But the State Legislature this week voted to block the city’s duly enacted law, doing the bidding of the plastic-bag industry, and hiding behind the argument that the fee is a tax on the poor. The Senate passed a bill to kill the fee, and the Assembly passed its own bill to delay for a year any effort by New York City to adopt any such fees.

Can Albany do that? Yes, but not without abusing its power by upending the principle that citizens, through their elected representatives in local government, should be able to decide for themselves issues that affect only their communities.

Lawmakers led by Senator Simcha Felder, Democrat of Brooklyn, said they were moved by pity for those who need their nickels to buy bread and eggs, two props that Mr. Felder held up to illustrate his argument. The Assembly speaker, Carl Heastie of the Bronx, echoed those sentiments.

Their argument was unpersuasive, because the city’s bag law protects the poor. It exempts about 1.8 million New Yorkers who use food stamps. Thanks to the mayor, members of the City Council and borough presidents, free reusable bags have been sent out by the thousands across the city. If the law is allowed to stand, New York households, like those in San Francisco, Los Angeles, the District of Columbia, Hawaii and other places, will soon have a ready supply of sturdy bags to use and reuse. And neighborhoods — especially poorer ones — will have fewer plastic tumbleweeds.