The Ban Is Back

What to Know: An Austin lawmaker has filed a bill for the upcoming Legislature that would give cities the ability to ban plastic bags—something the Texas Supreme Court has ruled they can’t do.

“After the Texas Supreme Court overturned a single-use plastic bag ban in Laredo and the city of Austin suspended its own ban, a local Texas House representative has filed a bill that proposes to restore the right of local governments to restrict single-use plastic bags,” Community Impact Newspaper reports. “The state court ruled in June that Laredo’s ban violated a state law regulating solid waste disposal, which stipulates that local governments may not prohibit or restrict the sale or use of a container or package. Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, proposes in her bill to revise this law to provide that single-use plastic bags are not considered a ‘container or package.’”

The TPPF Take: The law is already clear; bag bans are not permitted (even if you say a bag isn’t a container).

“Plastic bag bans belong in California, not Texas, said TPPF’s James Quintero. “The average Texan doesn’t want big government dictating what kind of grocery bags they can use at the checkout counter. Texans want the exact opposite–they want the freedom to choose for themselves.”

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