Big Island acting mayor Dixie Kaetsu yesterday vetoed a bill that would have banned plastic bags, citing "philosophical issues" and concerns over the measure's language on public involvement.

Specifically Kaetsu, who is managing director for the county, said the Hawai'i County Council did not provide enough opportunity for nonprofit organizations to comment on the bill, which would have included them in the ban on plastic bags at fundraisers.

In addition, the measure did not provide enough lead time — one year — before the ban took effect, and the ban would have placed an unreasonable burden on small businesses, Kaetsu said in a prepared statement.

"Plastic bags themselves are not inherently evil," Kaetsu said. If a ban on plastic bags is desired as a statement of policy, these concerns could be addressed in a new bill, she said.

"However, there is a larger issue of whether an outright ban on plastic bags is the best way of getting to where we want to go in our stewardship of the environment."

Kaetsu is serving as acting mayor while Mayor Harry Kim recovers from triple bypass surgery. Kim, 69, was released from The Queen's Medical Center yesterday, but will stay in Honolulu for a few more days, Kaetsu said.

Just two months ago, the Maui County Council passed the state's first municipal ban on plastic bags starting in January 2011. San Francisco and Los Angeles have banned plastic shopping bags and Seattle is considering a 20-cent charge to consumers who want to use a plastic bag.