AB 1884—a bill that would require “dine-in, full service” restaurants to provide plastic straws only upon request—passed through the California State Senate on Monday, Aug. 20, with a majority, 25-15, vote.
The bill was proposed by Assemblymembers Ian Calderon and Richard Bloom; State Senator Henry Stern is a co-author.
A number of cities in California, including Malibu, have already banned plastic straws. The bill would apply to all restaurants in the state.
“Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our rivers and oceans for hundreds of years—especially when we don’t really need it,” Dan Jacobson, state director of the nonprofit Environment California, said in an emailed statement.
As currently written, restaurants would receive a notice for the first violation, and be fined $25 per day for any subsequent violation (not to exceed $300).
The bill now needs a concurrence vote from the California Assembly before going to Governor Jerry Brown’s office.