Imposes a five cent tax on plastic and paper shopping bags used to transport every sale of tangible personal property by consumers; provides for certain exemptions and imposes limitations on the size of plastic and paper bags used for the sale of tangible personal property.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8479A
SPONSOR: Ortiz (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to imposing a tax on plastic
and paper shopping bags used to transport every sale of tangible
personal property by consumers
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
This bill would encourage consumers to use long-lasting reusable shop-
ping bags, thereby drastically reducing the amount of plastic and paper
bags consumed and disposed of. These bags are hazardous to the environ-
ment, contribute to the solid waste stream, and increase greenhouse
gases which contribute to global warming.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
This bill amends the tax law by adding a new section 1113. This section
calls for the imposition of a five cent tax on plastic and paper shop-
ping bags used to transport every sale of tangible personal property by
consumers.
The tax imposed would apply at point of sale in shops, supermarkets,
service stations and all sales outlets. Retailers pass on the full
amount of such tax as a charge to the customer during checkout. The tax
shall be itemized on all invoices, receipts, or dockets issued to
customers at the point of sale.
The following uses shall be still be allowed and not subject to the tax:
plastic bags containing fresh meat, fish or poultry; non-packed fruit,
nuts or vegetables, confectionery, dairy products, cooked food or ice;
plastic bags used to store products sold on aircrafts or ships; reusable
bags sold to customers for a sum not less than seventy-five cents; and
any plastic bag brought to the store by the customer to be used during
the sale of tangible personal property.
* The amendments to this bill provide exemption to the tax for the
following:
o Purchases made with benefits from the supplemental nutrition assist-
ance program (SNAP);
o Purchases made under the special supplemental nutrition assistance
program for women, infants, and children (WIC); and
o Purchases by customers 65 years or older.
*The bill is also amended to provide that all funds collected pursuant
to this bill will go into the climate change mitigation and adaptation
account of the environmental protection fund (EPF).
JUSTIFICATION:
Research shows the average operating 'lifespan' of a plastic bag to be
approximately 20 minutes, yet plastic bags can last in a landfill - an
anaerobic environment - for up to 1,000 years. Plastic bags are respon-
sible for massive disposal problems including unsightly litter, flood-
ing, and the death of both sea and land animals that mistake them for
food. Made of polyethylene, they are also hazardous to manufacture and
take centuries to decompose.
In many countries of the world, there has been a phase-out of light-
weight plastic bags. Single-use plastic shopping bags, commonly made
from high-density polyethylene (HOPE) plastic, have traditionally been
given free to customers by stores when purchasing goods-a popular method
considered a strong, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items.
Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable
resources (such as crude oil, gas and coal), disposal, and environmental
impacts. With lightweight reusable bags readily available at little
cost, there is every reason for New York to join the rest of the world
in making a greater effort to reduce the use and disposal of single use
plastic bags.
Governments all over the world have taken action to completely ban the
sale of lightweight bags, charge customers for lightweight bags and/or
generate taxes from the stores who sell them. The Bangladesh government
was the first to do so in 2002, imposing a total ban on the bag. Such a
ban has also been applied in countries such as Rwanda, China, Taiwan and
Macedonia. Over ten countries in Western Europe impose a fee per bag.
Bans, partial bans, and fees have been enacted by some local jurisdic-
tions in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Myanmar. Concurrently with
the reduction in lightweight plastic bags, many shops have introduced
reusable shopping bags.
As of July 2014, 20 states and 132 cities & counties across the U.S.
had either plastic bag bans in place or pending. This means some 20
million U.S citizens are now living in an area where plastic bags are
banned. The U.S alone uses 12 million barrels of oil every year to meet
plastic bag demand. Every year in the U.S one hundred billion plastic
bags are discarded. Paper bags are equally detrimental to the environ-
ment and by some analysis have an even greater carbon footprint - that
is, the amount of greenhouse gas that is produced during the life cycle
of the bag - than plastic because of the greater resources needed to
produce them.
