Texas Supreme Court Rules Bag Bans Unconstitutional

In a victory for rule of law and limited government, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that cities like Austin cannot prohibit the use of plastic bags by businesses. The Statesman

Backing businesses over environmentalists, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday said cities like Austin may not ban retailers from providing customers with disposable bags at the checkout counter. 

In a unanimous ruling, the state’s highest civil court said bag bans run afoul of a state law that prohibits cities from trying to reduce waste by banning “containers” and “packages.” Although the terms are not defined in the law, their plain meaning should include bags, the court ruled. 

The decision upheld a lower-court ruling that struck down a bag ban in Laredo, but Friday’s decision also preempts similar bans in about a dozen other Texas cities, including Austin and Sunset Valley, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said — leaving retailers to decide if disposable bags will be made available to customers.