A law that would have charged New York City shoppers 5 cents for using disposable bags will almost certainly be delayed after leaders of the State Assembly joined with the State Senate to oppose the measure.
The proposed city law, which would have begun on Feb. 15, was aimed at encouraging shoppers to carry reusable bags by charging them 5 cents for each plastic or paper bag taken at the checkout counter. There were some exemptions to the fee, such as bags used for takeout.
Environmentalists have said the law would reduce waste and cut the amount of bags sent to landfills. They also said many of the bags end up in the ocean where they present a hazard to sea life, or they simply fill city streets and tree branches with unsightly trash.
But opponents argued that the tax would place an undue economic burden on shoppers, especially the poor. Dog owners also wondered how they would cope without free bags to clean up after Fido during walks.
The Assembly鈥檚 speaker, Carl E. Heastie, a Democrat from the Bronx, said in a statement on Friday that the Assembly would pass a bill that postponed the city bag-fee law until at least January 2018. The bill would allow the City Council to revisit the issue next year, with the option of reinstating or altering the law at that time.
Mr. Heastie said that he supported the environmental goals of the city law but added, 鈥淲e have heard from many constituents concerned about the financial burden鈥� of the law. He said the Assembly would 鈥渆xamine the issue and work on possible alternatives.鈥�
The State Senate last month passed a bill to kill the bag fee. The Assembly version was the product of a compromise between the two houses of the Legislature, according to a legislative aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the internal discussions.
Mayor Bill de Blasio vigorously defended the bag fee earlier this week when he was in Albany to answer questions from state lawmakers about the city budget. And he defended it again on Friday in his weekly radio session on WNYC.
鈥淚t鈥檚 ridiculous to keep putting plastic bags into our landfills,鈥� Mr. de Blasio said in the radio session. 鈥淚t costs taxpayers a lot of money. It鈥檚 horrible for the environment. They鈥檙e made with fossil fuels. That鈥檚 bad for climate change.鈥�
鈥淭his is something that needs to be addressed,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e have a fair way of addressing it that will get people to change their personal behavior and just use reusable bags like our relatives a few generations back used all the time.鈥�
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