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Statement on Texas Attorney General Opinion Issued on Plastic Bag Bans

AUSTIN - On Friday, August 29th, Attorney General Greg Abbott issued an opinion finding that municipalities imposing plastic bag bans and fees may be in violation of state law. Representative Dan Flynn had requested the ruling in March, in the wake of multiple Texas cities adopting such bans in recent years. The opinion concluded that “a court would likely conclude that a city ordinance prohibiting or restricting single-use plastic bags is prohibited” under the Health and Safety Code, as well as likely forbidding a city from “adopting an ordinance that assesses a fee on the sale or use of a single-use plastic bag.”

September 3, 2014