State Senate Rejects Bill to Ban Plastic Bags

State senators on Tuesday rejected a bill that sought to do away with single-use plastic shopping bags statewide.

Local supporters of AB 1998, introduced by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica), said the fight is not over and blamed their loss on a "cynical ad blitz" (see accompanying video) by representatives for the plastics industry.

"The deep-pocketed American Chemistry Council spent millions on a misleading, last-minute lobbying and advertising campaign designed to blunt growing popular sentiment for curbs on plastic trash," according to a press release from Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based nonprofit that sponsored the bill.

Underscoring what it called the measure's "common-sense" appeal, the group pointed out that the state Assembly had already approved the bill and that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had indicated his support for the measure.

"We lost the battle, but we will win the war by going the local route," Matthew King, the group's communications director, told Patch on Wednesday. "We will be working very closely with Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach as they begin to enact and implement their own bans on plastic bags."

In July 2008, the city of Manhattan Beach adopted an ordinance banning the distribution of plastic bags at the point-of-sale for all retail stores.

But for the past two years, the city has been fighting a lawsuit by the Save the Plastic Bags Coalition over the ordinance. The state Supreme Court agreed to review the case this year and a decision is expected early next year.

Meanwhile, L.A. County released a draft environmental impact report in June that may give Manhattan Beach a legally sound argument for a plastic bag ban of its own. The study, which is expected to be finalized by October, examines the environmental effect of plastic and paper bags.

Democratic lawmakers had characterized the state bill as California's chance to take the national lead on what is becoming a global environmental trend.

Countries such as South Africa, Ireland, China and Bangladesh were among the first to discourage plastic bag use through fees or bans, according to an Associated Press report. In January, Washington, D.C., imposed a 5-cent surcharge on disposable paper and plastic bags provided at retail stores and supermarkets.

Tuesday's failed bill would have provided the first statewide ban, although a few California cities, including San Francisco, Palo Alto and Malibu, already prohibit use of the bags.

"Because of the state's failure to enact a uniform policy, the city and county of Los Angeles will now begin pursuing bans in their jurisdictions," said Heal the Bay President Mark Gold in the group's release. He added that at least 20 more cities within L.A. County are considering banning plastic bags in the near future.