The state Senate weighed in Friday on the city's recently passed plastic bag law.

A hearing was held on whether the 5-cent plastic bag fee will be a burden on consumers.

Most city leaders endorse putting a fee on single-use bags at grocery stores, drugstores and other retailers. They say it will cut down on litter and protect the environment.

However, some state senators likened the fee to a hidden tax.

"There's a whole host of reasons why we shouldn't be doing this, and impacting on small businesses, senior citizens, families and the poor," said state Senator Martin Golden of Brooklyn.

"It is amazing how able people become to bring reusable bags in the places where fees go into effect," said City Councilman Brad Lander of Brooklyn. "If we were first, if we didn't have all that data from Buenos Aires to Israel to South Africa to Washington DC to L.A., it might be different. But we do."

Stores will get to keep the money from the fees.

The law goes into effect in October.