Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to allow local governments within Minnesota the authority to ban the use of certain types of merchant bags, such as paper, plastic, or reusable bags, which was previously prohibited under state law.

Main Provisions

• Repeal of Current Statute: The bill repeals Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 471.9998. This section currently gives all merchants, itinerant vendors, and peddlers the unrestricted option to provide paper, plastic, or reusable bags to their customers.
• Local Government Empowerment: By repealing the statute, the bill removes the existing prohibition that prevents political subdivisions (local governments) from banning the use of certain types of merchant bags.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Removal of Prohibition: The repeal of section 471.9998 allows local governments to implement bans on paper, plastic, and reusable bags if they choose, which was not possible under the previous law due to a statewide prohibition.

Relevant Terms

merchant bags, ban, local government, paper bags, plastic bags, reusable bags, prohibition repeal, political subdivisions