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Montgomery County will start charging 5 cents per bag in 2012.
The County Council passed the measure 8-1, meaning a 5 cent tax on each paper or plastic take-out bag from nearly all stores will be imposed at the start of 2012.
Council Vice President Roger Berliner said he and his colleagues heard a lot from their D.C. counterparts about the city's own bag tax, implemented in 2010.
"Testimony that our council heard on this perfectly reflected the testimony of Council member Wells and their experience, which was broad acceptance in the environmental community and literally not a peep from our business community," he says.
Berliner says the council's goal isn't to raise money, but to encourage shoppers to use reusable shopping bags.
Council member Nancy Floreen cast the lone dissenting vote, saying that if her colleagues were so concerned about the environmental impact of plastic bags, they should have just banned them outright.
NPR
Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process
After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.NPR
In Raw Milk Case, Activists See Food Freedom On Trial
Activists say the case against Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger is about raw milk — and much more. His supporters have turned the case into a rallying cry for personal food freedom and the rights of farmers and consumers to enter into private contracts without government intervention.NPR
Lois Lerner's Brief And Awful Day On Capitol Hill
The IRS bureaucrat showed up long enough at a House hearing into the scandal engulfing her agency to declare her innocence and her constitutional right to say no more.NPR
How That 'Nigerian Email Scam' Got Started
You've probably seen it in your inbox before: Someone who claims to have come into a fortune needs your help. You can share in the profits — if you send along a deposit or your bank account number. Boston Globe correspondent Finn Brunton talks about the history of the "Nigerian prince" or "419" scam, which actually got its start long before email.Leave a Comment
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