that passing legislation against them is going to solve the issue/s with them. And……..perhaps I may have had too much coffee this morning before I hit the keys and wrote this comment……………… 🙂