Plastic bags (Creative Commons)

Assembly Bill 1998, which was approved by both the State Assembly and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in June, failed with a 14-21 vote at approximately 11 p.m. Tuesday, just one hour before the legislative deadline.

If passed, the bill would have required supermarkets and large retail stores to stop using the bags by 2012. In addition, all paper bags distributed would have had to be made of 40 percent post-consumer material.

These regulations also would have been implemented in smaller stores in 2013.

The bill was written by Democratic Assemblywoman Julia Brownley of Santa Monica and sponsored by Heal The Bay, a Santa Monica based non-profit environmental organization that focuses on ocean cleanliness.

Supporters of the bill pointed out that California residents use more than 19 billion plastic bags per year, costing the state $25 million in landfill fees. Additionally, often these bags are not disposed of properly, ultimately polluting the ocean and endangering marine life.

Brownley said she was disappointed that the Senate failed to pass the legislation.

"This is a sad day for California," she said. "Communities across the state were waiting for the state to adopt a uniform, statewide ban on single-use bags before they adopt their own ordinances. The state failed them."

The heaviest opposition to the bill came from the American Chemistry Council, a group that represents the plastic bag manufacturing companies Dow Chemical Co. and ExxonMobil Corp.

The council spent millions of dollars on advertisements to combat the ban, citing it as a frivolous and unnecessary measure.

Keith Christman, managing director for plastics markets at the ACC, said in an LA Times editorial that the bill would burden customers financially and cause people to lose their jobs.

“Instead of passing AB 1998, we should be working together to find litter and recycling solutions that don't cost consumers more money and don't put people out of work,” he said.

Five individual California cities, including San Francisco and Malibu, have already passed ordinances prohibiting disposable plastic bag use. According to Heal The Bay, 20 other cities are currently working toward passing the law. 

According to LAist:

A motion and completed environmental documents to ban plastic bags in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County is ready to go and can be, in essence, be copied and pasted by local cities. Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach have already committed to passing bans and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is in support of his city doing the same.

Matthew King, a spokesperson for Heal The Bay, said the effort has not ended yet.

“We’re going to continue to work with local municipalities,” he said.

Reach staff reporter Rebecca Buddingh here.