Boise cannot ban or tax plastic carryout bags. Idaho Code 39-7405, enacted in 2016, preempts cities and counties from regulating auxiliary containers including plastic and paper bags, foam containers, and reusable bags.
In 2016 the Idaho Legislature passed S.B. 1043, codified as Idaho Code 39-7405, expressly preempting all local regulation of auxiliary containers. The statute defines auxiliary container broadly to include single-use plastic bags, paper bags, polystyrene foam containers, reusable bags, cups, bottles, and similar packaging. Cities and counties cannot ban, restrict, fee, or tax their use. The statute was passed in response to bag-ban discussions in McCall and other resort communities. Boise's Climate Action Roadmap (2021) does not include a plastic-bag policy because state preemption blocks it. Some retailers voluntarily charge for bags or offer reusable alternatives, but municipal mandates are unlawful.
No city violations possible — local plastic-bag rules are unenforceable. The Idaho Attorney General has opined any local ordinance is void under 39-7405.
Boise, ID
Boise cannot ban polystyrene (Styrofoam) foam takeout containers. Idaho Code 39-7405 expressly preempts cities from regulating auxiliary containers, includin...
Boise, ID
Boise has no straws-on-request rule and cannot enact one. Idaho Code 39-7405 preempts city regulation of auxiliary containers including straws, so plastic st...
See how Boise's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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