Rollback Proposal Tabled After Public Testimony in Support of Retail Bag Ordinance

A controversial proposal to roll back New Britain’s ordinance on retail bags was tabled after public testimony was all in support of the ordinance and in opposition to the plan to rovoke it.

The proposal, which would revoke all of the substance of New Britain’s local ordinance on retail carry-out bags, met only opposition as members of the public, including the former Council Majority Leader Carlo Carlozzi, Jr. (D-5), spoke against it in a public hearing in front of the City Council’s Committee on Administration, Finance and Law.

By the end of the committee meeting, the Council members decided to table, or set aside for future action, the proposal, rather than approve it at the meeting held on Wednesday night after the public hearing. If the proposal was approved by the committee, it might have been up for final approval by the whole City Council next Thursday, February 13, 2020.

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.

But the recent proposal by Ald. Kristian Rosado (R-2) and Ald. Daniel Salerno (R-AL) would repeal most of the ordinance. 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,” a state law concerning plastic bags. Public Act 19-117, approved by the state legislature, provides that there is a ten cent per bag fee, statewide, for typical retail checkout plastic bags, and then bans on those plastic bags, starting July 1, 2021.

But that state law also 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.

New Britain’s current ordinance does appear to go further than the state law. 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.

While the approval of the retail bag ordinance in 2019 came when Democrats were in the Council majority, it was approved unanimously. Supporters of the ordinance have pointedly noted that, after recently capturing the majority of Council seats, Republicans have now proposed to repeal the substance of the ordinance.

In tabling the proposal, Council members of both parties said that they wish to find a compromise on changes to the existing ordinance.

After being tabled at Wednesday’s meeting, the proposed ordinance remains in front of the Council Committee on Administration, Finance and Law. The next regular meeting of the committee is March 4, 2020.

Editor’s Note (2/7/2020): The article was changed to correct the date of the next regular meeting of the City Council, which is February 13, 2020.

Editor’s note (2/8/2020): The article and its headline were changed to clarify that public opposition was to the plan to revoke the retail bag ordinance.