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| Cuomo Announces Bill to Ban Plastic Bags in New York State | Cuomo Announces Bill to Ban Plastic Bags in New York State |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo embraced a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags on Monday, introducing a bill to outlaw them by next year. | ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo embraced a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags on Monday, introducing a bill to outlaw them by next year. |
| The three-page bill, introduced by the governor a day after Earth Day, comes a little more than a year after he blocked a 5-cent surcharge that New York City had sought to place on single-use plastic bags. | The three-page bill, introduced by the governor a day after Earth Day, comes a little more than a year after he blocked a 5-cent surcharge that New York City had sought to place on single-use plastic bags. |
| In a statement accompanying the announcement, Mr. Cuomo described the measure as an effort to counteract the “blight of plastic bags” that is taking “a devastating toll on our streets, our water and our natural resources.” | In a statement accompanying the announcement, Mr. Cuomo described the measure as an effort to counteract the “blight of plastic bags” that is taking “a devastating toll on our streets, our water and our natural resources.” |
| Mr. Cuomo, a second-term Democrat seeking re-election in the fall, then quoted an adage: “We did not inherit the earth, we are merely borrowing it from our children.” His Democratic challenger, Cynthia Nixon, used similarly spiritual sentiments on Friday to unveil her climate platform, which included an embrace of a bill from the State Assembly that would move the state to 100 percent renewables by 2050, a plan that has failed to gather traction in the State Senate. | Mr. Cuomo, a second-term Democrat seeking re-election in the fall, then quoted an adage: “We did not inherit the earth, we are merely borrowing it from our children.” His Democratic challenger, Cynthia Nixon, used similarly spiritual sentiments on Friday to unveil her climate platform, which included an embrace of a bill from the State Assembly that would move the state to 100 percent renewables by 2050, a plan that has failed to gather traction in the State Senate. |
| If the bill were to pass, New York would join California, which approved a statewide ban of plastic bags in 2016. Hawaii has a de facto ban on plastic bags; all of its counties have instituted bans. | |
| But the measure faces an uncertain path in the Legislature, where leaders of the Assembly and the Senate had opposed the city’s bill. A spokesman for Carl E. Heastie, the Assembly speaker, said the Assembly had been generally supportive of a ban but not a fee. | |
| “The speaker supports banning unnecessary plastic waste, and we will review this proposal,” said the spokesman, Michael Whyland. | “The speaker supports banning unnecessary plastic waste, and we will review this proposal,” said the spokesman, Michael Whyland. |
| The measure would very likely face a stiffer challenge in the Senate, which is run by Republicans. A Senate spokesman had no immediate comment. | The measure would very likely face a stiffer challenge in the Senate, which is run by Republicans. A Senate spokesman had no immediate comment. |
| State Senator Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat who says he holds no party loyalty and who sits with the G.O.P., was one of the staunchest opponents of the 5-cent city fee, saying it would unfairly burden low-income consumers, like many of those who shop at bodegas and grocery stores in his district. On Monday, Mr. Felder said that he had not had time to review the Cuomo bill but that his opposition had to do with fees and taxes, not a ban per se. | State Senator Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat who says he holds no party loyalty and who sits with the G.O.P., was one of the staunchest opponents of the 5-cent city fee, saying it would unfairly burden low-income consumers, like many of those who shop at bodegas and grocery stores in his district. On Monday, Mr. Felder said that he had not had time to review the Cuomo bill but that his opposition had to do with fees and taxes, not a ban per se. |
| Mr. Cuomo’s opposition to the city measure was similarly centered on the fee structure; he said at the time that the bill was “deeply flawed” because it allowed merchants to keep the 5-cent fee as profit, a giveaway that he said would total $100 million a year. | Mr. Cuomo’s opposition to the city measure was similarly centered on the fee structure; he said at the time that the bill was “deeply flawed” because it allowed merchants to keep the 5-cent fee as profit, a giveaway that he said would total $100 million a year. |
| Brad Lander, Democrat of Brooklyn, the councilman who led the city’s effort to impose a 5-cent fee, called Mr. Cuomo’s proposal a transparent political maneuver. | Brad Lander, Democrat of Brooklyn, the councilman who led the city’s effort to impose a 5-cent fee, called Mr. Cuomo’s proposal a transparent political maneuver. |
| “I wish I believed the governor was serious about reducing the billions of single-use plastic bags New Yorkers are sending to landfills every year, but this looks like election-year, Earth Day politics,” Mr. Lander said. | “I wish I believed the governor was serious about reducing the billions of single-use plastic bags New Yorkers are sending to landfills every year, but this looks like election-year, Earth Day politics,” Mr. Lander said. |
| Susan Brockmann, one of hundreds of demonstrators who filled the State Capitol on Monday to rally for stronger environmental protections, said that New York should emulate California. | Susan Brockmann, one of hundreds of demonstrators who filled the State Capitol on Monday to rally for stronger environmental protections, said that New York should emulate California. |
| “It’s time,” said Ms. Brockmann, 55, a midwife from Long Island who was dressed in a suit made of 500 plastic bags. “We should follow the lead of other progressive communities.” | “It’s time,” said Ms. Brockmann, 55, a midwife from Long Island who was dressed in a suit made of 500 plastic bags. “We should follow the lead of other progressive communities.” |
| Monday’s proposal came as a result of a report in January by a task force that Mr. Cuomo convened last year after blocking the city bill. A ban was one of eight options entertained by that report, though it also outlined a number of drawbacks, including the fact that paper bags, an alternative to plastic, cost retailers “three to five times as much as single-use plastic bags.” | Monday’s proposal came as a result of a report in January by a task force that Mr. Cuomo convened last year after blocking the city bill. A ban was one of eight options entertained by that report, though it also outlined a number of drawbacks, including the fact that paper bags, an alternative to plastic, cost retailers “three to five times as much as single-use plastic bags.” |
| Under Mr. Cuomo’s proposal, a variety of bags would be exempted from the ban, including those that contains raw meat, fish or poultry; bags sold in bulk; those used in bulk packages of fruit and dried goods; those used for deli products; newspaper bags; trash, food storage and garment bags; and takeout food bags. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation would also be allowed to exempt certain bags through regulations. | Under Mr. Cuomo’s proposal, a variety of bags would be exempted from the ban, including those that contains raw meat, fish or poultry; bags sold in bulk; those used in bulk packages of fruit and dried goods; those used for deli products; newspaper bags; trash, food storage and garment bags; and takeout food bags. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation would also be allowed to exempt certain bags through regulations. |
| At an environmental rally held hours before the governor’s announcement, Ms. Nixon called Mr. Cuomo’s environmental record “lacking” and sported a T-shirt with the words “Stop CPV,” a reference to Competitive Power Ventures, a Maryland-based power company at the heart of the recent corruption trial of one of Mr. Cuomo’s former top aides, Joseph Percoco. | |
| Ms. Nixon told reporters that her candidacy seemed to have inspired the governor to veer left on a number of issues on which he had previously equivocated. | Ms. Nixon told reporters that her candidacy seemed to have inspired the governor to veer left on a number of issues on which he had previously equivocated. |
| “There certainly seems to be, in the last month, a number of issues on which Governor Cuomo has reversed himself rather startlingly,” she said. | “There certainly seems to be, in the last month, a number of issues on which Governor Cuomo has reversed himself rather startlingly,” she said. |