By Jonathan Friedman
Lookout Staff

August 30, 2010 -- The clock is ticking to pass a bill that would make California the first state in the country to ban single-use plastic bags. AB 1998, which was authored by Santa Monica Assemblymember Julia Brownley, has until Tuesday to get full Legislature approval. The plastics industry is putting on a fierce campaign to prevent that from happening.

The Assembly approved the bill in June. It will go before the Senate tomorrow morning. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will sign the bill if he receives it.

Brownley was at a Vons in Downtown Los Angeles on Sunday morning to promote AB 1998. She was joined by supporters Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Heal the Bay President Mark Gold and others at the press conference.

“This is the most logical approach to getting plastic bags off the street and out of our waterways,” Villaraigosa said. “A city-by-city approach does not work.”

Although he said a statewide ban would be the best option, Villaraigosa said he would push for a ban in the City of Los Angeles if AB 1998 fails. Yaroslavsky said he would do the same for the County. Santa Monica officials said earlier this week that they would pursue a ban as well if the State bill does not pass.

AB 1998 calls for a ban on all single-use plastic bags in grocery stores and pharmacies beginning in 2012 as well as liquor stores and convenience stores beginning in 2013.

Stores can offer recycled paper bags, although the legislation encourages the use of reusable bags. Retailers can only charge customers an amount to cover the cost of the pager bag. A previous version of the bill allowed for a 5-cent fee.

Other features were added on Friday to AB 1998 to respond to criticisms. Stores are required to provide free reusable or recycled paper bags to customers who cannot afford them. Two million dollars was designated for a program allowing California companies to obtain loans and grants to upgrade their systems to make strong, reusable plastic bags. And plastic bag recycling opportunities would remain at stores.

Brownley called this a “David and Goliath fight.” She said the plastics industry is working hard to defeat the bill because it knows this is a battle ground.

“They know if California goes, so will our neighboring coastal states … and then the country.”

Headed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the plastics industry’s campaign against AB 1998 has included lobbying of legislators and commercials on Sacramento television. A statement on the ACC's web site says improving recycling programs is a better solution.

“This bill is bad for the economy and bad for the environment,” the ACC web site states. “It will eliminate several hundred California manufacturing jobs and dismantle existing plastic bag recycling programs.”

Brownley and others boasted about the wide range of support for the AB 1998. Gold, whose powerful environmental group is a bill sponsor, said this is not the typical battle of the environmentalist groups versus the polluters.

“There is no logical reason to vote against this bill when we have this broad coalition of support,” Gold said.

Yaroslavsky issued a warning for the plastics industry.

“The plastic bags industry needs to know that if they defeat this bill with their millions of dollars, that does not make this issue go away,” he said. “It will come back to them in many ways, and they are better off supporting this now.”

"They know if California goes, so will our neighboring coastal states . and then the country."
    Assemblymember
   Julia Brownley

“This is the most logical approach to getting plastic bags off the street and out of our waterways. A city-by-city approach does not work.”
    Los Angeles Mayor
    Antonio Villaraigosa