On Monday, Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled it’s now illegal for cities to ban plastic bags. A letter was sent out to 11 cities in Texas. Brownsville, Laguna Vista and South Padre Island all received letters from Paxton’s office.
The cities were identified by the Texas Supreme Court as cities that have banned plastic bags. According to the letter from Paxton’s office, Texas Health and Safety code prohibits the banning of plastic bags.
The letter cited the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of the City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association, saying that bag bans violate Texas law regarding waste disposal.
Brownsville City Manager Michael Lopez said the city wants to work with businesses to find other possible solutions, if the city’s ordinance is repealed.
“We think it does help the community. As you are aware we did it with the flooding, there’s always a concern about trash and we know the single use did have some contribution to that,” Lopez said. “To move forward, having more outreach with our vendors who participated to see if we can continue you that process with or without an ordinance.”
When CBS 4 reached out to South Padre Island city officials for comment, they sent the brief statement, ” We are in the process of reviewing the findings with our legal team.”
Lopez will present the ordinance to Brownsville City Commissioners on July 17. From there, they will decide whether or not to repeal the ordinance. The public will be allowed to speak their minds.
by Stephen Sealey
