California Senate rejects plastic bag ban
- May 30, 2013
- By Jeremy Carroll
A potential statewide ban on single-use plastic bags in California has failed -- for now.
Senate Bill 405 failed to top the 21-vote threshold needed for passage, with senators voting in favor of the measure 18-17. Four senators did not cast votes. The bill will be allowed to be reconsidered, meaning it could be back before a Senate committee or the Senate floor.
Senate Bill 405 would have outlawed grocery stores and large retailers from giving customers single-use plastic bags at checkout starting Jan. 1, 2015. The ban would have been expanded to smaller stores on Jan. 1, 2016.
"Saying plastic bags are single-use is a huge misnomer," said Sen. Ricardo Lara. "If you think plastic bags are single-use, you haven't met my mother."
Those against the measure talked extensively about the potential loss of jobs associated with the manufacturing of plastic bags in the state and how commonly plastic bags are reused.
Sen. Alex Padilla, who sponsored the bill, said plastic bag manufacturers in the state either already produce reusable plastic bags or are in the process of switching systems over so they can manufacture them as well.
"These companies are transitioning and workers can be trained," he said.
But the potential job losses shouldn't derail the measure, Padilla argued.
"It's like arguing that we shouldn't fight the obesity problem because of what it might do to companies like Coke and Pepsi," Padilla said. "It's like arguing we shouldn't fight climate change because what it might do to the oil companies."
Approximately 70 governments in the state have already enacted some sort of plastic bag ban, and some argued that having a statewide initiative would ultimately made it easier for retailers and consumers by having a uniform law.
Sen. Ted Gaines said the current system works, with local communities determining what is best for them.
"We should work on education and enforcement [on the importance of not littering]," he said.
The Senate has been the roadblock in the past, as California's Assembly passed a similar measure last year. The full Senate never voted on the plastic bag ban last year.
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