Legislation Prohibits Plastic Bag Bans In Michigan

Efforts to rid Michigan communities of plastic shopping bags would be banned under legislation headed to Governor Rick Snyder. The Republican-controlled House approved the bill on a mostly party-line 62-46 vote Thursday. The measure won Senate passage in May. The bill would prohibit local governments from regulating, prohibiting or imposing a fee on the use or sale of “auxiliary containers’,’ which are
defined as reusable or single-use bags, cups, bottles or other packaging from stores and restaurants. More than 150 municipalities across the country have banned the environmentally unfriendly plastic bags or charged a fee. None are in Michigan, though at least two counties — Washtenaw and Muskegon — have considered whether to limit the bags. Democrats said the state should not strip local communities of decision-making.