SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF TAX ON SINGLE-USE CARRYOUT 
BAGS. 
(a) GENERAL RULE.—Chapter 31 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to environmental taxes) 
is amended by inserting after subchapter C the following 
new subchapter: 
‘‘Subchapter D—Single-Use Carryout Bags 
‘‘Sec. 4056. Imposition of tax. 
‘‘SEC. 4056. IMPOSITION OF TAX. 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—There is hereby imposed on 
any retail sale a tax on any single-use carryout bag. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF TAX.—The amount of tax imposed 
by subsection (a) on any single-use carryout bag shall be— 
‘‘(1) $0.05 on and after January 1, 2010, and 
before January 1, 2015, and 
‘‘(2) $0.25 on and after January 1, 2015. 
‘‘(c) LIABILITY FOR TAX.—The retailer shall be liable 
for the tax imposed by subsection (a). 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) SINGLE-USE BAG.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘single-use 
carryout bag’ means a carryout bag, including 
a grocery sack, dry-cleaning bag, take-out food 
bag, retail bag, membership or wholesaler bag, 
and service station bag, manufactured or im-
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ported for use by a retail seller at a point of 
sale with a customer. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—Such term does not 
include— 
‘‘(i) any reusable bag, 
‘‘(ii) any bag manufactured for use by 
a customer inside a store to package bulk 
items such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, 
grains, candy, or small hardware items, 
such as nails and bolts, 
‘‘(iii) any bag manufactured for use 
by a pharmacist to contain prescription 
drugs, and 
‘‘(iv) any bag manufactured to be sold 
at retail in packages containing multiple 
bags intended for use as garbage, pet 
waste, or yard waste bags. 
‘‘(2) REUSABLE BAG.—The term ‘reusable bag’ 
means a bag that has handles and is— 
‘‘(A)(i) made of cloth or other machine 
washable fabric, or 
‘‘(ii) made of a durable plastic that is at 
least 2.25 mils thick, and 
‘‘(B) is specifically designed and manufac-
tured for multiple reuse. 
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‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) PASS
THROUGH
OF
TAX.—The tax im-
posed by subsection (a) shall be passed through to 
the customer and shall be separately stated on the 
receipt of sale provided to the customer. 
‘‘(2) 
RECORDS.—Each 
retailer 
shall 
keep 
records for purposes of this section and section 
6433. Such records shall include the total number of 
single-use carryout bags purchased and the amounts 
passed through to the customer for such bags pursu-
ant to paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) 1ST
RETAIL
SALE; USE
TREATED
AS 
SALE.—For purposes of this section, rules similar to 
the rules of subsections (a) and (b) of section 4002 
shall apply.’’. 
(b) CARRYOUT BAG RECYCLING PROGRAM.—Sub-
chapter B of chapter 65 of such Code is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 6433. QUALIFIED SINGLE-USE CARRYOUT BAG RECY-
CLING PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—If— 
‘‘(1) tax has been imposed under section 4056 
on any single-use carryout bag, and 
‘‘(2) a retailer provides such bag to a customer 
in a point of sale transaction, and 
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‘‘(3) such retailer has in effect at the time of 
such transaction a qualified carryout bag recycling 
program, 
the Secretary shall pay (without interest) to such retailer 
an amount equal to the applicable amount for each such 
bag used by the retailer in connection with a point of sale 
transaction. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—For purposes of sub-
section (a), the applicable amount is— 
‘‘(1) $0.01 with respect to transaction on and 
after January 1, 2010, and before January 1, 2015, 
and 
‘‘(2) $0.05 with respect to transaction on and 
after January 1, 2015. 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED SINGLE-USE CARRYOUT BAG RECY-
CLING PROGRAM.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘qualified carryout bag recycling program’ means a pro-
gram under which the retailer— 
‘‘(1) to the extent the retailer provides single- 
use carryout bags (as defined in section 4056) to 
customers— 
‘‘(A) passes through the tax imposed by 
section 4056 and tracks the total number of 
bags purchased and amount of tax passed 
through pursuant to section 4056(d), and 
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‘‘(B) has printed or displayed on each such 
bag, in a manner visible to a customer, the 
words ‘PLEASE RETURN TO A PARTICI-
PATING STORE FOR RECYCLING’, 
‘‘(2) places at each place of business at which 
retail operations are conducted one or more carryout 
bag collection bins which are visible, easily accessible 
to the customer, and clearly marked as being for the 
purpose of collecting and recycling single-use carry-
out bags, 
‘‘(3) recycles the single-use carryout bags col-
lected pursuant to paragraph (2), 
‘‘(4) maintains for not less than 3 years records 
(which shall be available to the Secretary) describing 
the collection, transport, and recycling of single-use 
carryout bags collected, and 
‘‘(5) makes available to customers within the 
retail establishment reusable bags (as defined in sec-
tion 4056(c)(2)) which may be purchased and used 
in lieu of using a single-use carryout bag.’’. 
