June 24, 2010
"Cities are moving toward creating their own ordinances," said Brownley, who has tried before to ban plastic bags. "Particularly, for the grocers, they saw this happening and they decided this was an issue they wanted to be out in front of. It was quite clear to me that a bill like this wasn't going to move forward until we had a broad-based coalition."
So far, at least, the governor, environmentalists, grocers, recyclers, food workers and cities, among others, generally are on board Brownley's AB 1998.
The rival interests are rarely on the same side of legislation and all have concerns about Brownley's latest bill. But so far they are holding together. Her measure has enjoyed support in the Assembly but faces some change in the Senate, although the betting now in the Capitol is that in the end it will emerge from the Legislature in some form and get sent to the governor's desk.
Negotiations over a plastic bag ban actually predate AB 1998, triggered by the governor's public statements months ago that he would support a ban. Grocers, sensing that momentum was building for dozens of local bans that could be written in such a way that they would pass legal muster, also were supportive. Retailers, too, because the writing was on the wall that local governments might prevail in the courts. Environmentalists also liked the measure. "It (the bill) is a very creative solution," Murray noted.
Brownley's bill would ban plastic bags from grocery stores, so-called "superstores" and minimarts. Stores could continue to provide paper bags, but these bags would have to be made from 40 percent recycled "post consumer" material – material that has been used at least once in the marketplace. Shoppers who opt to use the paper bags would be charged a minimum, 5-cent fee per bag. Stores would be prevented from handing out free paper bags. If it is approved, the law would take effect in January 2012.
Forestry interests don't like the bill because the 40-percent "post consumer" provision limits their ability to use wood scraps in their mills to make the bags and Grande believes the bill will cost thousands of jobs and aggravate greenhouse gas pollution. Supporters of AB 1998 note that the 40-percent threshold already is the law and that at least one major bag manufacturer, Duro, backs the bill.
The plastics industry, led by the American Chemistry Council, which represents 140 companies, also is opposed to AB 1998. The Council maintains an active lobbying presence in Sacramento – it averages about $80,000 per quarter in payments, according to financial disclosure records. Last year, it backed a plastic bag recycling bill, AB 1141 by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Montebello, that was stalled. The Council was the sole major supporter of the bill, which would have limited locals' rights to pursue bag bans and favored recycling over elimination.
"The last thing Californians need is something that acts just like a $1 billion tax added to their grocery bills. But that's what this legislation does," Tim Shestek, the Council's Sacramento-based advocate, said in a prepared statement. "It was only a short four years ago that the legislature voted for a statewide plastic bag recycling infrastructure," Shestek said. "AB 1998 would cripple these programs and actually result in more waste going to landfills."
There are other issues as well. The League of California Cities traditionally does not support bills that contain local pre-emptions, although it has looked favorably on AB 1998. A provision of AB 1998 would repeal earlier legislation requiring stores to take back plastic bags for recycling, which has raised the League's concerns. "This is an important provision of law because it provided collection of both single-use bags banned under AB 1998, but also any other bags consumers brought back," according to a League analysis. The League also wonders whether the bill would bar cities from pursuing their own, tougher bans if they wish to. The League's board is scheduled to meet next month to consider the issues.
For environmentalists, the issue is clear cut. Plastic bags pollute the landscape and should be eliminated, and Brownley says AB 1998 is a first step. "I don't see the necessity of it when there are other options," she said.
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