Councilman Davette Blalock proposes banning plastic bags.

Councilmen Davette Blalock and Mike Freeman want to ban plastic bags. I am very disappointed in

Davette Blalock
Proposes banning plastic bags

 Republican Davette Blalock for sponsoring this legislation. I have supported her candidacy for Metro Council and state representative when she ran for office. This is a bad bill and needs to be defeated.

Bill BL2018-1173  will be on first reading on May 1. The bill provides that, "Beginning January 1, 2019, no retail establishment may provide single-use plastic carryout bags to its customers or to any person." The bill provides a $10 fine for the first time a store gives a customer a plastic bag, $25 fine the second time and a $50 fine for the third time and thereafter.

First reading is a formality and only rarely is a bill discussed or voted against on first reading.  A bill is not assigned to a committee until after first reading. Normally, if I were serving in the Council I  would honor the council tradition of voting for all bills on first reading, but this is one I would vote against on first reading.

If this should pass, maybe the state legislature needs to take away from local governments the power to ban plastic bags. I don't want a nanny-state that bans plastic bags, plastic straws, cigarettes, or sugary soft drinks or does a whole lot of other things to micromanage and inconvenient my life.  I like the convenience of plastic bags and don't want to be forced to carry my own totes or use paper bags.

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