(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST FUND.—Subchapter 
A of chapter 98 of such Code (relating to trust fund code) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 9511. SINGLE-USE CARRYOUT BAG TRUST FUND. 
‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab-
lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 
to be known as the ‘Single-Use Carryout Bag Trust Fund’ 
(referred to in this section as the ‘Trust Fund’), consisting 
of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to 
the Trust Fund as provided in this section or section 
9602(b). 
‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There is hereby 
appropriated to the Trust Fund an amount equivalent to 
the amounts received in the Treasury pursuant to section 
4056. 
‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—Amounts 
in the Trust Fund shall be available, as provided by appro-
priation Acts, for— 
‘‘(1) grants to States and localities that estab-
lish taxes on plastic and paper bags which are simi-
lar to the taxes imposed under section 4056, and 
‘‘(2) making payments under section 6433. 
‘‘(d) TRANSFER TO LAND AND WATER CONSERVA-
TION FUND.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pay 
from time to time from the Trust Fund into the 
land and water conservation fund provided for in 
title I of the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
Act of 1965 amounts (as determined by the Sec-
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retary) equivalent to the aggregate of the trans-
actions on which tax is imposed under section 4056 
aggregate amounts determined on the basis of— 
‘‘(A) $0.01 with respect to each such 
transaction on and after January 1, 2010, and 
before January 1, 2015, and 
‘‘(B) $0.05 with respect to each such 
transaction on and after January 1, 2015. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL
RULE
REGARDING
AMOUNTS 
TRANSFERRED.—Amounts transferred to the land 
and water conservation fund under paragraph (1) 
shall not be taken into account for purposes of de-
termining amounts to be appropriated or credited to 
the fund under section 2(c) of the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l– 
5(c)).’’. 
(d) STUDY.—Not later than December 31, 2012, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 
a study on the effectiveness of the provisions of this Act 
at reducing the use of single-use carryout bags and en-
couraging recycling of such bags. The report shall— 
(1) address measures that the Comptroller Gen-
eral determines may increase the effectiveness of 
such provisions, including the amount of tax im-
posed on each single-use carryout bag, and 
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(2) evaluate whether imposing taxes on other 
products, such as food wrappers and containers, 
could reduce the use of such products. 
The Comptroller General shall submit a report of such 
study to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 
Senate. 
(e) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) The table of subchapters for chapter 31 of 
such Code is amended by inserting after the item re-
lating to adding at the end thereof the following new 
item: 
‘‘Subchapter D. Single-Use Carryout Bags.’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subchapter B of 
chapter 65 of such Code is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 6433. Qualified single-use carryout bag recycling program.’’. 
(3) The table of sections for subchapter A of 
chapter 98 of such Code is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 9511. Single-Use Carryout Bag Trust Fund.’’. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on January 1, 2010. 
Æ 
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