The City Council’s Committee on Administration, Finance and Law is set to hold a hearing on the controversial proposal to roll back New Britain’s ordinance on retail bags.
The public hearing and committee meeting is to be on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 7:00pm.
New Britain’s retail bag ordinance, or local law, that was approved in 2019, provides that stores, restaurants and other retailers be banned from providing plastic carry out bags, a provision that appears to currently be in effect.
Paper retail carry out bags are still permitted under the local ordinance, but only under certain conditions, such as being made of recycled paper and being recyclable, themselves. They also have to have the words, “Reusable” and “Recyclable” printed on them, under the ordinance.
Retail establishments, under the ordinance, are also required to charge for the paper bags used to carry goods at retail. The ordinance requires retailers to charge ten cents per paper bag.
The ordinance has a number of exceptions, such as bags used to package bulk items, frozen foods, meat, fish, flowers or “unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods.”
After the New Britain City Council, while it had a Democratic majority, unanimously approved the ordinance, the state legislature approved Public Act 19-117, which provides that there is a ten cent per bag fee, statewide, for typical retail checkout plastic bags. That state law then bans on those plastic bags, starting July 1, 2021.
The new rollback proposal, introduced by Ald. Kristian Rosado (R-2) and Ald. Daniel Salerno (R-AL), proposes to repeal most of the ordinance that was approved in 2019. Their proposal would remove nearly all of the New Britain local ordinance and, instead, say that, “The City of New Britain hereby incorporates by reference Subsection 355 of Connecticut Public Act No. 19-117 and any subsequent amendments thereto as if fully stated herein.” In other words, the proposal is to remove the New Britain ordinance requirements and just leave the state law as the only thing concerning retail checkout bags in the city.
New Britain’s current ordinance appears to go further than the state law, however. The city ban on plastic retail carry out bags appears to currently be in effect under the New Britain ordinance, as opposed to the state law, which implements the ban in 2021. The ordinance also requires retailers to charge for paper carry out bags, which the state law does not appear to.
The state law on plastic bags explicitly allows cities and towns to have local ordinances that go further than the state law, not just with plastic bags, but paper bags, too.
The rollback proposal has been criticized by Ald. Aram Ayalon (D-3). Ayalon noted that the New Britain ordinance was approved unanimously, though it had been proposed by Democrats, when they were the majority on the Council. “However, the Republicans,” said Ayalon, “who now have the majority, are proposing to cancel this ordinance.”
Former Council Majority Leader, Carlo Carlozzi, Jr. (D-5), commented that,”this is ridiculous. the Aldermen who signed on to this resolution are the very same ones who STRONGLY supported it,” adding that, “They have no shame.”
“Come one come all to the public hearing about the Republicans attempt to repeal the city ordinance banning single use plastic bags,” Ayalon said online. “Speak clearly and loudly against this attempt.”
Proposals for city ordinances are typically referred by the full Council to one of that Council’s committees. The Council committee then holds a public hearing on the proposal and has the option to refer the proposal back to the full Council, again, to potentially be approved.
The hearing and the committee meeting following it are to be in the City Council Chamber on the second floor of City Hall at 27 West Main Street.
