A law banning the use of single-use plastic bags in California has been made official by California lawmakers, as it cleared the Senate on a 22-15 vote Friday and was approved by the Assembly a day earlier. Introduced by Los Angeles Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, the measure will prohibit single-use plastic bags at grocery stores and large pharmacies in 2015 and in convenience stores in 2016.

 According to Reuters, the bill was introduced in order to reduce litter on streets, beaches, and a variety of other locations. Senator Alex Padilla said, "Single-use plastic bags not only litter our beaches, but our mountains, our deserts, and our rivers, streams, and lakes," making clear why he sponsored the bill.

Plastic bags have also been clogging oceans and waterways for many years, with both immense cleanup costs and environmental costs. In California, there is a particular fear that plastic bags can harm ocean life when swept out to sea. Furthermore, according to an estimate by Californians Against Waste, an advocacy group supporting the bill, more than 10 billion plastic bags are used in California each year.

Plastic bag bans have been enacted before, but never on a statewide level. According to ABC News, about 100 local jurisdictions in California had already enacted similar bans, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. Previous attempts to make the bag ban statewide failed - just last year, Senator Padilla backed a similar measure that failed by three votes.

The reason for previous bag ban failures are attributed both California-based bag makers and out-of-state manufacturers, who went as far as to produce television advertisements criticizing Padilla. This was seen as threatening, as Padilla is currently running for secretary of state. According to the Huffington Post, many plastic bag manufacturers contended that the bill would lead to layoffs at their companies.

USA Today reports that the recently passed law aims to help bag manufacturers by allowing grocers to charge 10 cents each for paper and reusable bags, as well as by including $2 million in loans to help manufacturers shift to the new model.