Grassroots organizations take on plastic and fire back at existing Montana legislation

Local grassroots groups, MTPlastic Free and Gallatin Valley Beyond Plastic (GVBP), have introduced a citizen-led single-use plastic ban initiative that will appear on the ballots this upcoming election day.

According to MTPlastic Free, the Bozeman Plastic Ordinance would prohibit businesses from distributing single-use plastic bags and styrofoam containers, as well as limiting straws and beverage stirrers to upon-request items. If passed, this initiative will be set into motion May 1, 2025.

Terry Quatraro, project manager and spokesperson from MTPlastic Free, explained that getting the ordinance on the ballot has been a prolonged journey. In 2021, the Montana Legislature passed House Bill 407 (HB 407), which preempts local governments and citizens from enacting regulations on the use, disposal and sale of any auxiliary containers, as well as any restrictions or fees placed on containers. This law has been referred to as the “ban on bans,” as it has since prevented Montana cities and environmental groups from ratifying any plastic restrictions.

Montana House Representative (D-59) Ed Stafman attempted to introduce House Bill 413 in 2022, but it died in the Standing Committee in 2023. Shortly after, the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center — a local law firm dedicated to protecting the environment — filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana and argued that it is unconstitutional for the government to place a ban on citizen-led initiatives, according to Quatraro.

“Part of what that ban said was that individual communities could not by themselves put forth a referendum from the people,” Quatraro said. “So that's what John Meyer [of] Cottonwood [argued against]. He went to a judge and he prevailed in getting that reversed. The judge was very adamant, saying that people have a right to put forth a referendum or an initiative.”

Following the partial reversal of HB 407, MTPlastic Free and GVBP got to work drafting the initiative and began gathering signatures. It was not long before the organizations faced another form of pushback.

“The state charter, for some reason, says that any initiative that is proposed in an even-numbered year is considered a special election,” Quatraro said. “So, it has to be 25 percent of signatures of previous voters in the city, instead of 15 percent. Odd-numbered years are 15 percent. But even knowing that, we thought the time was ripe to go ahead, and we started collecting signatures. And it was quite a laborious process, because there was a small group of us.”

The groups received multiple extensions in an attempt to gather all the necessary signatures, but as Quatraro explained, many were found to be invalid for technical reasons.

“John Meyer came to our rescue again and he sued both the city and the county elections office,” Quatraro said. “He said that there's no way that this is considered a special election year because the definition in the state charter is that the special election stands alone. Well, this is [also] a federal election.”

Further, Quatraro explained that there was no precedent for this case because Bozeman hasn’t had a citizens initiative on the ballot in years. Again, the judge ruled in their favor. Following the second lawsuit, the group gathered the required amount of signatures. Now, the initiative is set to be on the ballot this Nov. 5.

“We are the last, the very last item on the election ballots,” Quatraro said. “So hopefully people don't get what's called ballot fatigue and get to a certain point and go, oh, to heck with it, I'm not going any further.”

Quatraro wants the Bozeman community to consider the positive environmental and health benefits that this initiative will offer. According to MTPlastic Free, 12 states and over 500 municipalities have already implemented similar bans and have seen a reduction in plastic bag litter by over one-third. They also write that this will have no cost to taxpayers and will save businesses a significant amount of money as they no longer will have to purchase single-use shopping bags.

Quatraro also urges voters to consider factors beyond the environmental impact, such as the growing research into the negative health impacts of microplastics.

“It's everywhere, and it is in our bodies. [Microplastics] are insidious,” Quatraro said. “You think they are just these small little particles — but they are everywhere.”

“What choice do we want to make? Do we want to lead healthier lives, have cleaner environments, have healthier bodies or do we want to have our habits continue?”

To find out more about the proposed initiative or to get involved with the groups, visit https://www.mtplasticfree.com/ and https://www.beyondplastics.org/from-the-grassroots/montana-ban-on-bans.