California won’t force 10-cent grocery bag charge amid virus

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California grocery and retail stores won’t be required to charge 10 cents per bag, and they can again hand out thinner, single-use plastic bags under an executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

It’s a change that major retailers have wanted for weeks.

Many grocery stores have stopped letting customers bring in reusable bags over fears of spreading the coronavirus.

Newsom's executive order Thursday also lifted the ban on stores handing out single-use plastic bags for 60 days. State law requires stores that do hand out plastic bags to give ones that can be reused.