City close to closing plastic bag loophole

A bill that unites greenies and greenbacks in a rare “kumbaya” moment calls for a flat-out ban on checkout counter plastic bags, effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Approved by the City Council on Wednesday, Bill 59, which has undergone five drafts, will close a loophole in Honolulu’s plastic bag ban that allows businesses to offer “reusable” plastic bags that are slightly thicker than the banned filmy sacks. The thicker sort will be allowed through Dec. 31, 2019, with the stipulation that retailers charge at least 15 cents for each bag starting next July. Mayor Kirk Caldwell is expected to sign off on the environmentally sound move.

Next move? Let’s do away with polystyrene foam containers, too. Last month, Maui County became the first county in Hawaii to ban the ubiquitous foam takeout food containers, effective late next year.

Anti-abortion organizations take on state

Gov. David Ige signed into law Senate Bill 501, which requires family planning and pregnancy care centers to post a notice informing their clients that the state provides free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services. Those services could include abortion.

So it’s no surprise that a national anti-abortion religious organization and one of its Hawaii members, Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor, quickly sued to block the law. For the plaintiffs, the law violates their First Amendment rights — free speech (which includes the right not to speak) and freedom of religion — as well as a denial of due process.

For the state, the health issue is paramount; pregnant women, especially the poor, need access to comprehensive and unbiased information without delay. A knotty problem, and it seems the courts will have to unravel it.