The legislation, led by Council President Kate Stewart, will ban single-use plastic carryout bags, reduce obstacles to compliance for retailers and increase funding for water quality protection projects to build a cleaner future for Montgomery County. 

The BYOB Bill will prohibit plastic carryout bags provided by a retail establishment and revises the County's bag law for paper carryout bags at the point of sale, with certain exceptions. 

The legislation revises the County’s current carryout bag law, which was implemented through the Council’s passage of Bill 8-11 in May 2011. The carryout bag law placed a five-cent fee on paper or plastic carryout bags provided by retail establishments to help fund the County’s stormwater management program. Under Bill 8-11, retail establishments remit four cents per bag to the County and keep one cent per bag to cover administrative costs. 

In a report released in June 2023, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that poor administration and implementation of the carryout bag law has diminished its potential impact, and the OIG made recommended improvements to the program. The BYOB Bill addresses legislative changes to improve the effectiveness of the carryout bag law. 

The BYOB Bill would revise the bag fee for paper bags from five to 10 cents, with five cents allocated to the retailers and five cents allocated to the Water Quality Protection Charge fund. Transactions where benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) are used as payment would be exempt from the carryout bag fee. The legislation would also require a 10-cent fee on plastic carryout bags if provided in municipalities where no ban exists. 

The bill will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. Councilmembers Laurie-Anne Sayles, Evan Glass, Natali Fani-González, Sidney Katz and Will Jawando are cosponsors. View the full staff report.