Renters who return a car low on gas would pay only for the gallons the company puts back in. The price could run no higher than 125 percent of a weekly federal average. An Assembly committee has the bill on Monday's agenda for discussion.
A renter who returns a car to a New Jersey rental company with less fuel than at pickup would pay only for the gas it takes to bring the tank back to its starting level, under an Assembly bill.
The bill would also cap the price of that gas at 125 percent of the week's average pump price in the company's region, a figure published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the federal government's energy statistics agency. Companies could not add an administrative, service or processing fee for the refill.
Before a rental starts, the company would have to tell the renter how it figures refueling costs and what rate it charges.
The rules would reach any business that rents vehicles to the public, including rentals by the hour, the day or the trip.
The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee has the bill, A5355, on its agenda for 10 a.m. Monday in the State House Annex in Trenton. The Legislature's calendar lists it under the heading "For Discussion Only."
Assemblyman Kenyatta Stewart (D, 35th District) introduced the bill Sept. 10 with Assemblymen William B. Sampson IV (D, 31st) and Al Abdelaziz (D, 35th). Sampson, the Assembly's deputy speaker, chairs the committee.
"This legislation creates a fair and consistent standard across the industry," Stewart said in a statement announcing the bill.
Rental company websites lay out the fuel choices renters have now
Enterprise Rent-A-Car lets renters refill the tank to the level it held at pickup, according to its fuel page. Renters who skip that step pay the company's own rate for the area, which the page describes as "typically above the local pump price."
The page also notes that pickup does not guarantee a full tank. Under the bill, the starting level, not a full tank, is the measure. At airports, Enterprise sells prepaid fuel by the full tank only, at a per-gallon discount off the local gas rate. The company does not refund the cost of any unused fuel bought in this way.
Avis says its refueling fees vary from one location to another. The company bases them on the going price of gas near the rental office and on the size of the car's tank, according to its website.
Budget offers another choice: a full tank paid for at the start of the rental. The company's page calls that rate "comparable to the current local retail pump price." Budget gives nothing back for gas still in the tank at return, so its page advises renters who prepay to come back close to empty. Renters who drive 75 miles or more and return the car less than full will pay at a rate printed on their rental agreement.
Renters at all three companies can refuel the car themselves before returning it. At Enterprise, this means the level at pickup. Avis and Budget ask for the gas tank brought back full, along with the gas station receipt.
A weekly federal survey would set the ceiling
The Energy Information Administration builds the weekly average that the bill relies on from a sample of 1,000 stations nationwide. Every Monday, the federal agency gathers each station's price as of 8 a.m. local time, according to its published methods.
The figures, taxes included, come out most Tuesday mornings for the nation, several regions and some states and cities. The agency publishes none for New Jersey alone; the state falls in the Central Atlantic region, with New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.
Regular gasoline in the Central Atlantic region averaged $4.146 a gallon on Nov. 9, down from $4.232 a week earlier, according to the agency's latest weekly figures. By the agency's count, that average stood $1.051 a gallon above the same period a year earlier. Under the bill, the ceiling on a refill charge would move with the agency's figure each week.
New York's Senate has twice passed the same 125 percent ceiling, tied to the same federal yardstick. Like the New Jersey measure, the New York bill would limit a refill charge to the gas needed to restore the tank's starting level. New York's attorney general would enforce it, and a court could impose a civil penalty of up to $25,000.
A version has come before New York's Senate in every two-year session since 2019. The current bill passed New York's Senate 58-1 in March 2025 and 58-2 in May 2026. It has not passed New York's Assembly and is not law there.
Hawaii already caps the charge by law. A statute on the books there since 1988 bans refueling charges that do not follow its rules. Those rules hold the price per gallon to the local average at self-serve pumps, plus a surcharge of no more than half that local price.
A Hawaii renter who returns more fuel than the car held at pickup gets credit for the extra gallons. Companies there may also let renters pay up front for a full tank of gas, at no more than the local self-serve average per gallon. A renter who prepays gets that money back if the car comes back with a full tank. A prepaying renter who drives 100 miles or less but doesn't fill up also gets it back, then pays for the gas used, like any other renter.
Receipts, records and fines would back up the cap
Under the New Jersey bill, a renter could ask for a receipt showing the gallons the company bought to bring the tank back to its level at pickup, the price per gallon and the total.
Companies would also have to hold electronic files on every rental for a year. Those files would show the fuel level when the car left and when it returned, the gallons that the company bought and the price per gallon that it paid. The state Division of Consumer Affairs, in the Department of Law and Public Safety, would write guidelines for the law.
A violation would fall under the state's consumer fraud law, with fines of up to $10,000 for a first offense and $20,000 after that, according to the sponsors' statement on the bill. The state attorney general could also order a company in violation to stop. Anyone harmed could recover three times their damages plus costs, and punitive damages could also apply.
The Assembly must pass A5355, and the Senate must pass that chamber's equivalent, before it reaches the governor. Bills that have not passed by the end of the Legislature's two-year term, now in its first year, expire.
An identical Senate bill, S4671, introduced Oct. 1 by Sen. Benjie E. Wimberly (D, 35th), is before the Senate Commerce Committee. Either version would take effect as soon as it became law.
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Sources
Avis Rent a Car, "Rental Car Fuel Plans & Fuel Service Options" (accessed Nov. 11, 2026); "Reservations FAQ," Refueling Options (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
Budget Car Rental, "Rental Car Fuel Plans" (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, "Do I Need To Refuel Before Returning My Rental Car?" (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
Hawaii State Legislature, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section 437D-14, "Fuel charges" (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
New Jersey Assembly Democrats, press release, "Stewart, Sampson, Abdelaziz Introduce Bill to Protect Consumers from Excessive Rental Car Refueling Charges" (July 30, 2026)
New Jersey Legislature, Bill No. A5355, "Caps amount motor vehicle rental company may charge renter to refuel motor vehicle," sponsored by Assemblyman Kenyatta Stewart, Assemblyman William B. Sampson IV and Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz, 222nd Legislature (Sept. 10, 2026)
New Jersey Legislature, Bill No. S4671, "Caps amount motor vehicle rental company may charge renter to refuel motor vehicle," sponsored by Senator Benjie E. Wimberly, 222nd Legislature (Oct. 1, 2026)
New Jersey Legislature, Bill Nos. A5355 and S4671, bill history, sponsors and legislator records, 222nd Legislature (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
New Jersey Legislature, "Frequently Asked Questions" (accessed Nov. 12, 2026); "Our Legislature" (accessed Nov. 12, 2026)
New Jersey Legislature, Office of Legislative Services, "New Jersey Legislative Calendar," Vol. L No. 63, 222nd Legislature (Nov. 10, 2026)
New York State Senate, Bill No. S5599, "An act to amend the general business law, in relation to a cap on the amount which rental vehicle companies may charge for refueling of a rental vehicle," introduced by Sen. Rachel May, 2025-2026 session (Feb. 25, 2025); bill page, actions and floor votes (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update" (Nov. 10, 2026)
U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Methodology for EIA Weekly Retail Gasoline Price Estimates" (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
U.S. Energy Information Administration, "States and cities by PADD for retail motor gasoline" (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
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