SB 270 had the support of multiple environmental groups (including Heal the Bay and the Sierra Club), multiple cities including Long Beach, the County of Los Angeles...and (with the ten cent per paper bag charge) the CA Grocers Asssociation. Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal had long pressed for a statewide ban on plastic bags and urged passage of LB's local measure when statewide measures initially failed.

For the final state Senate vote tally, click here. (LB area state Senator Lara voted "yes." LB-area Senator Rod Wright was absent awaiting sentencing on felony charges.)

For the final Assembly vote tally, click here (LB area Assemblywoman Lowenthal voted "yes.")

The statewide measure includes a provision that lets LB continue enforce its 2011 Council-enacted plastic bag ban (which includes a charge of 10 cents per paper bag. The statewide measure requires stores subject to its terms to charge at least 10 cents per bag, which stores must retain for purposes stated in the bill. The measure includes a provision offering $2 million in loans, to be administered by CalRecycle, to businesses that move to make reusable bags.

"This bill is a step in the right direction -- it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself," said Governor Brown in a release. "We're the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last."

Long Beach City Hall was among 120 local governments in CA that have enacted ordinances banning the plastic bags in various manners.

LB's ordinance was initially proposed in December 2010 by then-Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal and then-Councilmember (now Mayor) Robert Garcia and Councilman Gary DeLong as a way to promote use of cloth/canvas reusable/washable bags. The measure never rceived more than the minimum number of five Councilmembers votes on either of its May 2011 text approval votes (detailed below.)

The LB ordinance received final approval in a cliffhanger Council vote on May 24, 2011 after Councilman Dee Andrews exited the Council Chamber prior to the agenda item (his office says to attend a previously scheduled engagement) and Councilman Gary DeLong exited during the item but returned to provide the one vote margin needed for passage.

Voting "yes" on the May 24, 2011 enacting (second reading) vote were Councilmembers Robert Garcia, Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, Councilmembers Gary DeLong, James Johnson and Steve Neal.

Voting "no" on the May 24 enacting vote were Councilmembers Rae Gabelich, Gerrie Schipske and Patrick O'Donnell.

Councilman Dee Andrews, who voted "no" on December 7, 2010 on the initial agenda item (brought by Vice Mayor Lowenthal, joined by Garcia and DeLong) to have the City Attorney prepare draft ordinance text, voted "yes" on May 17 to approve the ordinance text he'd voted not to request. By voting "yes" on May 17, Andrews provided the five vote margin to get the ordinance past its first reading (when four other Councilmembers, DeLong, O'Donnell, Schipske, and Gabelich were absent).

Until now, Long Beach consumers have had a choice of shopping in nearby Lakewood or Signal Hill grocery stores...but that will be gone by July 2015. Regarding the now-statewide ban:

[Gov. Brown office release text]..."For nearly 10 million Californians, life without plastic grocery bags is already a reality. Bag bans reduce plastic pollution and waste, lower bag costs at grocery stores, and now we’re seeing job growth in California at facilities that produce better alternatives," said Californians Against Waste executive director Mark Murray.

"California is the first state in the U.S. to ban the most ubiquitous consumer item on the planet, in an effort to drive consumers towards sustainable behavior change. Data from the over 127 local plastic bag bans has proven that bans are effective at reducing litter and changing consumer attitudes, and have refuted industry’s claims of apocalyptic impacts on jobs and poor communities. A state plastic bag ban saves taxpayers the huge amount of money spent on litter cleanup, and protects the environment," said Clean Seas Coalition and Seventh Generation Advisors director Leslie Tamminen.

"SB 270 is a great victory for all of California. We’ve seen locally that plastic bag bans lead to cleaner water and healthier wildlife, keeping trash off our beaches and out of our creeks. The success of bag bans in our local communities has empowered state legislators to make the right decision for the health of California’s waterways. Governor Brown’s signature of this statewide bag ban is an important moment for our state, demonstrating that California is once again willing to take the lead on important environmental issues," said Save the Bay executive director David Lewis.

The text above was clarified a few hours after publication to make clear that under LB's law, LB stores selling paper bags must charge 10 cents per bag while the statewide law requires stores to charge at least tens cents for each paper bag. As indicated in our original story, the statewide law includes a provision that allowed LB's law to remain in force.