In response to Micah Eaglin’s April 5th Blog on Scooters, I wholeheartedly agree. It is an issue that is so apparent to those of us who work and live in Austin, yet a few may put any thought into how those scooters work. There are two main issues that Mr. Eaglin brings up. The first is the regulation on the scooters misplacement. The second is the regulation having to do with the speed limits and the age requirements. 

These scooters really did pop up out of nowhere starting last year so it makes sense that there must be some sort of regulation for them. I agree that it seems as though there are no regulations or rules to how these are placed. They are abundant in certain areas and sparse in others. Having specific areas where scooters can be parked would be a get rid of their nuisance of being piled up on sidewalks. Additionally it would make it easier for those who charge them to find them instead of stopping on random streets in the middle of traffic to pick them up.

Whether or not there should be age requirements and speed limit requirements is up to the legislature and perhaps needs to be studied in whether it actually makes sidewalks and streets safe. Regardless, I do agree Mr. Eaglin, it would make sense that Scooters and bikes would be regulated similarly. Unless the two have demonstrated significantly different safety statistics, they should either both be regulated or not regulated. 

Austin should re-institute its ban on the providing and selling of plastic shopping bags in order to reduce waste and ensure a healthier environment. Austin’s city ordinance essentially banned plastic bags in the city in order to strengthen beautification efforts and to protect the environment until it was struck down by the Texas Supreme Court.1 There are several issues that the reinstatement of the ban would have to face, the obvious is that of the ruling of the Texas Supreme Court. The second is the opposition to the bill, namely AG Ken Paxton and other anti-environmental groups who may just oppose it due to the opposition’s support of it. Concerning the second issue, it is difficult to find a reason that the right opposes the ban of the plastic bags in several articles. Perhaps the right may argue that “the left is violating your free will and right to choose for yourself whether or not to buy plastic bags.” However, this argument can be made on the other side. The plastic bag ban is a municipal ordinance, meaning it is a choice made by Austinites for the city of Austin. The state of Texas is the “Big Brother” here that is restricting the choice of municipalities. The right loves small government, but it can’t get any smaller than cities deciding how to govern for themselves. The city is as close to will of the people as it can get. The biggest issue comes from the ruling of the court that such a law is unconstitutional. However, not trying to speak in the first person, but I did do my own research as to why it is unconstitutional. It is unconstitutional because there is a state law that already regulates the issue and cities can’t pass laws where the state has “preempted” the issue, rather where the state is already governing. 2 This means that plastic bag bans themselves are not unconstitutional, it is because there is a Texas law already regulating it. Therefore, the question is not whether we should reinstate the bag ban by itself, rather, whether we should do that and also whether the legislature should invalidate the provision of the state law that preempts the city from doing so. Both of the answers should be yes. The fact of the matter is that plastic takes a long time to decompose therefore filling landfills, an eyesore therefore disrupting the beauty of Texas, and can harm wildlife. There really comes so many long term benefits that outweigh small inconvenience of relying on the consumer to remember to bring their reusable bag. Additionally, the duty of the consumer to bring their reusable bag then in turn allows a business to save their costs by not having to buy plastic bags for consumers to use. It is really hard to find a con, the simple matter is that if you don’t like a city’s ordinance, then the solution is the political check often referred to as voting, but for the state of Texas to take an Austinite’s choice is, as our President would say, “SAD"

1 https://www.texastribune.org/2018/07/03/report-austn-end-its-bag-ban-ater-texas-supreme-court-ruling/
2 https://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=d2d63c75-135a-48f0-97ad-a39aeeef9594&coa=cossup&DT=OPINION&MediaID=0119eb7a-20aa-4e8b-908a-88915b417b76