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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 145 FILED ON: 1/11/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 477
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
James B. Eldridge
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to plastic bag reduction.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and WorcesterHannah Kane11th Worcester2/1/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire2/2/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/2/2023Brian W. Murray10th Worcester2/2/2023Joanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester2/13/2023John F. KeenanNorfolk and Plymouth2/23/2023Patricia D. JehlenSecond Middlesex3/3/2023 1 of 8
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 145 FILED ON: 1/11/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 477
By Mr. Eldridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 477) of James B. Eldridge, Hannah
Kane, Lindsay N. Sabadosa, Vanna Howard and other members of the General Court for
legislation relative to plastic bag reduction. Environment and Natural Resources.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4826 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to plastic bag reduction.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 21O the
2following chapter:-
3 CHAPTER 21P.
4 PLASTIC BAG REDUCTION.
5 Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings
6unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
7 “Commissioner”, the commissioner of revenue.
8 “Department”, the department of environmental protection. 2 of 8
9 “Person”, an individual, partnership, trust, association, corporation, society, club,
10institution, organization or other entity.
11 “Postconsumer recycled material”, material used in a recycled paper bag that would
12otherwise be destined for solid waste disposal, having completed its intended end use and
13product life cycle, and that does not comprise any material or byproduct generated from, and
14commonly reused within, an original manufacturing and fabrication process.
15 “Recycled paper bag”, a paper bag that (i) is 100 per cent recyclable; (ii) contains either:
16(A) a minimum of 40 per cent postconsumer recycled materials; or (B) if not more than a so-
17called 8 pound paper bag, not less than 20 per cent postconsumer recycled material; and (iii)
18displays on the outside of the bag the words “100% Recyclable” and either : (A) “40%
19postconsumer recycled content”; or (B) such other per cent of postconsumer recycled material
20established by department regulation.
21 “Retail establishment”, a store or premises in which a person is engaged in the retail
22business of selling or providing merchandise, goods, groceries, prepared take-out food and
23beverages for consumption off-premises or the servicing of an item, directly to customers at such
24store or premises, including, but not limited to, grocery stores, department stores, pharmacies,
25convenience stores, restaurants, coffee shops and seasonal and temporary businesses, including
26farmers markets and public markets; provided, however, that a “retail establishment” shall also
27include a food truck or other motor vehicle, mobile canteen, trailer, market pushcart or moveable
28roadside stand used by a person from which to engage in such business directly with customers
29and business establishments without a storefront, including, but not limited to, a business
30delivering prepared foods or other food items, web-based or catalog business or delivery services 3 of 8
31used by a retail establishment; provided further, that a “retail establishment” shall include a non-
32profit organization, charity or religious institution that has a retail establishment and holds itself
33out to the public as engaging in retail activities that are characteristic of similar type retail
34businesses, whether or not for profit when engaging in such activity.
35 “Reusable bag”, a bag that is not a plastic film bag that has handles that are stitched and
36not heat-fused, and that is made of washable cloth, hemp or other woven or non-woven fibers,
37fabrics or materials that are at least 80 grams per square meter, designed and manufactured
38specifically for multiple uses.
39 “Serviced” or “Servicing”, a service performed to clean, repair, improve, refinish or alter
40an item of a customer by a person engaged in a retail business of customarily providing such
41services, including, but not limited to, dry cleaning and tailoring articles of clothing, jewelry
42repair and shoe and leather repair.
43 “Single-use plastic bag”, a bag made of plastic film with or without handles provided by
44a retail establishment to customers at its business location to carry items purchased from or
45serviced by the retail establishment and that is not a recycled paper bag or reusable bag.
46 Section 2. (a) A retail establishment shall not provide a customer with a single-use plastic
47bag or provide any other bag, unless specifically allowed under this chapter that is not: (i) a
48recycled paper bag; or (ii) a reusable bag for the customer to carry away an item purchased from
49or serviced by the retail establishment.
50 (b) Subsections (a) and (c) shall not apply to any type of bag used by a retail
51establishment or provided by a retail establishment to a customer for: (i) prescription medication;
52(ii) produce, meats, poultry, fish, bread and other food items to keep such items, including 4 of 8
53unwrapped items, fresh or unsoiled; (iii) preventing frozen food items, including ice cream, from
54thawing; (iv) protecting articles of clothing on a hanger; (v) protecting small items from loss;
55(vi) providing or distributing prepared foods, groceries or articles of clothing at no cost or at a
56substantially reduced cost by a nonprofit organization, charity or religious institution; or (vii) any
57item that requires the use of a certain type of bag under federal or state law.
58 (c) A retail establishment may make available for purchase a recycled paper bag or
59reusable bag; provided, however, that the price of a recycled paper bag or reusable bag shall be
60not less than $0.10; and provided further, that such a recycled paper bag or reusable bag provided
61to a customer to carry away an item purchased from or serviced by a retail establishment shall
62not be subject to tax under chapter 64H or chapter 64I.
63 (d) A retail establishment shall be exempt from the requirements of subsections (c) and
64(e) if the retail establishment: (i) has not more than 3 store locations under the same ownership
65and each store location has less than 4,000 square feet of retail selling space and not more than
6615 employees; (ii): (A) is not a food establishment under chapter 94 or any regulations
67promulgated pursuant to said chapter 94; or (B) provided less than 15,000 single-use plastic
68bags, recycled paper bags or reusable bags to consumers at the point of sale in total during the
69previous calendar year; and (iii) annually submits to the department an affidavit attesting that the
70retail establishment meets the requirements of this subsection.
