Plastic bags litter the Miami Beach shoreline. They get wrapped around the mangroves and clog the drainage system.
But there’s little city leaders can do because Florida law prohibits local governments from regulating or banning disposable plastic bags.
Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, is hoping to change that. He’s filed a bill that would allow coastal communities with fewer than 100,000 residents to create pilot programs addressing the issue.
The proposal won the unanimous support of the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee Wednesday, thanks partly to testimony from South Florida municipal leaders.
"We need your help," Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco told state lawmakers, pointing out that hundreds of thousands of tourists go shopping in his city.
Still, the proposal is a long shot. The powerful retail industry is against it, and its companion in the House (HB 661) has stalled.
More here.
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