SB 1053 (Blakespear) was approved by the Governor and chaptered on 22 September 2024 (Chapter 453, Statutes of 2024). It closes the loophole in California's 2014 bag law (SB 270) that allowed thicker reusable plastic bags at checkout. The operative section commenced on 1 January 2026: stores may offer only paper bags with at least 40 percent recycled content, charged at 10 cents or more, or no bag, and from 1 January 2028 paper bags must contain 50 percent post-consumer content.
The change responds to the Legislature's finding that the thicker bags allowed under the 2014 law were rarely reused, so they increased plastic waste. CalRecycle retired its SB 270 reusable-bag programme on 31 December 2025.
Status as at September 2026: in force since 1 January 2026. Dates verified against the SB 1053 bill text and history on the California Legislative Information site on 23 September 2026.