Call Kurtis: Walgreens Confused Over Plastic Bag Ban

SACRAMENTO COUNTY (CBS13) — As we've learned over the years, just because a company has a Sacramento address doesn't mean it's in the city limits. It's happened again. James Quattlebaum of Carmichael contacted me saying the Walgreens at 4200 Arden Way wanted to charge him 10 cents for a paper bag as part of the city's new plastic bag ordinance. However, we checked and that Walgreens location is not within the city limits. It's part of the unincorporated part of the county.

When we asked Sacramento County spokesperson Chris Andis if county businesses are required to charge for bags, she replied, "No, this is just for within the limits of the CITY of Sacramento."

RELATED: Find out if an address is in the city or the county.

By the time our undercover producer stopped by the Walgreens on Arden, the store was no longer charging the ten cents. The clerk told us the store had received complaints and was looking into whether they had to follow the ordinance.

We reached out to Walgreen's corporate office for comment. A spokesperson responded, "We have been in contact with stores in the area to be sure they are charging fees only where appropriate. The problem stems from a store having a Sacramento mailing address even though it sits outside that city's jurisdiction. If any customers have been inconvenienced by a fee charged in error, we apologize and will refund their money if they present a receipt."

We've reported on confusion with Sacramento city and Sacramento County addresses several times over the years, with some stores charging the wrong sales tax rates and some phone companies charging customers the wrong tax on phone bills because people or businesses have "Sacramento" addresses even though they are in the unincorporated part of the county .

The City of Sacramento has set up this website to help you navigate the new ordinance.

The plastic bag ban was initially supposed to go statewide this year, but California's first-in-the-nation ban on plastic shopping bags was put on hold when a trade group blocked the ban by placing the issue before voters on the November 2016 ballot.