Plastic bag manufacturers and other opponents of California’s single-use plastic bag ban have submitted what they say are enough signatures for a referendum on the ban, essentially putting the law on hold.
In October 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown signed the statewide law — the first in the US — that institutes a plastic bag ban beginning in 2015 for grocery store carry-out bags and creates a mandatory minimum 10-cent fee for recycled paper, reusable plastic and compostable bags.
The American Plastic Bag Alliance, an industry group opposed to the ban, immediately began collecting signatures to overturn the law. The signature deadline was Jan. 1.
Referendum backers said they had more than 800,000 signatures — surpassing the 504,760 needed to qualify for a vote, the Sacramento Bee reports.
“We are pleased to have reached this important milestone in the effort to repeal a terrible piece of job-killing legislation and look forward to giving California voters a chance to make their voice heard at the ballot box in 2016,” said American Progressive Bag Alliance executive director Lee Califf.
The California Grocers Association, which supported the plastic bag ban, told the Sacramento Bee that its members had not made a decision about whether to get involved.
Photo Credit: plastic bags via Shutterstock
