USA: Texas considers legality of municipal plastic bag bans

The Office of the Attorney General of Texas has received a request to consider whether local laws banning or placing taxes or fees on single-use plastic bags violate Section 361.0961 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
The cited section states that a local government may not adopt an ordinance, rule or regulation to “assess a fee or deposit on the sale or use of a container or package” and or “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.” Among the local jurisdictions that have enacted plastic bag ordinances are Austin and Brownsville (State Recycling Laws Update, 17 March 2014).
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