Bag ban hits snag

Efforts to get a countywide ban on plastic supermarket bags has been flowing along smoothly.

Thurston County Commissioners are expected to approve the bag ban shortly and then send it to the local cities for their approval.   Olympia and Tumwater are expected to pass it with little or no public input.

But things aren’t the same in Yelm and Lacey.

The City of Yelm says it has no intentions of passing the plastic bag ban without a vote of the people.   Now the City of Lacey is also in agreement with that stand.

At the Lacey Chamber of Commerce recent political forum On September 4, Lacey Mayor Virgil Clarkson said he expects to propose to the council that it put the issue before the people of his city for their vote. Also at that meeting, Cynthia Pratt, who favors a bag ban, indicated that she too would support a vote of the people.

At least three other members of the Lacey City Council have voiced their support for a public vote.  These include:  Andy Ryder, Lenny Greenstein and Jason Hearn.

There have been some efforts behind the scenes in Lacey to postpone action on the bag ban until after the November election.   But several members of the Lacey City Council are pushing for council action now.