Attorney General Chris Carr was one of 17 attorneys general who joined forces to suit to challenge California’s state law targeting single-use plastics. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Seventeen Republican attorneys general have sued California over a state law that requires plastic packaging producers to move away from single-use plastics, alleging that the law will raise costs for consumers across the country.
Led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, the complaint filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of California challenges California’s Plastics Act. Under the law, which took effect May 1, plastic packaging producers must reduce single-use plastic by 25% and ensure all packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032.
Joining Hilgers in the lawsuit are 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 policy preferences on the entire nation.”
The law “will cause steep and persistent price increases” on products used daily by consumers in other states, the plaintiffs argue.
They also assert that the law violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution by interfering with interstate commerce, and that it improperly extends regulatory authority to a private organization. California appointed a nonprofit, the Circular Action Alliance, to help develop, administer and implement the law.
“Once again, California is trying to enact a policy that negatively impacts the rest of the country. If California goes unchecked, consumers will be forced to pay more for basic necessities,” Hilger said in a news release. “Nebraska is continuing to fight for consumers against California’s overreach.”
Environmental advocacy groups also sued California earlier this month, alleging the new regulations “fall short” in meeting the state’s aims of reducing plastic packaging, and that they contain loopholes for producers.
Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Georgia Recorder, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
