Lawmakers in California have been arguing about the prospect of banning plastic bags for the last decade. This isn’t just a prime example of “your government at work,” but is also a key consumer issue. Now there’s a new bill before that state’s Assembly that aims to banish the plastic bag scourge from stores. 

What happens when you go shopping and forget your reusable bag, as people inevitably do? You’ll have a few choices, but both will cost you. You can buy a reusable cloth bag, or buy a very recyclable paper bag. Either way, you’re going to be paying, which is an upgrade from stores’ current system of handing out disposable plastic bags for free and giving customers a discount for bringing in their own bags. The minimum charge for a reusable bag would be ten cents under the proposal.

The bill’s supporters tell the Los Angeles Times that they’re confident that the new compromise bill will get enough votes to pass the state senate, unlike a similar measure that passed the Assembly but failed to make it through the Senate in 2010.

Compromise bill would ban plastic bags throughout California

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