By Lookout Staff

August 31, 2010 -- The expected Senate vote on AB 1998, the bill to ban plastic bags and most paper bags from most stores, did not take place on Monday. AB 1998, which received Assembly approval in June, must get through the Senate and return to the Assembly for a concurrence vote by the end of today. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will sign it.

Linda Rapattoni, spokesperson for AB 1998 author Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica), said on Monday night she did not know why the vote did not take place.

“There are different factors that go into this,” she said.

When asked if there was enough support in the Senate to pass the bill, Rapattoni said she did not know.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) is leading the fight by the plastics industry to prevent the ban from passing. It has lobbied legislators directly and put on a television and print media advertisement campaign in Sacramento.

Proponents include environmentalists, grocers and unions. Brownley held a press conference at a Downtown Los Angeles Vons on Sunday to promote AB 1998. See: Plastic Bags Ban, August 30, 2010.

The Santa Monica City Council has a plastic bag ban proposal on the table. Officials said last week that if AB 1998 does not pass, they will go through with a vote on their measure. See: Santa Monica to Move Ahead with Bag Ban, August 27, 2010.

Officials from several other jurisdictions, including the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles, said they would pursue similar legislation if AB 1998 fails.