(1) 
While the city council recognizes carryout bag regulation is a matter of statewide interest and concern that is best applied uniformly throughout the state, in the absence of statewide regulation, it is in the best interests of the city and its residents for the city to regulate carryout bags as described herein.
(2) 
The regulation of single-use carryout bags as proposed herein promotes the general health and welfare of the public by reducing the amount of waste, litter and marine pollution that are attributable to single-use bags.
(3) 
The city council finds that it will discourage the use of single-use paper bags and encourage the use of reusable carryout bags if a store is required to charge the customer who uses the single-use paper bag for the cost of the bag rather than spreading that cost among all of its customers by including the cost in the prices charged for its merchandise. This chapter provides for such a charge solely for this reason and not to raise revenue for a general or special purpose of the city.
(4) 
Regulation of single-use carryout bags will have beneficial environmental impacts and no significant adverse environmental impacts, and is thereby categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.
(Ord. 220 § 1, 2014.)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
"Customer"
means any person obtaining goods from a store.
"Post consumer recycled content"
means material that would otherwise be destined for solid waste disposal having completed its intended end use and product lifecycle. Post consumer recycled content does not include materials and byproducts generated from and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing and fabrication process.
"Recycled-content paper bag"
means a paper carryout bag provided by a store to a customer at the point of purchase that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) 
Contains a minimum of 40 percent post consumer recycled content, except a 350 cubic inch or smaller recycled-content paper bag shall contain a minimum of 20 percent post consumer recycled content.
(2) 
Is accepted for recycling in the curbside program of the city.
(3) 
Has printed on the bag the name of the manufacturer and the minimum percentage of post consumer content.
"Reusable carryout bag"
means a bag with handles that is specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse, does not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts as established by the United States Pharmacopeia Convention (USP), and is either:
(1) 
Made of cloth or other machine washable fabric; or
(2) 
Made of durable plastic that is at least 2.25 mils thick and specifically designed for multiple reuse, meaning manufactured to carry a minimum of 22 pounds for at least 125 times over a distance of at least 175 feet.
"Single-use carryout bag"
means a bag made of plastic, paper, or other material, that is provided by a store to a customer at the point of purchase and that is not a reusable carryout bag. A single-use carryout bag does not include: (1) a bag provided by a pharmacy licensed pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4000) of Division 2 of the California Business and Professions Code to a customer purchasing a prescription medication; (2) a bag used by customers before the point of purchase to: (a) package bulk items, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, candy or small hardware items, (b) contain or wrap frozen foods, meat, or fish, whether prepackaged or not, (c) contain or wrap flowers, potted plants, or other items where dampness may be a problem, (d) contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods, or (e) separate or protect individual items prior to placing them in a carryout bag; or (3) a newspaper bag, door-hanger bag, laundry-cleaning bag, or bags sold in a multiple package of bags intended for use as garbage, pet waste, or yard waste bags.
"Store"
means a retail establishment, other than a certified farmers' market, that sells perishable or nonperishable goods, licensed to do business in the city and includes a restaurant or any other business that receives 90 percent or more of its revenue from the sale of prepared food, including alcoholic beverages, to be eaten on or off its premises.
(Ord. 220 § 1, 2014.)
(1) 
A store shall not provide a singe-use carryout bag to a customer at the point of purchase, except as provided in this section.
(2) 
Plastic single-use carryout bags are prohibited.
(3) 
A store may provide reusable carryout bags to customers at no cost until 18 months after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, only when combined with a time-limited store promotional program to promote the use of reusable carryout bags.
(4) 
A store may provide to a customer a recycled-content paper bag or a reusable carryout bag upon request but shall charge the customer, except as provided in subsection (6), not less than 10 cents per bag.
(5) 
A store will not be required to charge a customer for a recycled-content paper bag of less than 250 cubic inches capacity.
(6) 
For any recycled-content paper bag or a reusable carryout bag sold to a customer, the amount of the sale of the bag shall be separately itemized on the sales receipt. No store shall rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer any portion of the charge required for a recycled-content paper bag.
(Ord. 220 § 1, 2014.)
This chapter shall be and the same is hereby declared to be in full force and effect for 180 days from the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.
(Ord. 220 § 1, 2014.)
(1) 
Any action to enforce this chapter must be preceded by delivery of a written warning to the store where a violation has occurred. The warning shall be personally delivered to the store manager or mailed by registered or certified U.S. mail to the store. No further enforcement action may be taken against the store for that violation, if the store cures the violation within 30 days after receipt of the written warning and does not commit another violation within six months after receipt of the written warning.
(2) 
Any person, firm or corporation who violates this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding: (a) $100.00 for a first violation; (b) $200.00 for a second violation within the same year; and (c) $500.00 for each additional violation within the same year.
(3) 
Any violation of this chapter may be enforced through any applicable administrative enforcement procedures contained in the Point Arena Municipal Code. The city manager, or designee, is authorized to take any and all other actions authorized by law which are reasonable and necessary to enforce this chapter, including, but not limited to, investigating violations, and imposing administrative fines in amounts as may be established from time to time by ordinance.
(4) 
In addition to the administrative enforcement procedures described above, the city council is authorized to pursue judicial enforcement of this chapter through a civil action.
(5) 
A violation of any provision of this chapter by any person, firm or corporation shall be subject to a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction, including the small claims court, by a customer, public interest organization, or the city to recover any damages caused by the violation and a civil penalty of $1,000 or 10 percent of actual damages, whichever is higher, for every such violation. For any willful violation, the customer, public interest organization or city may recover treble damages. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the filing of an action as authorized herein as a class action. The prevailing party in any action filed pursuant to this subsection shall be entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees to be determined by the court.
(6) 
No remedy contained n this section is intended to be exclusive of any other remedy contained herein and each and every such remedy shall be cumulative and shall be in addition to every other remedy now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or by statute or otherwise.
(Ord. 220 § 1, 2014.)
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the chapter. The Point Arena city council hereby declares that it would have passed the ordinance codified in this chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases may be held invalid or unconstitutional.
(Ord. 220 § 1, 2014.)