Alabama Code section 22-22B-1, enacted in 2019, expressly preempts municipalities from banning or taxing plastic shopping bags or other auxiliary containers. Mobile cannot enact a bag ban or fee under state law.
Alabama joined other Southeastern states by passing a 2019 preemption statute codified at Alabama Code section 22-22B-1, which forbids any city or county from adopting an ordinance regulating the use, disposition, sale, or imposition of fees on auxiliary containers, including plastic carryout bags, polystyrene cups, and similar single-use food packaging. Mobile retailers and Mardi Gras event vendors therefore operate under uniform state rules with no local bag tax or ban available. The city can, however, encourage voluntary reusable-bag programs and recycling drop-offs. Any future change would require either repeal of the state statute or a narrow legislative carve-out for coastal jurisdictions.
Because state law preempts local action, there are no city bag-ban penalties in Mobile. Any local ordinance attempting one would be void and unenforceable.
See how Mobile's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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