Utah Lawmakers Poised to Eliminate Local Governments Power to Create Some Bans

Utah lawmakers appear poised to take away local governments' power to create bans on plastic bags and other single-use containers.

A bill that would strip that power from city and county governments was approved by a House committee yesterday on a 6-4 vote.

Dave Davis of the Utah Retail Merchants Association testified in support of the bill yesterday, telling lawmakers that having different laws from community to community is bad for business owners.

Opponents called the bill a power grab by state lawmakers that does nothing to deal with the environmental issues caused by the use of plastic and styrofoam containers.

Park City and Moab currently have bans on single-use containers, though other Utah cities have discussed implementing their own restrictions.

Darin Mann of SLC Air Protectors says the bill moves the state in the wrong direction.