Law make wants to expand the plastic bag ban

[Clipper]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A state lawmaker wants to expand New York's plastic bag ban to include the sacks used for restaurant take-out and leftovers.
Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, D-Albany, announced legislation Thursday that would eliminate an exemption for restaurants in the new law banning single-use shopping bags beginning next March.

She says restaurants provide too many plastic bags to be left out of the law.
Lawmakers passed the bag ban earlier this week as part of a new state budget. Under the new law, local counties can also impose a 5-cent fee on paper bags. The county could keep a portion of the proceeds, with the rest going to state environmental programs.
Fahy announced a second bill Thursday that would allow businesses to keep a portion of the fee on paper bags in counties that approve a fee.

Many states are contemplating a plastic bag ban but leave it to Cuomo and NY state to make sure that it is not only and inconvenience, but also another tax or fee to pay to Herr Cuomo and his cohorts in Albany. If I am reading this article correctly, a merchant will pay a supplier for the paper bags, just as they do now with both plastic and paper bags. Am I correct to assume that allowing the counties to impose a county tax on the bags will result in the only a portion of the monies collected going to the county? How very generous it would be for them to actually allow the business that paid for the bag to begin with to recover some of that cost through a share of the revenues collected by the county and shared with the state.

Only in Cuomo's NY will just one more fee be extracted from your pockets. Along with the fees that are going to be collected from people that enter or drive in lower Manhattan, through another raise in the tolls on the bridges and tunnels, they have found yet another way to drive people away from not only NYC, but also drive more and more people to opt out of living in, doing business in, or retiring in New York state. I wonder who will be the one that turns the lights out when the last taxpaying citizen has left NY for greener pastures and a state with reasonable tax rates and a state government that has less corruption and a governor that doesn't lean toward such a socialist like and liberal agenda.

They are taking an environmental concern and a remedy for said concern, and making it all about the money that can go to pay for Cuomo's raise, free tuition, and social program benefits for illegal aliens, and other non-taxpaying residents. God forbid that Albany should pass a law that DOESN'T result in money in the government coffers, and out of your pocket.

Tennessee is contemplating a law to prevent a plastic bag ban from going into effect in the state, and to prevent municipalities from imposing such a ban. www.newschannel5.com/news/tennessee-lawmakers-look-to-prevent-ban-of-plastic-bags

I actually would not mind using paper instead of plastic, but I DO mind paying extra for the paper bag if it is just replacing the plastic bag that we now get at no charge. Kroger is contemplating elimination of plastic from all it's stores. I shop at Kroger's often. It happens to be on the Virginia side of town, where I would have to pay for the paper bags. I guess it will be goodbye Kroger and hello Food City who has two stores within 15 minutes of our house. Not only will I be avoiding the bag fee, I will be supporting a locally based business rather than a national conglomerate. I ask for paper bags for SOME of our groceries already, and I use reusable cloth bags sometimes, and shop at Aldi's quite often where I HAVE to use my own reusable bags. Going to all paper would not negatively impact us, and would help the environment, but to impose fees on the bags rather than to just do away with the plastic is IS an imposition and uncalled for. At least paper bags are biodegradable even if they are not recycled.

[BHU]

It will cost a hell of a lot more to clean up the enviromental damage left by millions upon millions of plastic bags polluting our enviroment then a few pennies for a paper bag. They should start charging for plastic & put the money into a fund to pay for the mess these bags leave especially in our oceans & waterways. Then everyone will want paper bags. Just my $.02.

[clarencebunsen]

A few months ago Nat Geo devoted an entire issue to plastic pollution. It was eye opening and I have been following these issues since the 60's. We go nuts about plastic straws but ignore much bigger problems.

[Clipper]

I have seen examples of the mess plastic bags make of the environment. I would not be adverse to using paper bags, but they should not charge for them, any more than they charge for plastic bags now. So now they expect you to not only scan your own groceries, they now want to charge you for a damned bag to put them in. Charge for plastic and no charge for paper.

Now if they can just come up with a reasonable alternative to the plastic disposable diapers and find a material that is safe for the baby, yet disposable and biodegradable. It is one thing to pick up a plastic bag left by a litterer, but NOPE, I ain't picking up a shitty diaper that someone dumped.

[BHU]

Palmieri & Picente have come out against the fee. At least for now. I wouldnt mind paying a few pennies for the bags if the money was devoted to a fund for enviro cleanup, but we know how that works. If they impose the fee we'll buy our own bags, I'm not donating to some slush fund. Speaking of plastic bags, Utica just raised the fee for blue bags to $2.00 for a large. They nickel & dime us to death with hikes in water & sewer fees every year & now this.

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Fees. Fees. Fees. It all comes down to taxation. With this new budget we now will have an internet tax that will be used to replace the AIM monies and computer tax that will be used in New York City to help the sick public transit system. I will not pay a penny for a paper bag. They should be free like the plastic bags are free. Also years ago paper bags were always used and they were free. I will bring my own and hold up the line in the grocery store making sure the help bags a floppy cloth bag properly.

I stood in like almost 15 minus today at Walmart today while the poor cashier has to totally redo the items that this Puerto rican group bought for baby food and related items. They bought the top of the line which is not allowed and they didn't tell or show the cashier before hand that wic was handling some of the items bought. Also while this was going on the hugely fat Mom or grand mom in sweatpants just kept eating from a box of donuts she still didn't pay for. I felt so sorry for the cashier. When I finally got to her I asked what happened and she told me then said welcome to Walmart. LOL.

[Clipper]

Yep. The lotto was supposed to be for education also. How long did it last before education became just another entity to be financed with lotto money, and the lion's share probably goes for some politician's pork project somewhere. The lotto could go a long way toward financing just about all capital improvements and building new schools if they truly spent every penny earned on education. They supposedly use the lottery funds for education here also, and yet every time you turn around they are bitching that they need more money out of the state budget for books or a new football field.

[Deleted]

Once they find a good way of bringing in money regardless of the purpose they go for it.

[BHU]

Palmieri lowered city taxes by 2% in the new budget, it being an election year & all. Last year he hiked them 8%. No election. Wait till the bill comes for the new hospital parking garage that Utica & O.C. had to bond for. It will cost $43 million dollars plus cost overuns, we can be sure of that.