Shoppers across our region who do not bring their own bags could wind up paying the price in the near future.
A 5-cent fee for each paper or plastic bag went into effect in D.C. on Jan. 1, with proceeds going to a fund to help clean up the Anacostia River.
Now Maryland and Virginia lawmakers plan to push for the same fee, according to a report in the Washington Examiner.
"We need to do this as a region," Montgomery County Delegate Alfred Carr told the Examiner. He plans to introduce the bag fee legislation in the Maryland General Assembly.
On the other side of the Potomac, Delegate Adam Ebbin plans to introduce similar legislation in Virginia. The revenues in Virginia would be divided between retailers and the Virginia Water Quality Improvement fund, Ebbin told the Examiner.
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Both delegates introduced similar legislation last year, but the District's precedent makes the proposals more likely to pass this year, Carr said.
