84R9714 ATP-D
By: Rinaldi H.B. No. 1939
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of bags to customers of a business at the
point of sale.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 6, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 205 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 205. RIGHT OF BUSINESS TO PROVIDE BAG TO CUSTOMER
Sec. 205.001. PROVISION OF BAG AUTHORIZED. A business that
sells an item to a customer may provide to the customer at the point
of sale a bag or other container made from any material.
Sec. 205.002. REGULATIONS INVALID. An ordinance or
regulation adopted by a municipality purporting to restrict or
prohibit a business from, require a business to charge a customer
for, or tax or impose penalties on a business for providing to a
customer at the point of sale a bag or other container made from any
material is invalid and has no effect.
SECTION 2. Sections 361.0961(a) and (c), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A local government or other political subdivision may
not adopt an ordinance, rule, or regulation to:
(1) prohibit or restrict, for solid waste management
purposes, the sale or use of a container or package, including a bag
provided by a business to a customer, in a manner not authorized by
state law;
(2) prohibit or restrict the processing of solid waste
by a solid waste facility, except for a solid waste facility owned
by the local government, permitted by the commission for that
purpose in a manner not authorized by state law; or
(3) assess a fee or deposit on the sale or use of a
container or package, including a bag provided by a business to a
customer.
(c) This section does not limit the authority of a local
government to enact zoning ordinances, except that a zoning
ordinance enacted by a local government may not prohibit, restrict,
or assess a fee or deposit on the use or provision by a business of a
bag to a customer at the point of sale.
SECTION 3. Beginning September 1, 2015, a municipality may
not enforce any ordinance or regulation adopted by the municipality
before that date that prohibits or restricts a business from
providing to a customer at the point of sale a bag or other
container made from any material.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.