LANSING, Mich. - Efforts to rid Michigan communities of plastic shopping bags would be banned under a bill set to advance in the Republican-led Legislature.
The House Commerce and Trade Committee could vote on the legislation Tuesday. The measure won Senate approval in May.
The bill would prohibit local governments from enacting ordinances that regulate, prohibit or impose a fee on the use or sale of "auxiliary containers" - which is defined as reusable or single-use bags, cups, bottles or other packaging from stores and restaurants.
More than 150 municipalities across the country have passed ordinances either to ban the environmentally unfriendly plastic bags or to charge a fee for them.
None are in Michigan, though at least two counties - Washtenaw and Muskegon - have considered whether to limit the bags.
