Kansas bill would stop Wichita from banning plastic bags

Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill that would stop cities from banning single-use plastic bags, a measure that could hamstring a task force recently formed by the Wichita City Council.

The state’s GOP-led House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development approved a bill Friday that would prohibit local governments from imposing any tax, fee or outright ban on paper or plastic single-use bags and plastic straws. It could go to the full House for debate as early as next week.

Wichita is one of a handful of Kansas communities, including Lawrence, Salina and Prairie Village, that has started considering bans on plastic products. Lobbyists for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, grocers, restaurants and convenience stores say they’re worried that inconsistent rules across the state would burden businesses.

The bill was introduced a week after Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple, a former representative of the Kansas House, appointed a local group to weigh the pros and cons of banning or taxing plastic bags, from both an environmental perspective and a business standpoint.

“I think it’s a very knee-jerk reaction by the Legislature to assume that this process will result in an all-out ban,” Whipple said.

The Wichita task force was formed earlier this month at the request of several local activists who have been pushing the city to ban or tax plastic bags to curb use within the city limits. The group also includes representation from one of the city’s largest grocery chains, Dillons, which has already announced that it intends to phase-out the use of plastic bags in its stores in the near future.

“The goal is to come out with responsible policy that will be taking those first few steps towards responsible business practices,” Whipple said. “It’s not about an all-out ban. It’s more about how do we encourage people, how do we make sure that we are using our influence to be respectful and responsible within our environment.”

The state prohibition on banning plastics would take effect July 1 and nullify any local ordinances approved in the meantime. Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Stilwell Republican and chair of the committee, said the bill could be amended to include a sunset provision so that it expires in two to four years unless it is reauthorized.

“What this committee is going to do is look at the feasibility of what does not using plastic bags mean for local businesses. Things I’m interested in are what is the impact to that business and what are the benefits to that business,” said Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson, who is the head of Wichita’s plastic bag task force committee.

Opponents of a plastics ban are “looking at protecting business,” Johnson said. “But we’re also looking at making sure that business voices get heard (on the task force). So I wish that they would pause on that and wait and see what this conversation is like.

“Because if it’s good for the businesses, then the Kansas Chamber has taken the wrong position,” Johnson said.

If the bill becomes law, Johnson said, the task force’s work will continue. He said he has urged committee members to focus on finding ways to “promote not using plastic bags.”

Representatives for the supermarket and convenience store industries said they are concerned about business owners facing irregular standards across jurisdictions.

“We are here to figure out how to make it consistent across the state of Kansas,” Tom Palace, the executive director for the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas told committee members.

Cities say the measure would usurp their state constitutional authority to run their own local affairs.

Craig Owners, Lawrence city manager, told lawmakers in the city’s written testimony, “It is critical for local government to retain control over these types of issues in absence of state or federal action.”

Lawrence is considering an ordinance to ban plastic bag use in grocery stores after a group of fourth-grade students spoke to its City Commission about plastic’s harmful effects, according to written testimony submitted by the city.

Climate change activists want a reduction in plastic and paper bag-use.

Environmental groups told lawmakers that prohibiting cities and counties from regulating plastic use would be a step in the wrong direction. Rather than focusing on this legislation, activists say that lawmakers need to take a step toward creating a more sustainable environment.

“We’re fiddling while the world burns,” said Rabbi Moti Rieber, executive director of Kansas Interfaith Action, an environmental advocacy group.

This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 3:33 PM.