Attorney General Ken Paxton today issued letters to 11 Texas cities that the Texas Supreme Court identified as banning plastics bags in violation of state law. These letters inform the cities of the recent Texas Supreme Court ruling that declared Laredo’s bag ban illegal. The Texas Supreme Court recognized that state law forbids cities from imposing their waste management duties and costs on citizens and retailers.
“The Texas Supreme Court declared that banning single-use plastic bags is illegal. Municipalities ignoring this law are unlawfully passing their duty to manage solid waste on to their residents and retailers in violation of settled Texas law,” Attorney General Paxton said. “A dislike of state law is no justification for a municipality to violate it.”
Attorney General Paxton issued letters to the cities of Austin, Sunset Valley, Port Aransas, Laguna Vista, Fort Stockton, Eagle Pass, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Kermit, Freer and South Padre Island to ensure awareness of the recent ruling and waste management responsibilities Texas law places on municipalities.