Sunday, April 28, 2013
Four Montgomery County Councilmembers agreed that the one-year-old tax was not appropriate for non-food businesses.
A sweeping measure that aimed to reduce plastic bag consumption and litter in Montgomery County may see its days numbered, at least in the current iteration. County councilmembers Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda), Craig Rice (D-Germantown) and Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) proposed Tuesday to limit the scope of the county's 5-cent bag tax to only apply to food stores, not retail businesses or take-out restaurants. Councilman George Leventhal (D-At Large) decided to co-sponsor the bill during the council meeting. "There are things we need to clean up with this bill," said Rice, noting that he has heard the tax was challenging for clothing retailers. Since the bill went into effect last January, the county has raked in more than $2 million in bag…
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Montgomery County's controversial bag tax brought in more than double the anticipated revenue, The Washington Examiner reported.
Montgomery County's controversial 5-cent tax on shopping bags has brought in more than $2 million in its first year, The Washington Examiner reported. The $2.1 million total through November could be pushed to $2.2 million once December numbers come in, County spokesperson Patrick Lacefield told The Washington Examiner. Projected revenues for the bag tax were based on Washington, DC's, first year (2011) with the tax, according to the report. DC's system has brought in less money than expected as people brought their own bags to stores. The Montgomery County bag tax took effect on Jan. 1, 2012, and was intended to reduce the number of plastic bags in county waterways. The county expected to earn up to $1.5 million from this tax in the first…
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Under a new Montgomery County law, paper or plastic bags from retailers cost customers five cents.
Dozens of shoppers popping into Safeway in Hillandale got more than the bargains they were looking for, finding themselves being greeted by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett handing out reusable grocery bags. Leggett visited the store Tuesday morning to give away hundreds of such bags to help customers mitigate a new cost for shoppers -- paying a nickel for each paper or plastic grocery bag under the county’s bag tax, which took effect Jan. 1. “We're making a very strong effort in the next few days to make sure we get the word out, to make sure people understand the law,” Leggett said. The county executive introduced the bill last spring and it passed the County Council in May 2011 with just one opposing vote. (Councilmember Nancy …
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Shoppers can pick up free reusable bags at various locations on Tuesday, starting at noon.
Paper or plastic: If you want a bag at the grocery store, prepare to now pay the price. With Montgomery County’s new bag law beginning today, shoppers must now pay 5 cents for each non-reusable bag. Of that five cents, the retail establishment keeps one cent per bag for administrative costs. To ease the transition, the county is distributing a limited number of reusable bags (donated by businesses) at the following locations on Tuesday, starting at noon: • Safeway, King Farm, 403 Redland Boulevard, Rockville • The Little Bitts Shop, 11244 Triangle Lane, Wheaton • Bethesda, corner of Woodmont and Bethesda avenues, near the fountain • Walmart, 20910 Frederick Road, Germantown Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett wil distribute bags at…
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Patch readers respond to last week's poll and post regarding the Montgomery County bag tax.
The Montgomery County bag tax is less than eco-chic, according to our readers. Of the 79 users who responded to our extraordinarily unscientific poll, 53 felt the tax was more of an eco-fail. “I don't mind paying taxes for the services we receive, but this nuisance tax should be repealed,” Woodside Park Bob posted in the comments of our story “County Schedules Webinars Dedicated To Bag Law.” Maryland blogs and online forums have popped up encouraging residents to contact the county and request a repeal. A Facebook page dedicated to killing bag taxes nationwide has made multiple posts about the Montgomery County tax, with many commenters calling for a repeal of the vote. However, Montgomery County residents have not quite reached the stage…
Friday, October 7, 2011
Informational sessions have been scheduled through January to explain the new county bag law to residents and retailers.
To help residents and retailers understand the new carryout bag law, effective Jan. 1, 2012, Montgomery County has launched a new website with scheduled information sessions. Under Montgomery County's carryout bag law, effective Jan. 1, 2012, all retail establishments in the county that provide customers a paper or plastic bag for purchases are required to charge 5 cents per bag. Affected retail establishments include "all stores, permanent booths, service stations, grocery stores, department stores and other sellers," according to the Montgomery County website. Exemptions from the bag law include: • Bags used to hold prescription drugs • "Initial use" bags, such as garbage bags, dry cleaning bags or newspaper bags • Bags provided by an …
Dan
1:53 pm on Sunday, April 28, 2013
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