| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1277 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2054 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Carmine Lawrence Gentile and Alice Hanlon Peisch |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act authorizing the town of Lincoln to establish a fee for checkout bags. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex1/18/2023Alice Hanlon Peisch14th Norfolk1/20/2023Michael J. BarrettThird Middlesex1/20/2023 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1277 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2054 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Gentile of Sudbury and Peisch of Wellesley, a petition (accompanied by bill, |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | House, No. 2054) of Carmine Lawrence Gentile, Alice Hanlon Peisch and Michael J. Barrett (by |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | vote of the town) that the town of Lincoln be authorized to establish a fee for checkout bags at |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | certain retail establishments. Municipalities and Regional Government. [Local Approval |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | Received.] |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 4106 OF 2021-2022.] |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | An Act authorizing the town of Lincoln to establish a fee for checkout bags. |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 1 Section 1. The following words, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, shall have |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 2the following meanings: |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 3 "Checkout Bag" shall mean a bag provided by a retail establishment to a customer at the |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 4point of sale. Checkout bags shall not include: (i) bags, whether plastic or not, in which loose |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 5produce or products are placed by the consumer to deliver such items to the point of sale or |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 6check out area of the store; (ii) a paper bag provided by a pharmacy to a customer purchasing a |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 7prescription medication; (iii) a non-handled bag used to protect items from damaging or |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 8contaminating other purchased items; or (iv) a non-handled bag that is designed to be placed |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 9over articles of clothing on a hanger. 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 10 "Retail Establishment" shall mean any business facility that sells goods directly to the |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 11consumer whether for or not for profit, including but not limited to, retail stores, restaurants, |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 12pharmacies, convenience and grocery stores, liquor stores, and seasonal and temporary |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 13businesses. |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 14 Section 2. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any retail |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 15establishment which makes available checkout bags in the Town of Lincoln shall charge for each |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 16such bag equal to or greater than $0.10 per checkout bag, as established by regulations to be duly |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 17promulgated by the Lincoln Board of Health. |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 18 (b) All monies collected pursuant to this section shall be retained by the retail |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 19establishment. |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 20 (c) Any charge for a checkout bag shall be separately stated on a receipt provided to the |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 21customer at the time of sale and shall be identified as the "checkout bag charge" thereon. |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 22 Section 3. (a) The Health Agent for the Lincoln Board of Health or his/her designee shall |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 23have authority to enforce this law and any regulations promulgated thereunder. This law may be |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 24enforced through any lawful means in law or in equity, including but not limited to, noncriminal |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 25disposition pursuant to G.L. c. 40 ยง 21D and Article VI of the Town of Lincoln General Bylaws. |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 26 (b) The Lincoln Board of Health may adopt and amend rules and regulations to effectuate |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 27the purposes of this law. |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 28 Section 4. If any provision of this law is declared to be invalid or unenforceable, the other |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 29provisions shall be severable and shall not be affected thereby. |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 30 Section 5. This act shall take effect three months after its passage. |
|---|