Staff Report
Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton is the lawyer for the State of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to:
To fulfill these responsibilities, the Office of the Attorney General serves as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issues 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.
Many Texans look to the Office of the Attorney General for guidance with disputes and legal issues. The agency receives hundreds of letters, phone calls, and visits each week about crime victims’ compensation, child support, abuse in nursing homes, possible consumer fraud, and other topics.
To find out more about the Texas Attorney General, visit the official website at https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/.
AG Paxton Urges Congress to Adopt Measures to Expand Funding for Crime Victims
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a coalition of 56 state and territorial attorneys general representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories urging Congress to adopt key changes to the Victims of Crime Act that provide critical financial support to victims of violent crimes and their families.
In a letter to the U.S. Congress, the attorneys general call for changes to the Crime Victims Fund (the Fund), a national fund that supports state victims’ services programs. The recommendations will stabilize the Fund’s finances and provide more flexibility to grantees who are providing services to victims and their families.
“As the Crime Victims Fund continues to decrease due to a decline in fines and penalties recouped from federal criminal cases, I urge Congress to amend the Fund so that crime victims continue to have access to these critical programs,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Our coalition’s recommendations will help support our states’ ability to effectively serve crime victims and survivors for years to come.”
The Fund, established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (“VOCA”), is the primary funding source for victim services in all 50 states and six U.S. territories.
Deposits to the Fund originate from criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds, penalties, and special assessments collected by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, federal courts, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The Fund covers the expenses of essential direct services and support for victims and survivors in the aftermath of crime, including medical care, mental health counseling, lost wages, courtroom advocacy, and temporary housing.
Read a copy of the letter here.
AG Paxton Files Amicus Brief in Texas Supreme Court Defending Religious Liberty
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an amicus brief in the Texas Supreme Court urging it to protect the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lubbock’s First Amendment rights to be free from state courts interfering with church doctrine and governance.
By allowing a Catholic cleric’s defamation claim against the Diocese of Lubbock to proceed, the State’s brief argues, the lower court failed to give proper respect to the Diocese’s autonomy.
“Defending our religious liberty is one of my top priorities,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I will continue to fight for church autonomy and ensure that religious institutions are free from government interference. A church should not be subject to legal sanction for confronting serious societal problems, like sexual abuse, when matters of church governance or church doctrine are at issue.”
The case involves a decision by all the Roman Catholic dioceses in Texas to release the names of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor. The dioceses released these accusations as part of a Church-wide policy of transparency and accountability for addressing sexual abuse and alleged sexual abuse by clergy.
The Diocese of Lubbock determined that an ordained Deacon of the Catholic Church had been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor female with mental disabilities on two separate occasions.
The Deacon sued the Diocese of Lubbock for defamation because it released his name –along with other clergy who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor—on the Diocese’s website.
The trial court concluded that the First Amendment prohibits Texas courts from adjudicating the claim but the court of appeals disagreed, forcing the Diocese to file its petition with the Texas Supreme Court.
Read a copy of the brief here.
AG Paxton Files Amicus Brief Defending First Amendment Liberties for Religious Institutions
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton, joined by the attorneys general of Louisiana and Mississippi, filed a friend-of-the-court brief defending church autonomy. The States urged the full Fifth Circuit to rehear a case after a three-judge panel of that court required the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to prove it had “religious” reasons for its communications with a related religious organization within the Convention.
“Civil courts must honor the constitutionally protected liberties that apply to all faith-based institutions, and these institutions must remain free to independently determine how they will be structured,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The First Amendment does not tolerate judicial review of how faith-based organizations govern themselves, including their relationships with related entities.”
The case involves a dispute between a former employee of the Convention and his allegation that the Mission Board urged the Convention to fire him and prevent him from speaking at a church conference.
As reconfirmed by the United States Supreme Court in July, the First Amendment protects churches’ autonomy with regard to internal management decisions, regardless of whether or not the church has religious reasons for those decisions.
Civil courts cannot sit in judgment on a church’s decision to remove a minister, nor can they interfere with who the church authorizes to speak on its behalf.
Read a copy of the brief here.
Notification of Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ-0336-KP
Method for calculating the percentage of judicial functions a county judge performs for purposes of determining entitlement to a salary supplement under section 26.006 of the Government Code
Official Opinion Summary KP-0330
The Legislature has not specified a method for calculating the percentage of judicial functions performed by a county judge. Allegations of false reporting by a county judge receiving the salary supplement under Government Code section 26.006 should be given to the State Auditor who has statutory authority to audit or investigate any entity receiving state funds.
Notification of Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ-0334-KP
Authority of the Teacher Retirement System with respect to investments in or ownership of real
Official Opinion Summary KP-0328 & KP-0327
The Teacher Retirement System’s authority to invest its funds is limited to items qualifying as “securities” under Government Code subsection 825.301(a); thus, to the extent, any real estate investments of the System comprise realty itself and do not qualify as a “security” pursuant to subsection 825.301(a), they are unconstitutional.
Notification of Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ-0335-KP
Whether an employee of an appraisal district may serve as a trustee of an independent school district that is a participating taxing unit of the appraisal district under section 6.054 of the Tax Code
Official Opinion Summary KP-0329
Tax Code section 6.054 prohibits an appraisal district employee from also serving as trustee on the board of an independent school district that is a participating taxing entity in the appraisal district.
Request for Opinion
Offical Request RQ-0375-KP
Boundary line between the High Plains Underground Water District and the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District
Date Received
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Official Requestor
The Honorable Charles Perry
Chair, Committee on Water & Rural Affairs
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068
Request for Opinion
Offical Request RQ-0374-KP
Whether a conflict of interest exists under chapter 171 of the Local Government Code when a city council member votes to waive penalties and interest for delinquent property taxes accrued by an unrelated person and the Tax Assessor-Collector who requested the waiver is the city council member’s spouse
Date Received
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Official Requestor
The Honorable Bob Wortham
Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney
1085 Pearl Street, 3rd Floor
Beaumont, Texas 77701
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