NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Dan Murray with NFIB-Kansas said progress is being made on making sure regulations in Kansas are consistent across the state.
"The plastic bag bill, as we call it, is a bill that would prohibit municipalities from adopting ordinances banning plastic containers," Murray said. "Think plastic bags, to go boxes from restaurants, etc. That bill passed out of Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee this week and is awaiting action by the full Senate sometime in the next week or two."
Especially in the Kansas City area, it can be hard to know when you are in one local jurisdiction or the other, especially if you're not from there.
"What this bill is intended to do is prevent the patchwork of laws that would be created by these kinds of bans," Murray said. "Lawrence has an ordinance set to come into effect this year. If you're a small business owner in Lawrence that has a location in Lawrence and maybe you have a restaurant in Topeka and a couple in the Kansas City area. Small business owners are impacted by buying in bulk and by leveraging what resources they do have to get items like straws and bags and different items that they use within their retail store or their restaurant."
This would disrupt their supply chain and increase their costs with mostly a symbolic environmental impact.
"The negative impact on small business owners, on other retailers as well, is far greater than any environmental impact this might bring positively," Murray said.
The Lawrence bag ban, if state law is not enacted first, will go into effect March 1.
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