Texas Health and Safety Code section 361.0961 and the 2018 Laredo Supreme Court decision preempt city and county regulation of single-use packaging, which restaurant lawyers extend to plastic straws. Harris County has no straw ordinance, and no upon-request rule applies countywide.
Texas does not restrict plastic straws, and Health and Safety Code 361.0961 as interpreted by City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association (2018) preempts local regulation of single-use food-service items. Harris County has never enacted an upon-request straw rule or paper-only mandate. Restaurants in Houston, Pasadena, Baytown, Sugar Land, and unincorporated Harris County freely provide plastic straws by default. Some chains, including Starbucks and McDonald, voluntarily switched to paper or strawless lids countywide. Harris County Public Health nutrition outreach promotes voluntary reduction. Federal accessibility rules under the ADA require restaurants to offer flexible plastic straws to disabled customers if any straw alternative is offered.
Harris County imposes no penalty on plastic straw distribution because no ordinance exists and the county is preempted from creating one. ADA accessibility violations under federal law could carry civil penalties up to seventy-five thousand dollars for first offenses.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Bellaire, TX
Bellaire enforces detailed quiet hours under its noise ordinance adopted in 2023. Quiet hours run Sunday through Thursday from 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM (11:00 PM t...
Bellaire, TX
Bellaire prohibits all construction activity during quiet hours regardless of noise level. Construction is permitted only during non-quiet hours: 7:00 AM to ...
Bellaire, TX
Bellaire's noise ordinance prohibits all lawn care activities, including leaf blower use, during quiet hours regardless of noise level. During non-quiet hour...
Bellaire, TX
Bellaire Code Chapter 6 (Animals and Fowl) prohibits keeping dogs that create excessive noise disturbing neighbors. Barking dog complaints are handled by Bel...
Bellaire, TX
Bellaire's noise ordinance sets specific decibel limits for amplified music: 60 dB maximum in residential zones during quiet hours and 75 dB during non-quiet...
Bellaire, TX
Bellaire regulates street parking through Chapter 30 (Traffic and Vehicles) with restrictions on specific streets, time limits, and no-parking zones. The cit...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Harris County.
See how Bellaire's plastic straw rules rules stack up against other locations.
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