How a state senator blocked bans on plastic bags
In the final days of budget negotiations, a powerful state senator quietly inserted language in a budget related bill that would prevent Pennsylvania from regulating single use plastic bags. Gov. Tom Wolf signed this bill into law on June 28.
This is another example of political power trumping environmental policy in Harrisburg.
State Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, RCentre, inserted a provision in the fiscal code that would prohibit the commonwealth and its municipalities from regulating singleuse plastic bags and other con- tainers for one year — ostensibly to allow more time to study the issue.
The senator added this language only a week after a Philadelphia councilman introduced a bill to ban most single-use plastic bags in the city. The new Pennsylvania law would block the Philadelphia ban from going into effect.
Sen. Corman’s district includes a single-use plastic bag manufacturing plant — Hilex Poly in Milesburg, Centre County. This plant is owned by Novolex, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of single-use plastic bags. Novolex has lobbied against plastic bag regulation in other states.
Legislation regulating plastic bags is sorely needed. Shoppers worldwide use about 500 billion single-use plastic bags annually.
Earlier this year, “alarmed by the serious environmental, social and economic impact of plastic waste and pollution,” the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a resolution calling for “comprehensive action regarding single use plastic products.” The resolution cited problems such as “blocking of waterways, the clogging of sewers, the creation of breeding
grounds for mosquitoes and other pests and the blocking of the airways and stomachs of animals.”
Without significant action there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight by 2050, according to a 2016 World Economic Forum report.
Many countries throughout the world and many U.S municipalities have begun to address the plastic bag problem. At least 127 countries have adopted some form of legislation to regulate plastic bags, according to a recent United Nation report.
In 2002, for example, Ireland introduced a single-use plastic bag tax, which led to 90% of consumers using long-life bags within a year.
Three hundred forty-nine local governments and states in the United States have banned or taxed plastic bags, according to Forbes magazine.
In 2009, for example, the District of Columbia passed legislation requiring businesses that sell food or alcohol to charge a 5-cent fee for paper and plastic bags. As a result, a majority of businesses reduced their disposable bag distribution by at least 50%, according to the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.
Given the backdrop of these national, state and municipal plastic bag programs, Corman’s assertion that another year of study is needed before Pennsylvania or its municipalities should consider enacting plastic bag regulations lacks plausibility. To the contrary, Corman’s actions are consistent with a continuing, parochial effort to protect the Novolex plastic bag manufacturing plant in his district.
Legislation to prevent plastic bag regulation in Pennsylvania was first introduced in 2015 by then-state Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Clinton, whose legislative district also included the Novolex plant in Milesburg. Hanna’s bill was defeated by the House in October 2016. Similar legislation was introduced the following year and passed both the House and Senate. That bill was vetoed by Wolf in June 2017. In his veto message, the governor stated the legislation was “not consistent with the rights vested by the Environmental Rights Amendment of the Pennsylvania Constitution.” It is disappointing that the governor would now approve language he had previously declared unconstitutional.
Legislation to prevent plastic bag regulation has been opposed by most Pennsylvania municipal associations, including the Pennsylvania Municipal League, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors and the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs. Local governments want the tools of plastic-bag fees and bans to help them deal with local problems such as litter, the clogging of storm drains and sewers, and the stressing of landfills.
Two weeks after Sen. Corman’s plastic-bag language went into effect, West Chester, Chester County, passed an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags. The borough delayed implementation of the ordinance for one year to avoid litigation involving the new state law.
Much-needed plastic-bag regulations will be prevented or delayed because our elected officials in Harrisburg have allowed the actions of one powerful senator to carry the day.
State Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware, Montgomery) represents the 166th Legislative District.