1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to local government; prohibiting local governments from banning or taxing 
1.3 	paper or plastic bags; appropriating money for a pilot program;proposing coding 
1.4 	for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 471.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [471.9998] MERCHANT BAGS.
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Citation. This section may be cited as the Consumer Choice Act.
1.8 		Subd. 2.Merchant option. All merchants, itinerant vendors, and peddlers doing business 
1.9 	in this state shall have the option to provide customers a paper, plastic, or reusable bag for 
1.10 	the packaging of any item or good purchased, provided such purchase is of a size and manner 
1.11 	commensurate with the use of paper, plastic, or reusable bags.
1.12 		Subd. 3.Prohibition; bag ban or tax. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
1.13 	political subdivision shall impose any ban, fee, or tax upon the use of paper, plastic, or 
1.14 	reusable bags for packaging of any item or good purchased from a merchant, itinerant 
1.15 	vendor, or peddler.

1.16 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective May 31, 2017. Ordinances existing on 
1.17 	the effective date of this section that would be prohibited under this section are invalid as 
1.18 	of the effective date of this section.

1.19 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; PLASTIC BAG RECYCLING PILOT PROJECT.
 1.20 	$20,000 in fiscal year 2018 from the environmental fund is appropriated to the 
1.21 	commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency for four grants to local units of government 
1.22 	to assist with plastic bag recycling efforts. Two of the grants must be for local units of 
2.1 	government in urban areas and two of the grants to local units of government in rural areas 
2.2 	of the state. By January 15, 2018, grantees shall report to the commissioner on the activities 
2.3 	and results of their efforts to increase plastic bag recycling.