SBACC Opposes Bag Tax Proposal

The South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce (SBACC) opposes two legislative proposals AB 68 and AB 87 which would place a 25 cent fee on every new plastic and paper bag used at a time when unemployment is on the rise and the business community continues to bear the burden of extra fees and taxes.

The 25 cent fee is automatically added to a customer’s bill and we believe this is not the right time to pass along extra fees to customers of businesses that provide plastic and paper bags. The automatic fee to a customer’s total as outlined by AB 68 and AB 87 disproportionably targets one group of individuals - customers of certain retail stores - rather than proportionally by all individuals who contribute to plastic bag litter.

The SBACC believes in cleaning up and ridding the environment of unsightly plastic and paper bags, however, we believe through promoting and encouraged recycling measures is the preferred method. We also believe recycling plastics is the correct approach allows for plastic bags to remain an environmentally sound choice and less of a burden on businesses who supply the bags and the consumers who use them. California already has an active and robust recycling plastic bag recycling program for plastic bags through a former legislation.