TITLE: Relating to the provision of bags to customers of a business at the point of sale.

SUMMARY: Relating to the provision of bags to customers of a business at the point of sale.

FULL TEXT:
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.