A Senate bill that would have prevented cities and municipalities from banning plastic bags lost a procedural motion on Tuesday, preventing it from coming to a vote.

The Senate voted 17 to 13 for a budget isolation resolution (BIR), a requirement for any bill considered before the state’s two budgets pass. A BIR requires three-fifths of the quorum to pass. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, needed 18 votes to advance to the floor,.

The measure was copied almost word-for-word from a model bill created by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It would prevent cities and municipalities from banning or taxing plastic bags.

Similar ALEC-inspired bills have passed in at least 12 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Livingston described it as a “uniformity” issue.

“(It’s) one single regulation so businesses and industries have knowledge of what they’re doing in Alabama,” Livingston said.

But the bill got opposition from environmental groups, who said plastic bags make up a high percentage of trash recovered from Alabama coasts and waterways. Plastic bags can also be ingested by wildlife, leading to serious injury or death.

Casi Callaway, the executive director of Mobile Baykeeper, which organizes clean-up and protection efforts for Mobile Bay, wrote in an email that her group would "keep fighting this terrible bill."

"Not only does it block our ability to protect our local waterways with laws specific to our needs, it’s a major government overreach," she wrote. "Protecting our natural resources is the best way to ensure economic vitality throughout coastal Alabama."

The governing bodies of Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa all passed resolutions opposing the measure, which called it an “unfair regulation.”

The measure also drew strong opposition from coastal Alabama officials. Tourism is critical for Mobile and Baldwin counties, and some communities already ban glass bottles on beaches.

"The plastic bags in this state go down the river and end up in our bay and end up on Alabama's beaches, and it’s not just an environmental issue, though it’s an important one," said Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Daphne, who voted against the procedural motion with the rest of the coastal delegation. "It’s an economic issue. That’s our livelihood."

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, said he would oppose the measure due to the opposition of the Birmingham City Council.

“They do not want this,” he said. “They see it as a disadvantage from an economic standpoint.”

Elliott said he was not aware of any coastal communities considering a plastic bag ban, but said the state effort had "probably woken the bear with it."