California lawmakers sent a measure to Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday that is meant to reduce waste from throwing away plastic straws and it’s actually pretty reasonable.
AB1884 would not ban plastic straws from restaurants, rather customers would simply just ask for one if they wanted it. That’s it. Seems pretty doable, no?
The measure passed the Assembly 45-20, but not everyone was happy about it.
ABC 7 reports that Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez said she feels as though the measure wouldn’t help curb ocean pollution and would unfairly punish restaurants.
So how would restaurants be punished? Well, they would get a warning the first and second time they gave customers straws without customers asking. Then fined $25 per day for subsequent infractions, with an annual fine limit of $300 – at which point you have to ask: why are these people pushing straws on customers not asking for them so hard?
