Overview
- Beginning New Year's Day, California stores must stop offering plastic checkout bags, with paper bags as the in-store option.
- Shoppers may bring their own reusable bags, and paper bag charges can differ by retailer and location rather than a fixed 10 cents.
- Grocers report they have had ample lead time and anticipate a smooth transition, though paper bags cost more than the prior plastic versions.
- Industry representatives say large chains can spread bag costs more easily than smaller independent stores that may need to recoup expenses.
- Lawmakers and experts frame the shift as an environmental course correction and note it arrives alongside other 2026 laws on school phone limits, AI transparency, delivery‑app refunds, a declaw ban for cats, and a $35 insulin cost cap.