An Act To Eliminate Single-use Plastic Carry-out Bags
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1532
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: STOVER, GROHOSKI, BABINE, BRENNAN, GRAMLICH, MAREAN, MEYER, O'NEIL, SANBORN
Amends: 38 MRSA §1605, 38 MRSA §1611

Legislative Document
No. 1532
H.P. 1115
House of Representatives, April 9, 2019
An Act To Eliminate Single-use Plastic Carry-out Bags
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative STOVER of Boothbay.
Cosponsored by Representatives: GROHOSKI of Ellsworth, McCREA of Fort Fairfield and
Representatives: BABINE of Scarborough, BRENNAN of Portland, GRAMLICH of Old 
Orchard Beach, MAREAN of Hollis, McDONALD of Stonington, MEYER of Eliot, O'NEIL 
of Saco, Senator: SANBORN, L. of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1605, first ¶, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 475, §1, 
is amended to read:
A As provided in section 1611, a retailer may use plastic bags to bag products other 
than at the point of retail sale only if the retailer:
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §1611 is enacted to read:
§1611.  Plastic bag reduction
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Plastic" means an organic or petroleum derivative synthetic or a semisynthetic 
organic solid that is moldable, and to which additives or other substances may have 
been added.  "Plastic" does not include natural polymers that have not been 
chemically modified.
B.  "Point of sale" means a check-out stand, cash register or other point of departure 
from a retail establishment.
C.  "Post-consumer recycled material" means a recycled material that if not recycled 
would otherwise have been destined for solid waste disposal, having completed its 
intended end use and product life cycle.  "Post-consumer recycled material" does not 
include materials and by-products generated from, and commonly reused in, an 
original manufacturing and fabrication process.
D.  "Recycled paper bag" means a paper bag that:
(1)  Is 100% recyclable; and
(2)  Contains at least 20% post-consumer recycled material if it has a capacity to 
hold at least 8 pounds, 
E.  "Restaurant" means an establishment that sells prepared food directly to the 
consumer.
F.  "Retail establishment" means a store, a restaurant or a temporary business.
G.  "Reusable bag" means a bag with handles that:
(1)  Is designed and manufactured to withstand 75 repeated uses;
(2)  Is machine washable or made from a material that can be cleaned and 
disinfected regularly;
(3)  If made from plastic is at least 4 mils thick; and
(4)  Has the capability of carrying a minimum of 18 pounds.
H.  "Single-use carry-out bag" means a bag that is made of plastic, paper or other 
material provided by a retail establishment at the point of sale for the purpose of 
transporting merchandise away from the retail establishment and that is not a 
recycled paper bag or a reusable bag.
I.  "Store" means a retail store that engages in the retail sale of merchandise, 
including food, goods, products and clothing. "Store" includes grocery stores 
primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and 
vegetables, fresh meats, fish and poultry and convenience stores engaged in the sale 
of a limited line of goods, including milk, bread, soda and snack foods, and prepared 
foods intended to be consumed off the premises.
J.  "Temporary business" means a seasonal or nonpermanent retail establishment such 
as a farmers' market or fair that sells merchandise including food, goods, products or 
clothing.
2.  Prohibition; exemptions.  This subsection governs the use of single-use carry-out 
bags.
A.  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, beginning April 22, 2020, a retail 
establishment may not provide a single-use carry-out bag to a customer at the point of 
sale or otherwise make single-use carry-out bags available to customers.
B.  The prohibition in paragraph A does not apply to:
(1)  Bags provided by a pharmacy to a customer for transporting a prescription 
medication away from the store;
(2)  Bags without handles used to protect items from being damaged or from 
damaging or contaminating other purchased items placed in a recycled paper bag 
or a reusable bag;
(3)  Bags used by customers inside a retail establishment to package loose items, 
such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, grains, bakery goods, candy, greeting 
cards or small hardware items; to contain or wrap frozen foods, meats or fish; or 
to contain or wrap flowers or potted plants;
(4)  Laundry, dry cleaning or garment bags, including bags provided by a hotel to 
guests to contain wet or dirty clothing or bags provided to protect large garments 
like suits, jackets or dresses;
(5)  Newspaper bags;
(6)  Bags sold in packages containing multiple bags intended to contain garbage, 
pet waste or yard waste;
(7)  Bags used to contain live animals, such as fish or insects sold in pet stores;
(8)  Bags used for vehicle tires;
(9)  Bags used to transport chemical pesticides, drain cleaning chemicals or other 
caustic chemicals sold at a retail establishment;
(10)  Bags used by a hunger relief organization such as a food pantry or soup 
kitchen to distribute food directly to the consumer at no charge;
(11)  Bags that customers bring to the retail establishment for their own use or for 
carrying away from the retail establishment goods that are not placed in a bag 
provided by the retail establishment.
3.  Recycled paper bag fees; exemptions.  This subsection governs fees assessed on 
recycled paper bags.
A.  Beginning April 22, 2020 a retail establishment may use a recycled paper bag to 
bag products at the point of sale as long as the retail establishment charges a fee of at 
least 5¢ per bag.
(1)  All amounts collected pursuant to this paragraph are retained by the retail 
establishment and may be used for any lawful purpose.
(2)  A retail establishment may not rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer any 
portion of the fee charged pursuant to this paragraph;
(3)  A retail establishment that sells a recycled paper bag to bag products at the 
point of sale may not charge for the bag if a customer uses an electronic benefits 
transfer card or a payment card or voucher issued by the State for the federal 
supplemental nutrition program under Title 22, section 3104 or the Women, 
Infants and Children Special Supplemental Food Program of the United States 
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to pay for the customer's products.
B.  The requirement to charge a fee under paragraph A does not apply to:
(1)  Stores at which less than 2% of retail sales are attributed to the sale of food 
and that have less than 10,000 square feet of retail area;
(2)  Restaurants; or
(3)  Hunger relief organizations engaged in distributing food directly to 
consumers at no charge.
A retail establishment exempt from charging a fee under this paragraph may charge a 
fee for a recycled paper bag.
4.  Violations.  A retail establishment that is not in compliance with this section is 
subject to civil penalties under section 349.
5.  Preemption.  To ensure maximum effectiveness through uniform statewide 
application, the State intends to occupy the whole field of regulation of single-use carry-
out bags at retail establishments.
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits a retail establishment from using single-use carry-out bags to bag 
products at the point of sale or otherwise make single-use carry-out bags available to 
customers, with exemptions for certain types and uses of plastic and paper bags. Retail 
establishments may provide recyclable paper bags to bag products at the point of sale for 
at least 5¢ per bag, with exceptions to the fee requirement for certain types of retail 
establishments.  The prohibition is effective April 22, 2020.