Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Texas Supreme Court, asking the court to affirm a decision by the San Antonio Court of Appeals against unlawful bag bans. Though the case involves a Laredo ordinance, Attorney General Paxton believes that similar ordinances across Texas are unlawful. Last August, the San Antonio Court of Appeals ruled that Laredo’s ban on single-use bags is unlawful because it violates a Texas statute regulating solid waste disposal.
The Texas Health and Safety Code forbids municipalities from making rules to “prohibit or restrict, for solid waste management purposes, the sale or use of a container or package in a manner not authorized by state law.” In December 2016, Attorney General Paxton asked the Supreme Court to review the case and affirm the San Antonio Court of Appeals’ ruling so that it can apply statewide.
“Cities across Texas are failing to respect the rule of law and unlawfully passing the burden of municipal solid waste management to residents and retailers through bag bans,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Municipalities do not get to violate Texas law merely because they don’t like it. We’re asking the Texas Supreme Court to uphold the law so that the ruling can be used to invalidate similar ordinances across Texas.”
To view the amicus brief, click here.