The City of Brownsville supports a bill that would restore the ability of local governments to pass single-use bag ordinances.
In an item that was removed from Tuesday’s City Commission meeting agenda, the commissioners would have considered action on urging state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville) and state Rep. Alex Dominguez (D-Brownsville) to sponsor House Bill 514.
Laguna Vista and the Town of Rancho Viejo both adopted resolutions in support of HB 514, which was filed by state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin).
Although the item was removed from the agenda, the city states support for the bill in a report from City Manager Noel Bernal on the 2019 Legislative Agenda for the 86th Session.
Section 361.0961 of the Texas Health and Safety Code currently restricts “the sale or use of a container or package in a manner not authorized by state law.”
The bill would clarify the law regarding the restrictions by adding that “‘container or package’ does not include a single-use bag provided by a retail business to a customer at the point of sale for the purpose of transporting purchases.”
A city ordinance banning plastic bag use was implemented on Jan. 1, 2010, and lasted until summer 2018, when the commission repealed the plastic bag ban due to a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in October 2016 against the city, its mayor, manager, Public Health and Wellness director and finance director, as The Rider reported on Oct. 31, 2016.
Paxton issued letters to 11 cities stating that the plastic bag ban was a violation of state law based on a previous Texas Supreme Court ruling declaring Laredo’s bag ban illegal, according to Paxton’s website.
On Oct. 14, 2016, both parties agreed to stop proceedings. The 11 cities are Austin, Sunset Valley, Port Aransas, Laguna Vista, Fort Stockton, Eagle Pass, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Kermit, Freer and South Padre Island.
The 86th session ends in May.
In other business, the commission awarded a contract for commercial and industrial solid waste collection services for the city to Republic Services, a solid waste collection company. Preliminary conversations for transition plans between the current provider, GMS Waste Disposal, and Republic Services are being held.
