California plastic bag ban referendum date nears

LOS ANGELES (Scrap Monster): The statewide referendum on Senate Bill 270 propositions will be held on Nov 8. The measures related with grocery plastic bag consumption- Prop 65 and Prop 67 will appear on ballot. The bill proposed by Sen. Alex Padilla was approved by the California Legislature and signed into law by the Governor in 2014.

The Senate Bill 270 bill proposed by Sen. Alex Padilla bans the use of single-use plastic shopping bags at check-out counters at grocery stores, pharmacies, convenience stores and liquor shops. The paper, reusable and compostable bags will be charged 10 cents fee. However, the ban does not apply to non-food retail units such as clothing and electronics and for produce and meat taken out from grocery stores.

The bill had received huge support from a large number of organizations including Environment California, Californians Against Waste, the California Retailers Association, and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). On the other hand, the bill was strongly opposed by the plastic and paper bag industry. The American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA) is reported to have garnered more than enough signatures to force a statewide referendum.

Prop 67 would ban stores from providing disposable plastic bags in which to carry purchases. It permits the sale of recycled paper or reusable bags for a minimum price of 10 cents. Approval of the measure would uphold the ban on plastic grocery bags and allocate revenue from state-mandated charges on bags to grocers for covering costs and education. Prop 67 calls for allocation of revenue generated from the sale of disposable carryout bags, specifically paper bags, to the Wildlife Conservation Fund. If both the props are approved, the proposition with higher number of “yes” votes would supersede the allocation provision of the other prop.

According to industry experts, Prop 67 is likely to have relatively small fiscal impact on state and local governments. The rise in administrative costs could be easily offset with the collected fees. On top of that, reduced litter and waste management costs would provide possible minor savings to local governments. On the other hand, prop 65 has the potential for nearly $300 million in state annual revenue. As per the proposition, the revenue thus collected should be used in support of environmental projects like drought relief, beach clean-up and litter removal. The funds will be allocated to the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Fund (EPEF), which will be controlled by the California Wildlife Conservation Board for the benefit of Californians.

The supporters of Prop 67 highlights that single-use plastic bags cause severe litter and environmental problems. Imposing a ban on plastic bags will reduce the litter and save millions of dollars in litter clean-up costs. On the other hand, opponents fear that the ban would bring in $300 million per year hidden tax increase on California consumers.

The proponents of Prop 65 are of the view that $300 million revenue anticipated from recyclable bag sales will be managed by an environmental organization, rather than allowing stores to keep all these money with them. However, opponents argue that the collection will gradually drop over time as people switch to reusable bags.

Incidentally, over 150 cities and counties within the state have already imposed ban on single-use plastic grocery bags.