Governor Joe Lombardo vetoed Assembly Bill 244. That’s the bill that would have banned styrofoam takeout containers across the state.
This is what limited government looks like in action. When lawmakers try to micromanage your lunch containers, sometimes grown-ups in charge say no.
What the Bill Would Have Done
Assembly Bill 244 wasn’t small potatoes. Starting this October, any restaurant with 10 or more locations couldn’t use those white foam containers anymore. You know the ones – they keep your Chinese food warm and your milkshake cold.
Get caught using styrofoam? That would cost businesses $100 every single day. By 2029, every restaurant in Nevada would have been covered. No exceptions.
The bill had bipartisan support too. Only six assembly members and four senators voted against it. That shows how easy it is for government overreach to sneak through when people aren’t paying attention.
Read our prior coverage:
Nevada Styrofoam Ban Hits Governor’s Desk: Another Step Down the Slippery Slope
Why the Governor Said No
Lombardo’s veto message laid out exactly why this bill was wrong for Nevada. First, the bill was sloppy. One section said it applied to restaurants with 10 or more locations. Another section removed that limit entirely. How can businesses follow a law when lawmakers can’t even write it clearly?
But the real problem was bigger than bad writing. The governor pointed out that banning styrofoam would hurt Nevada families in their wallets. Alternative containers cost more. Those higher costs get passed to customers. Every time you buy lunch, you’d pay more.
The governor also questioned whether this was a good use of law enforcement. Do we really want police officers checking takeout containers instead of fighting real crime?
Then Lombardo gave a perfect example of why this matters. He talked about a Nevada rancher working long hours in the sun. She keeps a soda in her truck cupholder. In a paper cup, that drink gets watered down in a few hours. In a styrofoam cup, it stays cold all day.
“For consumers like her, the performance of polystyrene isn’t a minor detail – it’s a meaningful part of daily life in a demanding environment,” the governor wrote.
That’s the difference between politicians who think they know better and leaders who understand real life.
Embarrassing Republican Support
Before we celebrate this veto, conservatives need to face an uncomfortable truth. Too many Republicans voted for this government overreach.
In the Assembly, eight Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the styrofoam ban: Lisa Cole, Brian Hibbetts, Toby Yurek, Melissa Hardy, Rebecca Edgeworth, Gregory Koenig, Ken Gray, and Philip “PK” O’Neill.
In the Senate, four Republicans also voted yes: Carrie Buck, Lori Rogich, John Steinbeck, and Jeff Stone.
These are the lawmakers who campaign on limited government and free markets. Yet when it came time to vote, they chose government control over business freedom.
What’s their excuse? Did they think voters wouldn’t notice? Did they fall for the environmental talking points? Or do they simply not understand what conservative principles actually mean?
This bipartisan support shows a deeper problem. Too many Republicans talk conservative during campaigns but govern like Democrats when they think nobody’s watching. They worry more about looking “reasonable” to the media than standing up for the people who elected them.
Why This Matters to Conservatives
This veto matters because it’s about more than foam containers. It’s about who gets to make decisions in America. Should business owners decide how to serve their food? Or should politicians in Carson City make that choice?
When government can tell a restaurant what containers to use, what’s next? Maybe they’ll decide your napkins aren’t green enough. Maybe they’ll limit how much ice you can get in your drink.
Every small regulation like this makes government bigger and your choices smaller.
Today it’s styrofoam. Tomorrow it could be plastic forks. Next week it might be ketchup packets.
Look what happened in California. They started with plastic bags. Now you pay 10 cents just to carry your groceries home. Then they came for straws – you have to ask for one like you’re requesting a special favor. Now you can’t even get ketchup packets without asking.
California still dumped over 231,000 tons of plastic bags in landfills in 2021, according to their own recycling agency. All those rules didn’t fix the problem. They just made life harder for regular people.
What Happens Next
Governor Lombardo’s veto sends a clear message. Nevada won’t be California.
But don’t expect environmental groups to give up. They’ll be back next year with another version. Maybe they’ll try to start with just big cities. Or maybe they’ll add exceptions to make it sound more reasonable.
That’s how these things work. They start small and grow big. The Lake Tahoe plastic water bottle ban failed this year too. But they’ll keep trying.
Freedom dies one regulation at a time. But it can also be saved one veto at a time.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
