While seven Newton City Councilors have proposed charging consumers a fee for paper bags, a proposal that is gaining traction on Beacon Hill for a state wide plastic bag ban would make any action the council takes now “null and void,” the State House News Service reports (Via Patch) 

Under the legislation backed by the committee’s chairs, Lenox Rep. Smitty Pignatelli and Spencer Sen. Anne Gobi, stores would be barred from providing a single-use plastic bag starting Aug. 1, 2019. The bill would not preempt cities and towns from further limiting single-use carryout bags but it would render “null and void” any ordinances or bylaws in place before enactment of the bill.

Newton’s paper bag fee — proposed by Councilors Leary, Norton, Auchincloss, Brousal Glaser, Danberg, Kalis and Markiewicz  —  has been expected to go before the Programs and Services committee this month.