Lawmakers Throw Out Plastic Shopping Bag Ban

Lawmakers rejected a bill Tuesday that would have banned the bags after a debate over whether the state was going too far in trying to regulate personal choice. It would have been the first statewide ban, although a few cities already prohibit their use.

The Democratic bill had been the subject of a furious lobbying campaign by the plastic bag manufacturing industry, which called it  a job killer.

The Senate took final action at the end of the legislative session. The bill received just 14 votes in the Senate, seven short of the majority it needed to pass.