On March 30, amongst many other bills, Governor Walker signed Assembly Bill 730 into law as 2015 Wisconsin Act 302. The law prohibits political subdivisions from regulating auxiliary containers. More specifically, a city, village, town, or county cannot regulate the use of or create a fee for containers (bag, cup, bottle, etc.) made of cloth, paper, plastic, cardboard, corrugated material, aluminum, glass, postconsumer recycled material, or similar substances. This legislation did not prohibit the state from regulating these issues on a statewide level. The intent is to protect consumers and business owners from inconsistencies or ordinances that vary from town to town.
This bill, authored by Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) and Sen. Frank Lasee (R-De Pere) and Rep. Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah) and Rep. Tyler Vorpagel (R-Plymouth), and supported by many members of the business community, passed both houses of the legislature earlier this year on party line votes.