Lt. Governor Brian Calley [website] of Michigan signed a measure [materials] Wednesday prohibiting local regulation of shopping bags. The measure refers to the bags as “auxiliary containers” and defines the term to encompass containers made of plastic, cloth, paper, etc. The bill will not allow local governments to regulate, prohibit, or impose a fee on the containers. The bill takes effect in 90 days.

The regulation of plastic bags [NCSL report] in the US has become a growing topic of concern in 2016. Several cities and municipalities have taken it upon themselves to regulate the use of such containers. Some states, like Michigan, have preempted local regulation all together. Last month California voters supported [JURIST report] a state-wide mandate to eliminate the usage of plastic bags while simultaneously voting down a measure which required fees collected from the bag usage to better the environment.