http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18742

GOVERNOR BROWN SIGNS LEGISLATION TO BAN SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAGS

9-30-2014

SACRAMENTO ? Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed the nation?s
first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags ? SB 270 ? aligning state
law with ordinances passed by a growing number of local governments in
California to reduce plastic waste.

?This bill is a step in the right direction ? it reduces the torrent of
plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself,?
said Governor Brown. ?We?re the first to ban these bags, and we won?t be
the last.?

The legislation, authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), prohibits
grocery stores and pharmacies from distributing single-use plastic bags
after July 2015 and enacts the same ban for convenience stores and
liquor stores the following year. It will also provide up to $2 million
in competitive loans ? administered by CalRecycle ? to businesses
transitioning to the manufacture of reusable bags.

Thus far, over 120 local governments in California have passed
ordinances banning single-use bags in some fashion, with widespread
support from community and environmental groups. SB 270 is supported by
many of these same groups, along with local governments, businesses and
labor organizations.

http://gov.ca.gov/docs/SB_270_Support.pdf

http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_270&sess=CUR&house=B&author=padilla_%3Cpadilla%3E

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB270