Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that bans the provision of single-use carryout bags in specified stores and enacts additional requirements on carryout bags.

Highlights:

• Sets the following deadlines for different aspects of the bag ban and additional bag requirements that apply to full-line, self-service retail stores with gross annual sales of $2 million or more that sell a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items and stores that have over 10,000 square feet of retail space that generate specified sales or use tax and have a licensed pharmacy (Sec. 1):
• Beginning January 1, 2012, a store may not provide single-use carryout bags to a customer at the point of sale, with some exceptions;
• Beginning January 1, 2012 and until June 30, 2013, a store shall only provide a reusable grocery bag that is either made of cloth or other machine washable fabric and has handles or is a durable plastic bag with handles that is at least 2.25 mills thick and specifically designed for multiple reuses;
• Beginning on July 1, 2013, a store shall only provide a reusable grocery bag that meets the following requirements:
• It is designed and manufactured to withstand at least 100 uses; -It is made from a material that can be cleaned and disinfected;
• It has a printed or attached tag with manufacturing related information; -It does not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts; and 
• If it is claimed to be recyclable, the producer demonstrates compliance with the regulations adopted by the Federal Trade Commission;

• Through the end of 2012, a store shall make reusable bags available for purchase by a customer, and it may do so at no cost, but thereafter it can only do so at no cost during a time-limited store promotional program;

• Beginning January 1, 2012, a store shall charge a consumer if the consumer requests an available recycled paper bag, and the cost shall be the actual average cost of the recycled paper bag rounded to the nearest penny; and

• Beginning on July 1, 2014, a reusable grocery bag made from plastic shall be made from a minimum of 20 percent postconsumer recycled material, unless a bag producer demonstrates an inability to find a sufficient amount of such material.

• Specifies that beginning on July 1, 2013, the ban and additional bag requirements shall apply in the same manner as outlined above to convenience food stores, foodmarts, or other entities engaged in the retail sale of a limited line of goods that generally includes milk, bread, soda, and snack foods with a Type 20 or 21 license issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (Sec. 1).

• Provides an exception for customers participating in the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children or the Supplemental Food Program, so that they may be provided with a reusable bag or a recycled paper bag at no cost on and after July 1, 2013 (Sec. 1).

• Allows a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to impose civil liability in an amount of $500 for a first violation of this bill, $1,000 for a second violation, and $2,000 for a third or subsequent violation (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that bans single-use bags at grocery stores.

Highlights:

• Requires that the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery establish a definition for 'reusable bag' and that it adopt the bill's standards for recyclable paper bags, including that they be at least 40 percent post-consumer material (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits any grocery store, convenience food store or foodmart from providing single-use bags at the point of purchase, beginning January 1, 2012 (Sec. 3).

• Requires that, beginning on July 1, 2013, the only type of bag a store, convenience food store or foodmart may provide be either a paper bag of at least 40 percent recycled material sold for at least $0.05 or a reusable bag, which can be either given for free or sold (Sec. 3).

• Defines 'single-use bag' as any bag made of plastic, paper or other material that is not washable; specifies that 'single-use bag' does not include bags from the pharmacy for prescription medication or non-handled bags used to protect single items from damaging other items (Sec. 3).

• Authorizes stores in the city or county of San Francisco to sell compostable plastic bags for at least $0.05, provided they meet the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics (Sec. 3).

• Requires reusable bag manufacturers to obtain a certification every two years from the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery according to the following specifications (Sec. 3):
• The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery will establish the certification fees;
• the initial certification fee will not cost more than $10,000;
• each biennial re-certification will cost $2,000; and -the department will be able to adjust the re-certification fee, but it is not to exceed $3,000.

• Requires the Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling to determine a penalty fee for failing to comply with the requirements of the bill and specifies that the fee will be no more than $500 per violation, that the fee may increase for subsequent violations but not by more than $500 each time, and that the fee for any subsequent violation will be no more than $5,000 (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that money from certification and penalty fees will be deposited into the Reusable Bag Account to fund the implementation of the ban on single-use bags (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that the bill preempts any municipal or county law regarding single-use, reusable, or recycled paper bags (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text