Allow Bag Fees in Concord, MA!
Victory! Surfrider MA worked with local activists to help the Town of Concord petition the state legislature at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting in establishing a $0.10 minimum charge for all checkout bags distributed in the Town of Concord.
UPDATE, JUNE, 2023
Following approval at Town Meeting, An Act Authorizing the Town of Concord to establish a fee for checkout bags (H.5294) was filed in the state legislature in September 2022. This bill received a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government, but then did not advance further before the end of the legislative session.
At the start of the new 2023-4 legislative session, An Act authorizing the Town of Concord to establish a fee for checkout bags (Bill H.2037) was refiled and is pending as of June 2023.
UPDATE, MAY, 2022
The article passed at town Meeting, which was held on May 1 and May 2, 2022!
Passage expresses the community's desire for charging $0.10 or more for checkout bags.
While the Town Meeting vote authorizes the Town Manager to petition the legislature, it does not mandate her to do so. That said, it is anticipated that she will follow through, and if that does occur, this campaign will be a victory, and a home rule Petition would be sent to the General Court to authorize the Town to establish the needed fees to pass good bag law!
Residents are urged to contact the MA Chapter to get involved, and to learn more about the complex issues surrounding local bag fees in the State of Massachusetts.
Historic Account
Concord, MA: Surfrider MA has been working with local activists to pass a Town Meeting Article at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting that would authorize the Select Board to petition the MA General Court to adopt legislation establishing a $0.10 minimum charge for all checkout bags distributed in the Town of Concord. The special law would need to be passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor to go into effect. For more details about this article, please email.
The addition of a minimum bag charge to properly incentivize the use of renewable bags would be a major and important upgrade to Concord’s existing plastic bag regulation, which first passed in 2015.
The article to “Authorize Select Board to Petition to Impose a Checkout Bag Charge” is Article 37 on Concord’s 2022 Annual Town Meeting Warrant. The Town Meeting will occur on Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 1PM at the Concord Carlisle Regional High School Gymnasium.