5 Cent Checkout Bag Fee Bill May Die

A bill to impose plastic bag fee did not get scheduled for its hearing in the finance committee, despite its widespread support. A 5 cent fee would be applied to all single-use disposable checkout bags given out at the point of purchase. Such policies have proven highly successful in places such as Washington D.C., where a 5 cent fee reduced plastic bag usage by over 80%.  If you have an opinion on this bill, call Rep. Marcus Oshiro at 808-586-6200 about whether or not HB 998 needs to be heard on the House floor on Friday.  No hearing means the bill will die this year.