Posted on 03/20/2013 3:30:24 PM PDT by markomalley
The Montgomery County Council is considering an outright ban on plastic bags.
Council members are scheduled to hear a review of the county's bag tax, which was implemented in January 2012. As part of that review, a council committee will discuss whether to ban plastic bags, ban both plastic and paper bags, increase the tax or leave it alone.
The bag tax brought in about $2.3 million last year for 57.6 million bags, according to the Department of Finance.
The benefit to banning plastic bags, according to council staff, would be to effectively force shoppers to use reusable bags, and it would help clean up the county's streams. Council staff said while a ban has worked in some jurisdictions, the current bag tax seems to be resulting in fewer people using plastic bags. Sign Up for the Daily E-dition newsletter!
Council staff is recommending the bag tax be left alone for now. Senior legislative analysts Keith Levchenko and Jacob Sesker warn it is too soon to tell whether the tax has been effective. Though revenue steadily increased from January to December, there's no conclusive evidence to show whether that means people are using many bags or if more stores are signing up with the county to track data. The number of registered retailers nearly doubled from January to February last year, from 548 to more than 1,000.
Sesker and Levchenko recommended revisiting the issue periodically to figure out whether anecdotal evidence of less bag use and cleaner streams is statistically significant.
Councilwoman Nancy Floreen, D-at large, said she would not support a ban and does not want to increase the tax. Instead, Floreen is looking into reducing the bag tax in some capacity -- allowing for stores that sell clothing and other nonfood-related items to be exempt from it, though no formal legislation has been drafted.
She said an outright ban would not be feasible for Montgomery County, especially since residents already seem unhappy with it.
"We'll see how that goes," she said. "That's the thing we get the biggest number of complaints about."
I thought plastic bags were the answer to same trees.
They should save the leftovers so we can put them over our heads before we get murdered by Obamacare.
Liberalism is about taking away choices.
Big Brother...
2.3 million in “bag taxes” collected in 1 year in 1 county.
God help us all...
Why not just pass a law restricting all purchases to only what a person is able to carry out in their hands/arms?
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The idiocy going on is unbelievable.
It was similar idiocy that caused the ‘paper or plastic’ a few years ago. Okay, most areas went ‘plastic’ and now the idiots are trying to ban plastic bags.
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Where does the idiocy stop?
It won’t, until these idiots are pointed out and embarrassed for being idiots.
That would be Montgomery County, Maryland. MARYLAND, the bastion of insane and unchecked liberalism.
Move to Maryland if you love paying taxes and having your life controlled.
I am for this, if all Democrat pols in Montgomery County must put a brown paper bag over their heads, while in public.
The result? All the handheld baskets at the markets have been stolen. All of them.
“That would be Montgomery County, Maryland. MARYLAND, “
Here in Montco PA, I use a paper bag inside a plastic bag for food shopping, and I always individually wrap all my produce and meats with plastic bags. Then I write notes to marine biologists, put them in the used plastic bags, and throw them in the creek. I figure it ought to be good for a laugh for the marine mammal coroner.
Oh, and look up “recycling is bullshit” on youtube — it’s Penn and Teller, but it is very, very good.
In unincorporated Los Angeles County, the fee is a quarter per bag. And since this is a new cash cow for the politicians, expect this fee to go up, and up, and up--just like a toll on a bridge.
While shopping in a Korean supermarket located in one of these areas, I was handed a plastic bag by a store employee before I checked out. She was doing the same thing for other shoppers. This was probably a way to get around the bag ban and retain customers who would otherwise gone to another supermarket a few blocks away where the ban isn't in effect.
What are all the dog owners going to use when they walk “Fido.”
Anyone who can get out of Maryland should do so ASAP. The handwriting has been on the wall for sometime. I figure those that stay are either lefties, unable to finance the move or are blithering idiots.
How long before that new tax on people who don’t brush their teeth after every meal goes into effect?
Don't be so quick on that one, it "wastes" water. We need to save it "for the children".
How long before that new tax on people who don’t brush their teeth after every meal goes into effect?.
Don’t be so quick on that one, it “wastes” water.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Be careful with this one.
The wording could very easily penalize BOTH—
those that do for wasting water
AND
those that don’t for hygiene.
Sounds like a Pols ‘Perfect Storm’.
Why not just pass a law restricting all purchases to only what a person is able to carry out in their hands/arms?”
Used to be that it took me several trips to carry in my weekly groceries from the car to the house. Now since the prices have gone up so much, I can easily carry them in one trip.
Spent $30.00 last night and could have managed quite well without any bags. So no new laws are required.
I would prefer that they offer a choice - paper, plastic or people can bring their own. That way everybody gets it “their way”. And no tax. But that is just way too much individual freedom for those that insist everyone do it the way they want it done.
I did that about a year ago and couldn’t be happier that I did!
Three years ago for us, we got out of Montgomery county just in time. I actually feel sorry for those that do not yet realize that it’s past time to get out or who cannot finance the move.
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