Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D/WF) voted “No” today on the Assembly bill to put a one-year moratorium on the City’s bring your own bag bill.

The bill passed the Assembly overwhelmingly.

Additionally, Carroll was the only “No” vote on the 15 member Cities Committee yesterday.

Now that the moratorium has passed the Assembly the fee may not be reauthorized by City government until January 1, 2018.

"Conservation is never easy, it always takes sacrifice, but when you make a measure towards conservation you end up giving a great gift to future generations, this bill is in that same vein. This bill will make sure that future generations have a better healthier planet." Carroll said from the Assembly floor. "In New York City, progressives fight for a sustainable environment every day through common-sense solutions like the bring your own bag bill,” Carroll said. “But to make change happen, we need leadership in Albany, too. The City can’t do it alone. Remove one plastic bag from a store, and you remove one plastic bag from a tree, a landfill, an ocean. It’s easy to avoid paying this fee. If you don’t want to pay it, just bring a reusable bag with you. The fee discourages people from overusing wasteful plastic bags, composed of non-renewable resources. And it encourages people to bring their own bags to grocery stores. Everyone does their part.”

"We need leaders like Assemblymember Carroll fighting for the environment in Albany," said Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. "Every year New Yorkers throw out 10 billion plastic bags, and countless others end up in our streets, trees, storm drains and oceans. I am heartened to know we can count on Assemblymember Carroll to stand up for a cleaner and greener New York City."