The Baltimore City Council is once again trying to ban many stores from giving plastic bags to customers — only a month after Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake shot down its last attempt.
On Monday, Councilman Bill Henry reintroduced a bill Rawlings-Blake vetoed last month that sought to ban most plastic bags distributed in city grocery stores and big-box retailers. Council members Robert W. Curran, Mary Pat Clarke, Brandon M. Scott and Warren Branch quickly signed on as co-sponsors.
"It was clear at the end of last year, there were people whose concerns about the bill centered on the process," Henry said. "I want to make sure there is every opportunity for people to express their feelings about a ban versus a fee. I'm hopeful we will arrive at the win-win of more reusable bag use and less disposable bag use."
The mayor said Monday she was open to the ban but still has concerns that it would amount to a pass-through tax to poor Baltimore residents should grocery stories raise prices to give out more expensive paper bags.
"I have concerns, but I'm not closed to the possibility those concerns can be addressed," Rawlings-Blake said.
In December, Rawlings-Blake vetoed the bill, saying she disagreed with the way the council passed the bill, because the legislation was amended from a 5-cent tax to a ban moments before a key vote.
Councilman James B. Kraft, chair of the committee that would hold a hearing on the bill, said Monday he won't give new legislation a hearing unless Rawlings-Blake pledges her support ahead of time.
"If she doesn't say she'll sign it, I'm not hearing it," Kraft said. "I'm not going to waste everyone's time with a bill that's going to get vetoed again."
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