California Senate to vote today on historic plastic bag ban
California’s Senate is expected today to vote on a bill that , if passed, could make the state the first in the nation to ban plastic shopping bags.
The bill would bar grocery stores, large pharmacies and retailers such as Target and Walmart that sell food from offering plastic bags beginning in Jan. 2012. The ban would extend to convenience stores, drugstores and mom-and-pop shops in July 2013. Consumers would have to carry their goods in reusable bags or buy recycled paper ones at store cost.
GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hailed an earlier version of the bill when it passed the state Assembly in June as a “great victory for our environment.” He’s not committed, however, to signing the bill in its current form. The state Senate adjourns this year’s session today.
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