New York lawmakers are racing to forge an agreement on the state’s budget before the fiscal year begins on April 1. At stake in the negotiations over Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed $175 billion spending plan are issues that could be felt widely around the Empire State, including a permanent cap on property-tax bills, a ban on single-use plastic bags and a congestion fee on motorists driving into Manhattan’s traffic-clogged streets.

Plastic Bag

New York may become the second U.S. state to ban disposable plastic grocery bags, following California. If enacted, residents will have to bring their own bags to the grocery store or pay a fee for paper bags after March 2020. It would go a considerable way toward reducing waste: New York City alone tosses out 71,000 tons of plastic bags annually, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. Cuomo has said the budget is an effective vehicle to enact policies that might otherwise be difficult to pass the legislature in isolation, and the plastic bag provision is an example.