CLEVELAND, Ohio — A countywide ban on plastic bags was passed Tuesday by Cuyahoga County Council, though the legislation was tweaked to give retailers extra time to prepare for the change.

The ban was approved in a 8-3 vote from Council, with Republicans Jack Schron, Michael Gallagher and Nan Baker voting against it. It was sponsored by Democratic members Sunny Simon, Dale Miller, President Dan Brady, Vice President Pernel Jones Jr., and Shontel Brown and Cheryl Stephens.

Brady called it one of the most important pieces of legislation that County Council has passed.

The ban will go into effect in Jan. 1, 2020. It was originally proposed as taking effect Oct. 1, 2019, but Simon said she pushed the date back to allow retailers time to adjust.

In voting against the legislation, Schron and Baker said the extra three months will not be enough time to ease the transition for both residents and businesses.

The ban is the second attempt by Council since 2017 to curtail the use of plastic bags, but the previous proposal included a bag tax rather than an outright ban.

The ban approved Tuesday could be pre-empted by a proposed Ohio House bill that would prevent Cuyahoga County and other local governments to ban or tax bags, resurrecting questions about home-rule powers in the Ohio Constitution.

The legislation approved Tuesday bans plastic bags and paper bags that are not 100 percent recyclable or made from at least 40 percent of recycled material. It includes exemptions for bags for restaurant leftovers or carry-out orders, bags consumer bring with them, or bags for newspapers, dry-cleaning, meat, pet waste, prescriptions, or partially-consumed bottles of wine.

Added to that exemption list on Tuesday are bags for hazardous materials, such as certain chemicals bought at home supply stores.

The ban will be enforced by the county’s Department of Consumer Affairs. First-time violators will be subject to a written warning. Second violations will carry a civil fine of up to $100 and subsequent violations will carry fines up to $500. Violations are defined as each day a retailer doesn’t comply with the ordinance.

Simon said the county will participate in educational efforts over the coming months so residents can learn why the ban was passed.

At a May 14 council meeting, members voted 9-2 to reject an amendment proposed by Baker that would have delayed the ban’s implementation by 18 months. The delay was to be used for gauging the community’s thoughts, conducting an economic impact study, and an analysis proving the ban would significantly reduce plastic waste.

Simon was among those who voted against Baker’s amendment, saying no need existed for further delays or studies because it is “very clear” the ban would reduce plastic waste, citing 320 million plastic bags that Cuyahoga residents use each year.

Greater Cleveland Partnership supported Baker’s amendment to delay the implementation, saying the county needed to further research the environmental impact and give retailers more time to "address the administrative burden of operating under a different regulatory framework in Cuyahoga County and to address the new associated costs on their business.”

Jeff Heinen, of Heinen’s, told council earlier this month that the ban would harm his business’s bottom line, and called it an inappropriate solution for combating plastic pollution.