Bozeman: Ban on single-use plastics to be voted on in November

BOZEMAN, Mont. — After some uncertainty, the question of whether to ban single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam packaging will be on the ballot in November for voters to decide on.

Organizers of local groups, including Valley of the Flowers Project and Gallatin Valley Beyond Plastics, collected over 10,000 signatures in support of the initiative’s vote.

Because it’s a special election year, organizers needed to collect signatures from at least 25 percent of the city’s registered voters. They didn’t meet the hurdle because only about 7,000 of those signatures were verified – but they did meet the 15 percent signature requirement that applies in a general election year.

This prompted supporters to make a public statement at City Hall, urging commissioners to use the 15 percent mark instead and put the initiative on the ballot.

According to Bozeman Mayor Terry Cunningham, the city attorney had advised commissioners that they would likely be challenged if such a case were to occur. But after a lawsuit was filed against the city attorney and the Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder, the 15% requirement will be applied and the initiative will be on the city’s ballot in November.

“We had to go ahead and put it to a vote because we can’t allow the decision to affect the printing of ballots in a month,” said Eric Semerad, Gallatin County’s county clerk and recorder.

Semerad said the decision was necessary because it would be a costly undertaking to reprint all of Bozeman’s city ballots if they later needed to be changed.