Philadelphia shoppers will soon have to pay 10 cents for a paper bag
Though her administration had been critical of the measure, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker declined to veto the bill, allowing it to become law without her signature.
Philadelphia shoppers will soon have to pay 10 cents per paper bag after Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Thursday allowed a bill imposing the fee to become law without her signature.
The new law was authored by City Councilmember Mark Squilla, who also championed the city’s ban on plastic bags. Council approved the measure in a 10-5 vote two weeks ago, sending it to Parker’s desk.
The mayor’s administration had been critical of the measure, and it was unclear if Parker would sign the bill into law, veto it, or return it to Council without her signature, allowing it to be codified.
» READ MORE: A new 10-cent fee on paper bags has cleared Philly City Council, but Mayor Parker’s support is uncertain
Parker, who took office last year, has never vetoed a bill, and she declined to do so over Squilla’s paper bag fee. It’s likely Squilla had rounded up enough support on Council to override a potential veto, which would require a two-thirds vote from the legislature.
The law is expected to go into effect in January.
After Squilla’s plastic bag ban took effect in 2021, paper bag usage skyrocketed, said Squilla, who represents the 1st District, including parts of South Philadelphia, Center City, and the River Wards.
Although they are biodegradable, paper bags require more energy to produce.
“Nobody wants to pay that money for a bag,” Squilla said in an interview. “It’ll reduce the use of paper bags, which is environmentally [beneficial], if you have to cut down trees to make more paper bags. Also, the cost of making these paper bags is a lot more expensive than the plastic bags.”
Squilla tried to implement a fee to discourage shoppers from using them during former Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration. Kenney, however, in late 2023 killed the bill with a pocket veto — a maneuver that makes it easier for mayors to defeat legislation approved at the end of a Council term.
Squilla then introduced another measure to impose the fee after Parker took office. But he failed to win over the new administration.
“I support the intent of this bill to reduce the utilization of single-use bags and, thus, further Philadelphia’s commitment to environmental sustainability,” Parker wrote in a letter explaining her decision not to sign the bill. “But I remain concerned with some of the unintended consequences this legislation could have for our local economy and low-income Philadelphians, especially our communities of color.”
Still, Council advanced the measure over the administration’s objections, leading to speculation that Parker would reach for the veto pen for the first time in her tenure. Parker, however, may have determined that a veto would have been futile.
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When Council last month approved the fee with 10 votes, two members were absent: Kendra Brooks, who supports the fee, and Katherine Gilmore Richardson, who voted for it in committee.
It takes 12 votes for Council to override a veto, and Squilla appears to have had the votes.
Under the new law, shopkeepers will keep the proceeds from the fees, rather than turning them over to the city.
“The goal of this bill and legislation is to bring your own bag, not to charge you 10 cents for a bag,” Squilla said previously. “So it’s really a behavioral change.”
Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.