A lawsuit led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, a Republican, alleges that California’s single-use plastics law will drive up consumer costs. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Seventeen Republican attorneys general have sued California over a state law requiring plastic packaging manufacturers to eliminate single-use plastics, claiming the law will augment costs for consumers across the country.
Led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors Complaint The motion, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, challenges California’s Plastics Act. Under the law, which came into effect on May 1, plastic packaging manufacturers are required to comply must reduce single-use plastic by 25% and ensure all packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032.
Hilgers is joined in the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. They say the law is an attempt by California to “impose its own political preferences on the entire nation.”
The law “will result in sharp and sustained price increases” for products that consumers in other states apply every day, the plaintiffs argue.
They also claim that the law violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution by interfering with interstate commerce and that it unlawfully extends regulatory power to a private organization. California has hired a nonprofit organization, the Circular Action Alliance, to lend a hand develop, administer and implement the law.
“Once again, California is attempting to impose policies that negatively impact the rest of the country. If California does not take action, consumers will be forced to pay more for basic needs,” Hilgers said in a news release. “Nebraska continues to fight for consumers against the dominance of California.”
Also environmental associations sued California earlier this month claimed that the fresh regulations were “insufficient” to meet the state’s plastic packaging reduction goals and that they contained loopholes for manufacturers.
Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at (*17*)nhassanein@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by State borderwhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes West Virginia Watch, and is a 501c(3) public charity supported by grants and a coalition of donors.
