California Senate Rejects Plastic Bag Ban

By Kelly Hartog

A state Senate bill designed to ban the use of plastic bags in stores across California failed to pass a Senate vote on Thursday. It did not receive the 21 votes needed to pass. The measure failed by a vote of 18-17 with four abstentions. 

Had it passed, Senate Bill 405 would have required that grocery stores and other large retail organizations stop providing shoppers with plastic bags starting on Jan. 1, 2015.

There are currently 72 local governments in California that have a plastic bag ban, including Malibu, Los Angeles County, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena and West Hollywood. And at its May 14 meeting, the Culver City City Council unanimously agreed to introduce an ordinance banning single use carryout plastic bags. The ordinance will also require local retailers to charge customers 10 cents to use a paper bag.

Mark Daniels, chairman of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, issued a statement supporting the Senate vote saying, "Today’s vote signals the facts have prevailed in this debate. A ban on 100 percent recyclable plastic bags would hurt the environment and threaten jobs. The American Progressive Bag Alliance works hard to protect American jobs in the plastic bag manufacturing and recycling industry—including 2,000 in California—and our organization has repeatedly called for an honest debate on this issue. 
 
"We thank the members of the California Senate who rejected this misguided policy prescription based on unfounded stats, junk science and myths, and we hope lawmakers will continue to make responsible decisions on behalf of California’s environment and economy."

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