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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 28, 2019 10:30 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Brian Sims and Rep. Jared G. Solomon |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Legislation Regarding the Use of Plastic Bags |
| Plastic bags are non-biodegradable, taking up to 1,000 years to decompose. That is a full millennium spent in landfills, blowing around our streets, or in our oceans killing marine life ingesting the bags or getting caught in them. To protect our environment for generations to come, it is time we find a way to move on from using plastic bags. In order to dissuade the use of plastic bags, we will be introducing legislation that would provide for a modest fee of two cents on each non-reusable plastic bag used by purchasers of consumer goods at retail establishments grossing over $1 million annually. Fifty percent of the fees collected would be returned to retail establishments to help improve internal recycling practices and the other fifty percent would be used by the Commonwealth for state recycling programs. Protecting the environment should be of the utmost importance to everyone. We ask for your support in this legislation and in the effort to take another step forward. |