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2023 SESSION

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23101371D
SENATE BILL NO. 933 Offered January 11, 2023 Prefiled January 6, 2023 A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-938.1, relating to single-use plastic carrier bags; local prohibition. ---------- Patron-- Edwards ---------- Referred to Committee on Local Government ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 15.2-938.1 as follows:

§ 15.2-938.1. Local prohibition on single-use plastic carrier bags.

A. For the purposes of this section:

"Plastic" means a material consisting of a polymer to which additives or other substances may have been added and that can function as a main structural component of a final product, with the exception of natural polymers that have not been chemically modified.

"Plastic carrier bag" shall not include the following:

1. Durable plastic bags with handles that are specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse and that are at least four mils thick;

2. Plastic bags used to carry ice cream, meat, fish, poultry, leftover restaurant food, newspapers, or dry cleaning;

3. Plastic bags used to carry alcoholic beverages or prescription drugs; or

4. Multiple plastic bags sold in packages and intended for use as garbage, pet waste, or leaf removal bags.

"Single use " means any plastic carrier bag, or similar article that is made wholly or mostly from plastic, that is (i) not conceived, designed, or placed on the market to accomplish, within its life span, multiple trips or rotations by being returned to the producer for refill or reused for the same purpose for which it was conceived or (ii) generally recognized by the public as an item to be discarded after one use.

B. Any locality may, by duly adopted ordinance, prohibit the purchase, sale, or provision, whether free or for a cost, of any single-use plastic carrier bag that is not recyclable from grocery stores, retail stores, and convenience stores.

C. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a locality from adopting a disposable plastic bag tax pursuant to § 58.1-1745.