71 Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a retail establishment from making available for
72purchase a recycled paper bag or reusable bag under subsections (c). 5 of 8
73 (e) For each recycled paper bag sold, a retail establishment shall remit $0.05 to the
74commissioner of revenue at the same time and in the same manner as the sales tax due to the
75commonwealth and such amounts shall be administered in accordance with chapter 62C.
76 Not less than quarterly, money received by the commissioner under this section shall be
77distributed, credited and paid by the state treasurer upon certification of the commissioner to
78each city and town in proportion to the amount of the sums received from the sales of recycled
79paper bags sold in the city or town. Sums received by a city or town under this section shall be
80used for reusable bags for residents, litter prevention, multilingual bag reuse and recycling
81education and promotion, enforcement of this chapter, cleanup programs, recycling programs
82and associated costs, waste reduction, composting programs, beautification and community
83greening. If the amount of the distribution to a city or town is $25,000 or less, the chief executive
84officer as defined in section 7 of chapter 4, may expend such funds for the purposes provided in
85this paragraph without further appropriation by the city or town.
86 Notwithstanding section 21 of chapter 62C, the commissioner may make available to
87cities and towns any information necessary for the administration of the fee collected by a retail
88establishment under this section including, but not limited to, a report of the amount of fees
89collected in the aggregate by each city or town under this section in the preceding fiscal year and
90the identification of each individual retail establishment collecting fees on recycled paper bag
91sold under this chapter.
92 Each even-numbered year, each city and town receiving money under this subsection
93shall provide a report to the department on: (i) the total amount received under this subsection;
94and (ii) a description of expenditures made with the money received under this subsection. 6 of 8
95 (f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a customer from bringing a personal bag, made
96or comprised of any material, to a retail establishment to carry out items purchased from or
97serviced by the retail establishment.
98 (g) A retail establishment shall not be prohibited from selling or offering for sale to
99customers: (i) any package containing several bags, including, but not limited to, food bags,
100sandwich bags, yard waste bags, garbage bags or municipal pay-as-you-throw program trash
101bags; (ii) any product, merchandise or good with a protective bag, a bag to hold related
102accessories, parts or instruction manuals or a bag used as product packaging that the retail
103establishment received with such item or product from the manufacturer, distributor or vendor;
104or (iii) any bag that is not a retail type carryout bag that is sold or offered for sale as a product or
105merchandise, including, but not limited to, sports bags, handbags, equipment bags, tent bags or
106other bags specifically designed to protect or contain a particular item.
107 (h) Notwithstanding subsection (c) and to the extent permitted under federal and state
108law, a retail establishment that makes available for purchase a recycled paper bag at the point of
109sale shall not charge a fee for the bag to a customer using an electronic benefit transfer card as
110payment.
111 Section 3. (a) Each city and town shall enforce this chapter through its enforcing
112authority as determined under subsection (c).
113 (b) A retail establishment that violates this chapter shall be subject to a warning for the
114first violation, a civil penalty of $500 for the second violation and a civil penalty of $1000 for a
115third or subsequent violation. Each day a retail establishment is in violation of this chapter shall
116be considered a separate violation. 7 of 8
117 Each city and town shall dispose of a civil violation under this subsection by the non-
118criminal method of disposition procedures contained in section 21D of chapter 40 without an
119enabling ordinance or bylaw.
120 (c) Each city and town shall designate the municipal board, department or official
121responsible for the local enforcement of this chapter and for the collection of money resulting
122from civil penalties assessed for violations of this chapter. A city or town shall retain any civil
123penalties collected for such violations.
124 Section 4. The department shall establish standards for reusable bags including, but not
125limited to, the minimum amount of weight, number of uses and the minimum amount of recycled
126material required in reusable bags.
127 The department may through regulation: (i) increase or adjust the postconsumer recycled
128material percentage in a recycled paper bag; (ii) increase or adjust the fee established under
129subsection (c) of section 2; (iii) allow a retail establishment to use other non-plastic type carryout
130bags that are recyclable or compostable, provided however that such regulations shall not be
131implemented prior to the universal availability of a safe disposal route for compostable bags and,
132provided further, that the department shall seek public comment on said proposed regulations;
133and (iv) promulgate standards regulating bags authorized under subsection (b) of section 2.
134 The department shall, when adopting or amending any standard for an allowed recycled
135or reusable bag under this chapter, consult with the department of public health on issues relating
136to food safety and the materials used to produce the bags. 8 of 8
137 The department shall conduct an evaluation of the implementation of this act every three
138years and shall submit to the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives a report
139including legislative recommendations not later than December 31.
140 Section 5. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit or limit the department’s authority to
141enforce this chapter.
142 SECTION 2. Subsection (b) of section 21 of chapter 62C of the General Laws, as
143amended by section 15 of chapter 5 of the acts of 2019, is hereby further amended by adding the
144following clause:-
145 (32) the disclosure of information necessary for administration of the recycled paper bag
146fee imposed under section 2 of chapter 21P.
147 SECTION 3. Subsection (d) of section 2 of chapter 21P is hereby repealed.
148 SECTION 4. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department
149of transitional assistance shall, if necessary to implement subsection (h) of section 2 of chapter
15021P of the General Laws, use reasonable efforts to seek a waiver from the federal Food and
151Nutrition Service to implement said subsection (h) of said section 2 of said chapter 21P.
152 SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department
153of environmental protection shall inform the clerks of the house and senate in the case of a
154regional or national market shortage or a forecasted regional or national market shortage in the
155paper bag supply chain.
156 SECTION 6. Section 1 shall take effect 6 months after passage of this act.
157 SECTION 7. Section 3 shall take effect on January 1, 2025.