SB1872 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 08580 BDA 18632 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB1872

Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Cristina Castro

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Single-Use Plastic Bag Reduction Act. Defines terms. Prohibits, starting July 1, 2026, a retail mercantile establishment from offering or making available a single-use checkout bag to consumers at the point of sale. Allows a retail mercantile establishment to offer a recycled paper bag or reusable bag to consumers. Requires a fee of at least $0.10 per recycled bag to be retained by the retail mercantile establishment. Exempts bags for certain governmental food assistance programs. Limits use of the fee with respect to credit card and other fees. Provides for educational material and signage. Provides for enforcement, including civil penalties. Limits home rule powers.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Single-Use Plastic Bag Reduction Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Consumer" means any person who makes a purchase at retail.

"Person" means an individual, natural person, public or private corporation, government, partnership, unincorporated association, or other entity.

"Plastic" means an organic or petroleum derived synthetic or a semisynthetic solid material synthesized by the polymerization of organic substances that is moldable into various rigid and flexible forms, and to which additives or other substances may have been added. "Plastic" does not include natural polymers that have not been chemically modified.

"Primarily engaged" means having sales of ready-to-eat food for immediate consumption comprising at least 51% of the total sales, excluding the sale of liquor.

"Recycled paper bag" means a paper bag that:

(1) is 100% recyclable; and

(2) contains at least 40% post-consumer recycled material.

"Restaurant" means any business that is primarily engaged in the sale of ready-to-eat food for immediate consumption.

"Retail mercantile establishment" means a business that makes sales at retail and generates occupation or use tax revenue. "Retail mercantile establishment" does not include restaurant or small retail mercantile establishment.

"Reusable bag" means a bag with threaded stitched handles that:

(1) is designed and manufactured for multiple uses;

(2) can carry 22 pounds of a distance of 175 feet; and

(3) is made of cloth, fiber, or other fabric or recycled material that is machine washable and can be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

"Single-use checkout bag" means a single-use plastic bag that is provided by a retail mercantile establishment at the checkout, cash register, or point of sale to a consumer for the purpose of transporting goods out of the retail mercantile establishment and that is not a recycled paper bag or reusable bag. The term "Single-use checkout bag" does not include a bag that is:

(1) used to package bulk items such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, or candy;

(2) used for greeting cards, balloons, or small hardware items such as nails and bolts;

(3) used to contain or wrap frozen foods, meat, or fish whether prepackaged or not;

(4) used to contain or wrap flowers or potted plants or other items where dampness may be a problem;

(5) used to contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods;

(6) used to contain prescription drugs;

(7) sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for use as garbage bags, pet waste bags or yard waste bags;

(8) brought to a store by the consumer for their own use or to carry away from the store goods that are not placed in a bag provided by the store;

(9) provided by a dine-in or take-out restaurant to contain food or drink purchased by the restaurant's consumers;

(10) plastic liners that are permanently affixed, or designed and intended to be permanently affixed, to the inside of a particular bag;

(11) a newspaper bag, door-hanger bag, laundry cleaning bag, garment bag; or

(12) used for an online or digital orders where an employee of the retail mercantile establishment packages the goods for curbside pick-up or delivery.

"Small retail mercantile establishment" means a retail mercantile establishment that has 12 or fewer locations in the State, and is not part of a franchise, corporation, or partnership; or is a retailer as defined by the Motor Fuel and Petroleum Standards Act and is less than 5,000 square feet.

Section 10. Single-use checkout bag prohibition. Starting July 1, 2026, a retail mercantile establishment shall not offer a single-use checkout bag to consumers at the point of sale or otherwise make a single-use checkout bag available to consumers. A retail mercantile establishment may offer a recycled paper bag or reusable bag to consumers.

Section 15. Recycled paper bag fees.

(a) If a retail mercantile establishment offers a recycled paper bag to consumers, the retail mercantile establishment shall charge a fee of at least $0.10 per recycled paper bag offered to a consumer.

(b) All amounts collected pursuant to this Section are retained by the retail mercantile establishment and may be used for any lawful purpose.

(c) A retail mercantile establishment may not rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer any portion of the fee charged pursuant to this Section.

(d) The fee imposed under this Section does not apply to recycled paper bags that are used to carry items purchased pursuant to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Women Infants, and Children program, or a similar governmental food assistance program. Any final purchase price that includes a recycled paper bag fee must be excluded from the amount upon which any fee is charged the retail mercantile establishment by any person when a consumer uses a card, note, plate, coupon book, credit, or any other similar device to purchase the paper bag.

Section 20. Education material and signage.

(a) Every retail mercantile establishment subject to the single-use checkout bag prohibition and collection of the recycled paper bag fee shall conspicuously display a sign in a location outside or inside of the establishment, viewable by customers, alerting customers to the state's single-use checkout bag prohibition and recycled paper bag fee.

(b) The Agency shall develop educational and promotional material, including a sign that complies with subsection (a) of this section, regarding the state's single-use checkout bag prohibition and recycled paper bag fee. The Agency shall make the material available on the Agency's website for use by retail mercantile establishments that are subject to the requirements of this Act.

Section 25. Enforcement.

(a) The Agency may cause periodic inspections to be made of retailers in order to determine compliance with this Act. The Agency shall investigate complaints received concerning violations of this Act.

(b) If the Agency finds that any person has committed a violation of any provision of this Act, the Agency shall issue a warning to the person. Any person who commits a second violation within 12 months after the issuance of the warning shall be subject to a civil penalty, issued by the Agency, of up to $100. Any further violations committed within 12 months of the most recent violation after the second or subsequent violation shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500.

(c) Any penalties collected under this Section shall be deposited into the Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act.

Section 30. Municipal plastic bag audits; home rule. The power to audit taxes or fees on the collection, remittance, and payment of any taxes on plastic bags, however defined, is an exclusive power and function of the State. A municipality, including a home rule municipality, may not conduct a financial audit, with respect to the provision of plastic bags, of any person that provides a plastic bag to a consumer. This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.

Section 35. Regulation of checkout bags; home rule. A municipality or county, including a home rule unit, may not regulate in any manner the use, disposition, content, taxation, or sale of any checkout bag, however defined, that is provided by a retail mercantile establishment at the checkout, cash register, point of sale, or other point of departure to a consumer for the purpose of transporting goods out of the retail mercantile establishment. This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule powers and functions under subsection (g) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.