APBA Submits Signatures to Qualify for Referendum

APBA Submits Signatures to Qualify for Referendum

Plastics Business

Secretary of State of California Alex Padilla announced the qualification of the Environmental Protection Fee Act, a ballot measure to redirect state-mandated sales charges on carryout bags to an environmental fund.

The qualification follows a signature check conducted by the California Country Registrars’ offices after the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), Washington, DC, submitted 592,291 signatures, which exceeded the minimum to qualify by random sampling. The qualification will be the second measure on the November 2016 ballot that aims to stop corporate grocers from profiting off Senate Bill 270.

Should the referendum fail in November 2016 and SB 270 becomes law, the Environmental Fee Protection Act provides voters the ability to redirect bag fees associated with the law to an environmental fund. It also gives municipal governments the option to amend existing local ordinances to direct bag fees to the environmental fund, rather than to grocers.

For more information, visit www.plasticsindustry.org/apba.