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Committee hears competing views on bill to restore local authority over auxiliary containers
Summary
House Bill 160 would repeal statutory limits that bar cities and citizens from regulating auxiliary containers such as single-use plastic bags and polystyrene containers. Sponsors and environmental groups urged restoring local control after Bozeman voters approved a plastics ordinance; business groups and retailers warned of statewide inconsistency and costs. The committee held extensive public testimony and asked follow-up questions; no vote was held.
Representative Ed Staffman (House District 59) told the House Local Government Committee that House Bill 160 seeks to repeal provisions that prevent local governments and citizen initiatives from regulating "auxiliary containers," including single-use plastic bags and polystyrene food containers.
Staffman framed the bill as a question of local control and recounted recent legal history: a 2021 statute curbed local authority on plastics, a Gallatin County district court judge earlier found that a restriction on initiatives violated the Montana Constitution, Bozeman voters approved a plastics ordinance in November with 18,819 votes in favor, and the Montana Supreme Court later reversed the district court’s decision on at…
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