Title
In response to Referral 2020.19, adopt an urgency ordinance suspending in part the prohibition on the use of single-use carryout bags, and suspending the requirement for retail establishments to charge customers for recycled paper bags or reusable bags, until June 21, 2020.(ADDED VIA ADDENDA)
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors, in response to Referral 2020.19, adopt an urgency ordinance suspending in part the prohibition on the use of single-use carryout bags, and suspending the requirement for retail establishments to charge customers for recycled paper bags or reusable bags, until June 21, 2020.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
On August 26, 2014, the Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 5244 which amended the County Code to add Chapter 10.43, adopting regulations concerning the use of single use carryout bags, and generally prohibiting their use in certain retail establishments. Subsection 10.43.040 (A) of the County Code prohibits retail establishments from providing to customers single use carryout bags, with certain exceptions. Subsections 10.43.040 (C), (D) and (E) of the County Code require retail establishments to charge customers for the use of a recycled paper bag or reusable bag. On November 8, 2016, the electors of California, voting on a referendum petition, approved Public Resources section 42283, establishing, in part, similar prohibitions and requirements on retail establishments.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many retail establishments in Monterey County, that are subject to the regulations in Chapter 10.43 of the County Code, have, for the protection of their workers, refused to allow customers to use reusable bags at the point of sale, causing customers to use a new recycled paper bag or a new reusable bag provided by the retail establishment, and, in many cases, being charged for such bags.
On April 22, 2020, the Governor of the State of California issued Executive Order No. N-54-20, which, in pa...
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