The bill recently passed by the New York City Council (May 2016) would
require most stores to charge a 5-cent fee for any plastic or paper bags
provided to consumers at check-out. Low-income consumers paying for any
part of their purchase with SNAP or WIC are exempt from the charge. The
City will also undertake a large-scale giveaway of reusable bags and
extensive outreach, particularly targeting low-income communities. The
purpose of the fee is not to raise money, but to encourage a change in
behavior so that people will switch to reusable bags.
Assembly bill A8479A would make such a tax, at the same rate of 5 cents
per bag, apply also to both plastic and paper bags and would be state-
wide. It significantly mirrors the provisions of the City Council bill
with the same exemptions for seniors and low income families. One nota-
ble difference is that this bill would place revenue generated by the
tax into the climate change and adaptation fund within the EPF.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2007/08: A7173 Referred to Ways and Means
2009/10: A6537 Held in Ways and Means
2011/12: A1142 Held in Ways and Means
2013/14: A3113 Referred to Ways and Means
2015: Referred to Ways and Means
FISCAL IMPLICATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
Revenue generated for the state by the tax would be deposited in the
climate change and mitigation adaptation account of the environmental
protection fund (EPF).
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law; provided, however that effec-
tive immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or
regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective
date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before
such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8479--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
October 9, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, GALEF, KAVANAGH, SCHIMEL, PAULIN, ROSEN-
THAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means --
recommitted to the Committee on Ways and Means in accordance with
Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to imposing a tax on plastic
and paper shopping bags used to transport every sale of tangible
personal property by consumers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 1113 to read
2 as follows:
3 § 1113. Imposition of tax; plastic and paper shopping bags. (a) There
4 is hereby imposed and there shall be paid a tax of five cents upon plas-
5 tic and paper shopping bags used to transport every sale of tangible
6 personal property by consumers.
7 (b)(1) The tax imposed, pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section,
8 shall apply at the point of sale in shops, supermarkets, service
9 stations and all sales outlets. Retailers shall pass on the full amount
10 of such tax as a charge to the customer during his or her checkout.
11 (2) Such tax shall be itemized on all invoices, receipts or dockets
12 issued to customers at the point of sale.
13 (c) The following shall be exempt from the tax imposed pursuant to
14 subdivision (a) of this section:
15 (1) Plastic and paper bags containing fresh meat, fish or poultry;
16 (2) Plastic and paper bags containing non-packed fruit, nuts or vege-
17 tables, confectionery, dairy products, cooked food or ice;
18 (3) Plastic and paper bags used to store products sold on board
19 aircraft or ships;
20 (4) Reuseable bags sold to customers for a sum not less than seventy-
21 five cents;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04085-04-6
A. 8479--A 2
1 (5) Any plastic or paper bag brought to the store by the customer to
2 be used during the sale of tangible personal property;
3 (6) Plastic and paper bags containing products purchased with benefits
4 received by the customer under the supplemental nutrition assistance
5 program (SNAP), the special supplemental nutrition program for women,
6 infants and children (WIC), or any successor programs; and
7 (7) Plastic and paper bags containing products purchased by a customer
8 sixty-five years of age or older.
9 (d) If any other item is placed in a plastic or paper bag exempted by
10 subdivision (c) of this section, such customer shall be charged the five
11 cent tax during his or her checkout.
12 (e) Plastic and paper bags used for every sale of tangible personal
13 property shall not be larger than two hundred fifty millimeters by three
14 hundred forty-five millimeters by four hundred fifty millimeters.
15 (f) All funds collected pursuant to the tax imposed by this section
16 shall be deposited into the climate change mitigation and adaptation
17 account of the environmental protection fund established pursuant to
18 subparagraph (iv) of paragraph a of subdivision two of section ninety-
19 two-s of the state finance law.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
21 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediate-
22 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
23 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
24 authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such
25 effective date.
