HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Residents of Howard County likely will pay a five-cent fee to use disposable plastic bags if County Executive Calvin Ball signs legislation that was passed by the County Council Monday night with a 4-1 vote.

State Del. Terri Hill, a Democrat, sponsored a bill approximately 10 months ago that permitted the County Council and the county executive to impose a plastic bag use fee. Councilwoman Christiana Mercer Rigby and Councilman Opel Jones introduced the bill at the Nov. 4 legislative session meeting.

The fee stands at five cents per plastic bag. The money collected from the fee would go into the Disposable Plastics Reduction Fund to be used for reusable bags, stream cleanups and other environmental cleanup initiatives.

"I want to thank the over 700 Howard County residents who want to see single-use plastic reduced," Rigby said during her voting remarks Monday. "The fees do change consumer behavior. Why not do what you can where you can with what you can?" All four Democratic members of the County Council voted in favor of Council Bill 64-2019, the Baltimore Sun reported. The only no vote was cast by lone Republican Councilman David Yungmann. He said he would've preferred to see a paper bag tax included in the legislation, too.