Voters Confirm SB270, Two Years After California Law Initially Passed
In 2014, California passed Senate Bill 270 to become the first state to ban disposable plastic shopping bags.
The legislation was designed to inspire the use of reusable bags, reduce plastic pollution, and improve ocean health. The bill was supposed to be enacted in 2015, but never went into effect.
Why? Out-of-state plastic bag manufacturers from Texas, New Jersey, and South Carolina spent more than $3 million to collect the signatures required to freeze the bill.
The referendum, Prop 67, was listed last on California’s historically long ballot.
The good news for environmentalists and ocean advocates was more than 50% of California voters cast a ‘yes’ vote to uphold Prop 67 on November 8, officially banning plastic bags across the entire state.
“Our special thanks go out to all who saved our statewide plastic bag ban,” said Save Our Shores executive director Katherine O’Dea. “It’s heartening to see that coastal conservation heroes like you, the citizens of Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, made the right choice for our National Marine Sanctuary and the wildlife who make this beautiful place their home.”
What does this mean for the Monterey Bay? Local Monterey Bay jurisdictions began banning disposable plastic shopping bags in 2011, starting with the County of Santa Cruz and the City of Monterey. By 2014, nearly the entire bay had some form of bag ban in place except for Scotts Valley, Sand City and Del Rey Oaks. They will now join the rest of the Monterey Bay community.
Note: unless they do not meet the statewide standards of SB270, local plastic bag bans are not affected by the Statewide Bag Ban.