Overview
- Shoppers will be charged 10 cents per paper bag at supermarkets, shops and corner stores, with enforcement expected to begin in January.
- City Council passed the measure 10-5 last month, and the mayor returned it unsigned on Thursday, allowing it to be codified.
- Under the law, businesses keep the bag charges rather than remitting them to the city.
- The fee does not apply to deliveries, drive-thrus or takeout orders, according to the legislation.
- Backers frame the fee as a nudge toward reusable bags after a post-plastic-ban surge in paper use, while the administration warns of added costs for low-income residents and small retailers.