August 29, 2014 3:07 PM

AG opinion puts Austin bag ban at risk

Abbott deems bag fees to be subject to court challenge

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office issued an opinion this afternoon that says Austin’s plastic bag ban and fees likely would be struck down in court because a city is prohibited from managing solid waste under the state’s health code.

Nine Texas cities, the largest being Austin, have enacted plastic bag bans. Chair Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, used a section of the Health and Safety Code to ask in March whether local jurisdictions were prohibited from regulating containers and fees. His request, with the section of the health code, can be found here.

In a five-page opinion, the attorney general’s office wrestled with what is considered to be the legal definition of container; if the legislative intent of the law, as debated on the floor of the House, involved plastic bags or Styrofoam containers; and whether a fee, as it applied to recyclable bags, was legal.

By Kimberly Reeves