WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — A Navajo Nation lawmaker wants his colleagues to consider banning retailers on the reservation from single-use plastic bags.
Legislation that's up for public comment would ban plastic bags and impose a fee on paper grocery bags. It encourages retailers to provide reusable bags at little or no cost, or provide boxes to customers.
Jonathan Nez, the tribe's vice president-elect, is sponsoring the bill in the Navajo Nation Council. He must find a co-sponsor before he's sworn in as vice president on May 12 for the bill to move forward.
Violating the ban more than once would carry a financial penalty.
Arizona lawmakers recently voted to make it illegal for cities to impose bag bans, but the law doesn't affect the Navajo Nation or other American Indian tribes.