Act 87 of 2024 ended Pennsylvania's multi-year moratorium preempting local plastic bag and single-use plastic ordinances, restoring municipal authority to regulate or ban single-use carryout bags.
From 2020 through mid-2024 Pennsylvania imposed a statutory moratorium that preempted municipalities from enacting bans, fees, or restrictions on single-use plastic carryout bags and similar items. Act 87 of 2024 allowed that preemption to expire and clarified that local governments may again regulate single-use plastics. As a result, Philadelphia's longstanding plastic bag ban (which had been operating despite the moratorium under city home-rule authority) and ordinances in Pittsburgh, West Chester, and Narberth are now on firmer legal footing, and other municipalities are free to adopt bag fees, bans, or reusable-bag requirements. The state has not adopted a statewide ban or fee.
Retailers in covered municipalities can be cited by local code enforcement for distributing prohibited bags; statewide there is no penalty.
Lancaster, PA
The City of Lancaster prohibits loud, disturbing, or unnecessary noise across the city, with stricter standards during nighttime quiet hours of 10:00 PM to 7...
Lancaster, PA
Lancaster regulates on-street parking through Chapter 263 of the City Code and the Lancaster Parking Authority. Most downtown blocks are metered or permit-on...
Lancaster, PA
Lancaster's Zoning Code caps residential fences at 4 feet in front yards and 6 feet in side and rear yards, with extra rules in the city's designated Heritag...
Lancaster, PA
Lancaster requires dogs to be leashed and under control of their owner whenever off the owner's property. Chapter 97 of the City Code works in tandem with th...
Lancaster, PA
Pennsylvania Act 43 of 2017 (72 P.S. §9401) legalized consumer-grade (1.4G) fireworks statewide for adults 18+, but Lancaster's dense rowhouse fabric makes d...
Lancaster, PA
Lancaster requires property owners to keep grass and weeds under 10 inches in height on all residential and commercial lots. Chapter 235 (Property Maintenanc...
See how Lancaster's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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