ALBANY — New York State has told Albany County to bag its 5-cent paper sack tax, at least for now.

The state Department of Taxation and Finance said officials found deficiencies in the way the Albany County Legislature drafted the law, which imposes a nickel tax on paper bags and was passed late last year. The county tax almost surely won’t be in force on March 1, when a statewide ban on plastic grocery bags goes into effect.

While it wasn't immediately clear what the shortcomings in the county law were, local legislators will have to refashion and re-pass the measure — a process that could take months due to the need to guide it through the committee process and public hearings.

“We will amend it or rewrite it, whatever we have to do,’’ said Albany County Legislator Joanne Cunningham of Delmar, who sponsored the bill creating the county tax.

As written, the tax on each paper bag would send 3 cents to the state's Environmental Protection Fund, with the remaining 2 cents going to county coffers.

The statewide plastic bag ban was passed by the state Legislature last year as a mechanism to cut down on litter and fossil fuel use, since such bags are made from petroleum.

As part of that ban, counties were allowed to opt in to a new nickel tax for each paper bag provided to consumers — an effort to incentivize shoppers to stock up on cloth or other reusable bags when they go to the grocery store or other retailers.

So far, only eight counties — Albany, Tompkins, Suffolk and the five that comprise New York City — have opted to levy the tax, which state and county officials prefer to describe as a fee.

That's on top of the 5-cent charge that many retailers are charging for paper bags to cover their costs, since paper is more costly than plastic.

With or without the tax, the ban will change the face of everyday life in the Capital Region — or at least the way residents haul home their goods.

For example, Stewart's convenience stores will no longer provide customers with their iconic large, hefty plastic bags. Like other retailers, they will offer customers 5-cent paper bags or oblige them to bring their own sacks.

In Albany County, Stewart's had planned to charge the 5-cent tax with no additional charge for the cost of the bag. Stewart's will charge the same 5 cents to pay the cost of the bag in counties where the tax hasn't been imposed.

"With our efforts to Go Green and the statewide plastic bag ban beginning March 1, we will no longer be offering our Stewart’s Shops plastic bags," the Malta-based convenience store chain said in a Facebook post. "If you have some laying around, we say – keep reusing them!"

Stewart's is also selling reusable Stewart's branded bags for 99 cents apiece.

All retailers that charge a sales tax are subject to the plastic bag ban, although there are some exemptions to the new law, Stewart's spokeswoman Erica Komoroske added, including those used for deli meats, bulk food items, newspapers, trash, takeout food and prescription drugs — the last an effort to protect patient privacy, as customer names and medications are usually identified on printouts attached to the bags handed over by pharmacists.

Albany County says it plans to rely on retailers to self-report the sale of paper bags and pay the 5-cent bag fee.

Price Chopper and Hannaford will be charging the 5-cent paper bag fee at their stores throughout the state.

At the Whole Foods at Colonie Center on Monday, an associate said the company won't reveal its paper bag fee plan until it gets closer to March 1.

Some retailers say the county tax could hurt them, and poses lots of unanswered questions.

“I’ve got customers coming in and bitching about this,” said Craig Allen, who operates All Star Wine and Spirits in Latham.

Allen has put up posters in his store explaining to customers that the 5-cent charge is a county fee and not something he wants to charge.

He also wonders about requirements such as charging the fee for internet sales that are picked up at the store in boxes rather than bags.

Like other retailers, Allen said he worries about the increased risk of shoplifting as people enter stores carrying their own bags.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU