California voters on Tuesday supported a 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. California Plastic Bag Ban Veto Referendum (Proposition 67) and the Dedication of Revenue from Disposable Bag Sales to Wildlife Conservation Fund Initiative (Proposition 65) [summaries] were on the ballot to give voters the ability to decide to lift a current plastic bag ban and to allow any fund created from the sale of the bags to go to the Wildlife Conservation Board. Proposition 67 passed with a slight majority while Proposition 65 failed with 55 percent of voters against the measure. At issue for 65 was the creation of a fund by requiring stores to sell the bags instead of allowing stores to keep the profit as 67 allowed for allocation to the protection of the environment already.

The implementation of California’s plastic bag ban [SB 270 text], which was set to go into effect last year, was halted [JURIST report] by a successful referendum petition. The trade group American Progressive Bag Alliance (ACPA) [advocacy website] collected [LAT report] more than 800,000 signatures on their petition [petition form]. SB 270 has faced a protracted and continuing political battle. California Governor Jerry Brown [official website] signed [JURIST report] the bill in October 2014, making it the first law of its kind in the US. California Senator Alex Padilla [official website] introduced the bill in an effort to reduce the amount of litter caused in the state by plastic bags. Austin, Texas, banned [Earth Policy Institute report] plastic bags in 2013 and in January 2014, Los Angeles because the largest US city to ban the use of plastic bags.