Post updated to reflect the fact that Washington State's proposed ban on plastic bags has, like Oregon's, the backing of the grocery industry.

As Fizz reported this morning, freshman state Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon is pushing for a ban on disposable plastic bags at grocery stores and large retailers in the wake of a defeated 2009 proposal that would have charged a flat fee for plastic and paper disposable grocery bags. Fitzgibbon's bill---which has the backing of the grocery industry (!!), would also require a five-cent fee for every disposable paper bag a shopper uses.

Down in Oregon, they're considering a similar bill (no plastic bags, five-cent fee for paper bags) that also has the backing of the grocery industry, which says it just wants a consistent set of laws to follow throughout the state. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports:

Joe Gilliam of the Northwest Grocery Association says some Oregon cities were thinking about their own ban and in some cases even a tax on plastic bags.

This ban would create a uniform statewide policy.

Joe Gilliam: "We wanted customers to just go in the store and expect the same thing from all retailers. So they only have to kind of acclimate to one change in all this."

Plastic bags could still be offered for products inside the store such as produce or meat. But when you check out, you'd no longer hear the question "Paper or plastic?"

Listen to the whole story here.