AG Paxton Files Friend of Court Brief Over Laredo’s Bag Ban

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a friend of the court brief with the Texas Supreme Court, asking the court to review and strike down the city of Laredo’s unlawful bag ban in a case that could impact similar illegal ordinances in other Texas cities.

Last August, the Fourth Court of Appeals ruled that Laredo’s ban on single-use bags is illegal because it violates state law regulating solid waste disposal.

Texas’ Health and Safety Code forbids making a rule 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.”

While the court of appeals ruled in favor of the challengers of the bag ban, Attorney General Paxton is joining them in asking the Supreme Court to take up the case so that the ruling can apply statewide.

“The Legislature did not mince words when it removed the authority of Texas cities to restrict or prohibit plastic checkout bags,” Attorney General Paxton said. “That Laredo and Austin, among others, would persist in their foolhardy policy despite the statute’s clear language shows how Texas cities have grown more and more contemptuous of the rule of law. This case presents an opportunity for the Texas Supreme Court to uphold the intent of the Legislature in a ruling that could ultimately invalidate ordinances across the state.”