- The state Assembly has narrowly approved a measure that would make California the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic and paper bags from being handed out at grocery, convenience and other stores.

No Republicans supported AB1998, which squeaked by Wednesday with the minimum 41 votes needed. Twenty-seven members voted no, and 11 representatives did not cast a vote. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration. A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said this week that the governor supports the bill.

The measure would take effect in 2012. It would require shoppers who don't bring their own bags to the store to purchase paper bags made of at least 40 percent recycled material for a minimum of 5 cents or buy reusable totes. It would go further than plastic bag bans in at least five cities, including San Francisco.

While Republicans said the bill will lead to the loss of hundreds of bag manufacturing jobs and hurt poor people, its sponsor, Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, said plastic and other grocery bags that are not biodegradable are polluting the state's sensitive marine environment. Taxpayers, she said, shell out $25 million a year for the state to clean up and dispose of them while only 5 percent of the bags are recycled, a figure the plastics industry disputes.

Mexico City, New Delhi and other cities around the world restrict the use of plastic bags, which the U.N. says are among the most pervasive types of ocean litter. Just producing the petroleum-based bags pumps tons of carbon emissions into the air.

A Seattle ban was challenged by the plastics industry in court and overturned in 2009 in an industry-financed referendum.

Environmental groups have pushed the ban for years, noting the damaging effects of plastic bags on the marine environment, particularly for animals that ingest or are entangled in bags. Business groups, including those representing groceries and the plastics industry, have argued against similar proposals in the past.