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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4372 FILED ON: 5/31/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3904 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Carmine Lawrence Gentile and James B. Eldridge |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act authorizing the town of Sudbury to establish a fee for checkout bags. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex5/31/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester5/31/2023 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4372 FILED ON: 5/31/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3904 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Gentile of Sudbury and Senator Eldridge, a joint petition (accompanied by |
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| 19 | 19 | | bill, House, No. 3904) of Carmine Lawrence Gentile and James B. Eldridge (by vote of the |
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| 20 | 20 | | town) that the town of Sudbury be authorized to establish a fee for retail establishment checkout |
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| 21 | 21 | | bags in said town. Municipalities and Regional Government. [Local Approval Received.] |
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| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 4091 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act authorizing the town of Sudbury to establish a fee for checkout bags. |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1 SECTION 1. The following words, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, shall |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2have the following meanings: |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3 “Checkout Bag” shall mean a bag provided by a retail establishment to a customer at the |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4point of sale. Checkout bags shall not include: (i) bags, whether plastic or not, in which loose |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5produce or products are placed by the consumer to deliver such items to the point of sale or |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6check out area of the store; (ii) a paper bag provided by a pharmacy to a customer purchasing a |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7prescription medication; (iii) a non-handled bag used to protect items from damaging or |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8contaminating other purchased items; or (iv) a non-handled bag that is designed to be placed |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9over articles of clothing on a hanger. 2 of 3 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10 “Retail Establishment” shall mean any business facility that sells goods directly to the |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11consumer whether for or not for profit, including but not limited to, retail stores, restaurants, |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12pharmacies, convenience and grocery stores, liquor stores, and seasonal and temporary |
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| 44 | 44 | | 13businesses. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 14 SECTION 2. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any retail |
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| 46 | 46 | | 15establishment which makes available checkout bags in the Town of Sudbury shall charge for |
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| 47 | 47 | | 16each such bag equal to or greater than $0.10 per checkout bag, as established by regulations to be |
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| 48 | 48 | | 17duly promulgated by the Sudbury Board of Health. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 18 (b) All monies collected pursuant to this section shall be retained by the retail |
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| 50 | 50 | | 19establishment. |
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| 51 | 51 | | 20 (c) Any charge for a checkout bag shall be separately stated on a receipt provided to the |
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| 52 | 52 | | 21customer at the time of sale and shall be identified as the “checkout bag charge” thereon. |
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| 53 | 53 | | 22 SECTION 3. (a) The Health Agent for the Sudbury Board of Health or his/her designee |
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| 54 | 54 | | 23shall have authority to enforce this law and any regulations promulgated thereunder. This law |
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| 55 | 55 | | 24may be enforced through any lawful means in law or in equity, including but not limited to, |
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| 56 | 56 | | 25noncriminal disposition pursuant to G.L. c. 40 § 21D and Article VI of the Town of Sudbury |
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| 57 | 57 | | 26General Bylaws. |
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| 58 | 58 | | 27 (b) The Sudbury Board of Health may adopt and amend rules and regulations to |
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| 59 | 59 | | 28effectuate the purposes of this law. |
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| 60 | 60 | | 29 SECTION 4. If any provision of this law is declared to be invalid or unenforceable, the |
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| 61 | 61 | | 30other provisions shall be severable and shall not be affected thereby. 3 of 3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | 31 SECTION 5. This act shall take effect three months after its passage. |
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