HI HB998

Requires all businesses in Hawaii to charge and collect a 5-cent fee for each single-use checkout bag provided to customers, effective January 1, 2012.

Defines single-use checkout bags as plastic bags less than 2.25 mils thick or paper bags, with specific exemptions for produce bags, frozen food bags, pharmacy bags, newspaper bags, and other specialized bags.

Businesses must remit collected fees to the Department of Environmental Quality by the 15th of each month, with all revenues deposited into the general fund.

Prohibits businesses from reimbursing customers for the bag fee; violations subject to fines of at least $1,000 per violation.

Preempts county regulations on single-use bags, except in counties with existing ordinances where the fee applies only to paper bags.