Democratic lawmakers are proposing eliminating plastic bags from checkout counters across Nevada within five years.
Legislation introduced Monday would require grocery stores, restaurants and other retailers to tax customers 10 cents per plastic bag from July through 2021.
The state would use the fees for "cleaning up the environment."
Assembly Bill 344 would ban stores from providing customers with plastic bags beginning in 2022.
State health officials would conduct inspections and fine non-compliant businesses up to $500.
Assemblywomen Sandra Jauregui and Heidi Swank along with Sen. Tick Segerblom, all of Las Vegas, are leading the proposal in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
Non-biodegradable plastic bags are banned in California and Hawaii. Metropolitan areas that have imposed bans include New York, Seattle, Austin, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
