Texas Attorney General’s Weekly Roundup: Latest Supreme Court rulings, notification of opinions
Staff Report
The responsibilities, of the Office of the Attorney General, are to serve as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issue legal opinions when requested by the Governor, heads of state agencies, and other officials and agencies as provided by Texas statutes.
The Texas AG sits as an ex-officio member of state committees and commissions and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the State.
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To find out more about the Texas Attorney General, visit the official website at https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/.
Paxton’s Supreme Court Ruling Round-Up
The U.S. Supreme Court recently handed down several rulings that are of importance to Texans and the State of Texas.
In Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the Court ruled that Philadelphia violated the Free Exercise Clause when it singled out Catholic Social Services and excluded it from participating in a foster care program because its religious beliefs would not permit it to certify same-sex couples as foster parents.
Philadelphia tried to rely on its citywide ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation to avoid the conclusion that it had discriminated against religion.
The Court, however, held that this ordinance did not apply because foster care agencies do not act as public accommodations when certifying foster parents.
“Today’s unanimous Supreme Court decision affirms what we’ve already known; that foster care and adoption programs should be focused on the interest of children, and those interests are not served when the government excludes faith-based organizations from participating based solely on their religious beliefs,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Cooperation between state and faith-based groups is fundamental to child welfare, just as is religious liberty to our Constitution.”
In California v. Texas, the Court concluded that a constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act should be dismissed because neither the private nor state plaintiffs had established standing to raise the issue.
According to the Court majority, the state plaintiffs did not offer sufficient evidence that the individual mandate was enforced against them, or that it would harm them by leading more individuals to enroll in Medicaid.
Though there is not a dispute that the ACA as a whole increases state healthcare costs, the Court held that the same costs would have been incurred due to other requirements of the Act.
As a result, the Court held that the States had not established that the costs could be attributed to the challenged mandate for purposes of establishing standing.
In Sanchez v. Mayorkas, a unanimous Court held that someone who was never lawfully admitted into the U.S. was not eligible for Lawful Permanent Resident status even if he would otherwise have been eligible for a form of humanitarian relief known as Temporary Protected Status.
The Court emphasized that in immigration law, “lawful status” and “admission” are not the same thing and that gaining Temporary Protected Status does not mean that one was properly admitted into the country.
In order to gain Lawful Permanent Resident status, rather, an individual must have both nonimmigrant status and have been lawfully admitted into the U.S.
In NCAA v. Alston, the Court unanimously ruled that antitrust law prevents the NCAA from restricting payments to athletes for education-related benefits.
The Court determined that relaxing these restrictions would not blur the distinction between college and professional sports.
It also said that while the debate around amateurism in college is important, it is not the Court’s responsibility to resolve it. Instead, the Court said its job is to determine whether the district court properly applied principles of the antitrust law to this dispute.
Paxton Joins Multistate Coalition Defending Constitutional Use of ‘Modern Rifles’
AUSTIN – Attorney General Paxton joined a multistate coalition defending the Second Amendment and demanding the San Francisco-based United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit strike down California’s Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (AWCA) in the case of Miller v. Bonta.
In 45 states, building “modern rifles” is standard practice by law-abiding gun owners. Calling these rifles “assault weapons” is a misnomer—they are most often used for personal protection and target and sport shooting.
“States do not have the right to dictate what is ‘necessary’ or ‘unnecessary’ when it comes to constitutional rights, and demonizing certain rifles that are widely used nationwide is an infringement on the Second Amendment,” Attorney General Paxton said. “In fact, California has admitted that most weapons used in mass shootings were obtained legally and that many law-abiding citizens own modern rifles for personal protection. We cannot allow this clear overreach to unconstitutionally restrict Americans’ cherished Second Amendment rights.”
Read the full amicus brief here.
Paxton Demands Congressional Leaders Uphold Amendment Protecting Taxpayers from Paying for Abortions
AUSTIN – Attorney General Paxton joined a multistate coalition demanding that congressional leaders include the Hyde Amendment in this year’s budget.
President Biden’s proposed budget clearly omits the amendment that protects taxpayers and has been reenacted with bipartisan support every year since Roe v. Wade was decided.
The Hyde Amendment ensures that federal funds will not be used for abortion purposes, which protects citizens from being forced to contribute to something that clearly infringes on their religious beliefs.
President Biden claims that he could not justify leaving millions of women without access to abortions, but the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that this “right” is not a taxpayer-backed guarantee.
“Under the guise of healthcare, President Biden expects hard-earned taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, a procedure that clearly violates the deeply-held religious beliefs of many Americans,” General Paxton said. “For decades, this amendment has aided in protecting religious freedom, and its removal is a dramatic departure from the Supreme Court’s precedent.”
Read the letter here.
Paxton Joins Multistate Fight to Expand States’ Antitrust Enforcement
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a multistate coalition in supporting the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act of 2021.
This bipartisan legislation would allow antitrust enforcement actions brought by state attorneys general to remain in the court they select rather than have the case moved to a court the defendant prefers.
This Act would ensure that Texas could pursue relief for consumers without the delays in justice that would result if its enforcement actions were transferred to other jurisdictions and bundled with multiple other cases brought by non-governmental entities or persons.
“I will continue to lead the effort in maintaining a true and fair marketplace in the online arena, and this Act will keep our focus on ruthlessly protecting consumers from monopolies,” Attorney General Paxton said. “States play an essential role in cases like our ongoing enforcement actions against Big Tech, and to effectively defend Texans we need to have the same powers as federal enforcers.”
Read the letter here.
Paxton Files Motion to Force Biden Administration to Comply with Title 42, Preventing Illegal Aliens with COVID-19 From Entering the U.S.
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a preliminary injunction motion to force the Biden Administration to comply with Title 42, a law designed to prevent illegal aliens who threaten public health from entering the United States.
Despite the clear dangers posed by allowing COVID-19 to openly cross our border, the Biden Administration has abandoned its duty to protect public health from alien-borne diseases.
“The Biden Administration’s repeated disregard for the lives of those who live in border states like Texas is incredibly concerning,” Attorney General Paxton said. “For an Administration that says they recognize the disaster this pandemic has wreaked on the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, they appear to have no interest in preventing another COVID-19 surge. Texas is open for business and Biden’s actions are thwarting our re-opening. I have one message to President Biden: Do the right thing and follow the law.”
Read the entire motion here.
Notification of Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ-0393-KP
Whether a constable working as a deputy sheriff may be paid for work under the Justice Assistance Grant.
Official Opinion Summary KP-0374
Criminal Justice Division of Governor’s Office determines applicability of federal Justice Assistance Grant funds to pay overtime to constable serving as deputy sheriff
Request for Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ-0414-KP
Whether the NCAA’s policies on transgender student-athletes violate Title IX
Date Received
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Official Requester
The Honorable Charles Perry
Chair, Senate Committee on Water & Rural Affairs
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068
Request for Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ 0413 KP
Texas medical school compliance with the Coats-Snowe Amendment, which prohibits discrimination against health care entities that refuse to provide or undergo training for abortion
Date Received
Wednesday, June 13, 2021
Official Requester
The Honorable Donna Campbell, M.D.
Chair, Committee on Veterans Affairs & Border Security
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068
