Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has signed a new law that makes it illegal for any city, town, or county in the state to pass bans on single-use plastic bags.
Senate Bill 1241 prohibits cities, towns and counties from charging for or banning the use of “auxiliary containers” such as plastic grocery bags. Bisbee, Az., is the only city with a plastic bag ban – which it enacted in 2014 – although other Arizona cities were considering similar measures.
Many jurisdictions across the U.S. have already passed or proposed bans on single-use plastic bags. Roughly 115 cities and counties in the nation have passed laws that ban the use of plastic bags.
California was looking to become the first state in the nation to ban plastic bags. Its law was scheduled to go into effect later this year. But that law has been postponed, and voters will get the opportunity to vote on it in the 2016 elections.
