A09904 Summary:

BILL NOA09904
 
SAME ASSAME AS S07336
 
SPONSORCusick
 
COSPNSRGjonaj, Weprin, Cymbrowitz, Miller, Castorina, Simanowitz, Pichardo, Abbate, Hikind, DenDekker, Malliotakis, Mosley, Dilan, Hevesi, Barron, Titone, Crespo, Colton, Fitzpatrick, Davila, Harris, Cook, Williams, Simotas, Arroyo, Bichotte, Joyner
 
MLTSPNSRHooper
 
Add §13-d, Gen City L
 
Establishes a prohibition on the imposition of any tax, fee or local charge on carry out merchandise bags.
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A09904 Actions:

BILL NOA09904
 
04/26/2016referred to cities
06/01/2016reported referred to ways and means
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A09904 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9904
 
SPONSOR: Cusick
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general city law, in relation to prohibiting the imposition of any tax, fee or local charge on carry out merchandise bags   PURPOSE: This bill seeks to prohibit the imposition and/or collection of any tax, fee or local charge on carry out merchandise bags.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section one of the bill would amend the general city law to add a new section 13-D to prohibit the imposition and/or collection of any tax, fee or local charge on carry out merchandise bags. More specifically, subdivision one of this bill would provide a defi- nition of carry out merchandise bag and retail store, while subdivision two would establish a prohibition on any city, including a city of one million or more, from imposing any tax, fee or local charge on any carry out merchandise bag, and subdivision three would establish a corollary prohibition on any city, including a city of one million or more, from collecting any tax, fee or local charge on any carry out merchandise bag.   JUSTIFICATION: Carry out merchandise bags are any plastic, paper or other bag or carry- ing container, provided by a retail store, to a customer of that store, for the purpose of carrying and/or transporting merchandise lawfully obtained at such store. They further include any plastic carryout bag as defined by subdivision four of section 27-2701 of the environmental conservation law. In brief, they are most often disposable bags provided to customers by a grocery or other retail store for the purposes of carrying or transporting their food items or other merchandise from the store to the customer's home. For decades, grocery stores and retailers have provided customers with disposable carry out bags to transport their merchandise. For many years, such disposable bags were predominantly made of paper, but in an effort to accommodate advocates in the environmental movement and promote environmental protection, so as to save trees and switch to a more eco-friendly recyclable material, most grocery stores and retail establishments have switched to plastic bags and containers. These disposable bags are easily recyclable, safe, convenient and healthy, and have become the standard in the retail marketplace. Despite the fact that there are many recycling programs for carryout plastic bags, both in practice and in law, there has now developed a movement in the environmental community to abandon its previous advocacy for disposable plastic bags and advance the promotion of permanent, customer owned shopping bags. As consumers clearly prefer the disposable bags presently provided by grocery stores and other retail establish- ments, those who favor the permanent, customer owned shopping bags, now seek to force consumers to modify their behavior, by means of the impo- sition of a tax or fee on every disposable carry out merchandise bag provided by a retailer. Although well intentioned, this bag tax or fee idea, is actually harmful to consumers, families, retailers and public health. It is not only impracticable to believe that every consumer can provide their own carry out bag or container, but imposing a tax or fee on every bag provided by the retailer, would significantly increase the cost of groceries and every retail item sold in any city that imposes such a tax or fee. Fami- lies who are already facing a high cost of living, would be seriously and negatively impacted by this misguided and unnecessary tax or fee. Worse still, if customers do begin to provide their own carry out bags, as those who support this tax or fee intend, such reusable bags will undoubtedly present a serious public health issue. For such reusable bags often present the risk of bringing into the store a contaminate of food based disease, bacteria or other illness, which can cause serious cross contamination or infection for both the customer, or other custom- ers, or store employees. Issues such as salmonella, or other bacteria or viruses, which escape from food previously carried in the reusable bag, or which are being spread from the exposure to customer's own home envi- ronment, can be easily spread from exposure to the reusable bag. To bring such source of contaminates or disease back into the store is both ill advised and dangerous. Accordingly, unless the reusable bag has been completely cleaned and disinfected, which is a practice few consum- ers with such reusable bags follow, this practice is one that could well cause serious harm and disease to all the people exposed to the bag. There is a reason why health care facilities, restaurants, hotels and other entities that provide food and exposure to the public use dispos- able and sterilized items. There is a reason why grocery and retail stores have been using disposable bags for generations. To do otherwise is simply irresponsible, and non disposable bags illustrate this avoid- able and ill advised risk. As a result, it can be seen that this misguided tax or fee desperately needs to be prohibited from being imposed by any city.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill.   BUDGET IMPLICATIONS: None noted.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act would take effect immediately.
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A09904 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          9904
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 26, 2016
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. CUSICK, WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Cities
 
        AN ACT to amend the general city law, in  relation  to  prohibiting  the
          imposition  of  any  tax, fee or local charge on carry out merchandise
          bags
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  general  city law is amended by adding a new section
     2  13-d to read as follows:
     3    § 13-d. Prohibition on the imposition of any tax, fee or local  charge
     4  on  carry  out  merchandise bags.   1. Definitions. For purposes of this
     5  section the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     6    a. "Carry out merchandise bag" shall mean any plastic, paper or  other
     7  bag  or carrying container, provided by a retail store, to a customer of
     8  that store, for the purpose of carrying and/or transporting  merchandise
     9  lawfully  obtained  at  such  store.  A  carryout  merchandise bag shall
    10  include any plastic carryout bag  as  defined  by  subdivision  four  of
    11  section 27-2701 of the environmental conservation law, as added by chap-
    12  ter six hundred forty-one of the laws of two thousand eight.
    13    b.  "Retail  store"  shall mean any business establishment, including,
    14  but not limited to, a grocery store, convenience store,  dairy  products
    15  store,  produce  market,  department  store,  general merchandise store,
    16  clothing store, hardware store, pharmacy, drug store, hotel, restaurant,
    17  soda fountain, gasoline station, or any other similar mercantile  estab-
    18  lishment  offering goods and/or services at retail to individual consum-
    19  ers, and/or any other establishment which in the regular course of busi-
    20  ness sells or rents goods or services directly to the public.
    21    2. Prohibition on the imposition of a tax, fee or local charge on  any
    22  carry out merchandise bag. No city, including any city with a population
    23  of  one  million  or  more, shall impose any tax, fee or any other local
    24  charge on any carry out merchandise bag as defined  in  paragraph  a  of
    25  subdivision  one  of  this  section. This prohibition shall apply to all
    26  cities, including any city with a population of  one  million  or  more,
    27  regardless  of  whether such tax, fee or other local charge is attempted
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15036-02-6

        A. 9904                             2

     1  to be assessed or charged by the city indirectly against the  wholesaler
     2  providing  any  carry  out merchandise bag to the retail store, or indi-
     3  rectly against the retail store providing any carry out merchandise  bag
     4  to  the  customer,  or directly against the customer receiving the carry
     5  out merchandise bag from the retail store.
     6    3. Prohibition on the collection of a tax, fee or local charge on  any
     7  carry  out  merchandise  bag.  No  wholesaler may collect any additional
     8  charge, tax or any other fee upon a retail store for  the  provision  of
     9  any  carry out merchandise bag, other than the original cost of such bag
    10  as agreed between the wholesaler and the retail store for  the  purchase
    11  of  such bag.  Additionally, no retail store may collect any charge, tax
    12  or any other fee upon a customer in return  for  the  provision  of  any
    13  carry out merchandise bag.
    14    § 2. The act shall take effect immediately.
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