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Well this plastic bag issue has been very heated and it looks like the bag fee will be going away! The Dallas City Council voted 9-6 that the bags are coming back to Dallas grocery stores and businesses. According to KXAS TV the bags are coming back.
Council member Dwaine Caraway, the council’s biggest opponent to plastic, argued against a backdrop of fake trees and barbed wire covered in bags that the council should replace the fee with a complete ban on plastic carryout bags.
But his passionate antics failed to sway enough of the council members and that move failed in a 9-6 vote
Caraway, who grew increasingly frustrated during the meeting and accused his fellow council members of being in the pocket of retailers, called the development disappointing.
“I was elected by the people, not the bag manufacturers,” he said. “So we go back to being Dirty Dallas.”
A follow-up effort to remove the fee — which has been burdensome for retailers and resulted in a lawsuit against the city — passed 10-4. Only Caraway, Scott Griggs, Sandy Greyson and Philip Kingston voted against the move.
Caraway, who grew increasingly frustrated during the meeting and accused his fellow council members of being in the pocket of retailers, called the development disappointing.
“I was elected by the people, not the bag manufacturers,” he said. “So we go back to being Dirty Dallas.”
But council members Jennifer Staubach Gates and Rick Callahan argued that banning plastic bags entirely was a governmental overreach that they couldn’t support.
“We shouldn’t be putting policies in place just because people can be irresponsible,” Gates said. “Where do you draw that line as a governmental body?”
A few council members said they were happy with the 5 cent fee, saying they saw it changing people’s habits and encouraging the use of reusable bags while still allowing single-use bags as a choice. But others called the current ordinance riddled with problems, such manufacturing and registration requirements that have been confusing and expensive for retailers.
Moreover, several council members said it was clear to them the fee would not
