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 Files Lawsuit Against Clinica Hispana for Fraudulent COVID Testing and Failing to Secure Personal Information
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a lawsuit against Clinica Hispana in La Porte, Texas, which has both misrepresented the character of its COVID-19 testing as well as its failure to secure patients’ sensitive personal information.
Clinica Hispana claims its tests can diagnose an active infection, but the type of tests used by the clinic are not approved for such use.
“I will not allow anyone or any business to fraudulently represent COVID testing in our communities. Patients must be assured that the tests they take and results they receive are accurate and their personal information will be protected,” said Attorney General Paxton. “We look forward to litigation in this case and will continue working diligently to ensure Texans receive the testing and potentially life-saving treatment they need.”
An Office of the Attorney General investigation discovered that Clinica Hispana was giving people antibody tests and telling them that it would diagnose an infection when such a test cannot diagnose an active infection.
In addition to conducting fraudulent tests, Clinica Hispana also threw away test results using an unsecured dumpster behind the clinic, which directly violates Texas identity theft laws.
Find information on where to get a COVID-19 test on the Department of State Health Services website here: https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/coronavirus/testing.aspx.
AG Paxton Joins Amicus Brief Defending Women’s Health and Safety
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton joined ten other states in a friend-of-the-court brief requesting that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stay a nationwide injunction suspending important health and safety requirements imposed by federal law for prescription of the abortifacient mifepristone.
Federal and state laws require physical examinations and in-person dispensing of mifepristone to ensure that physicians check for contraindications and inform women of the significant risk to her own body, including possible infection, hemorrhage, and even death.
“This medication is strictly required to be dispensed in-person due to the serious risks it poses to women’s health. The ongoing pandemic does not change the need for close examination and observation of a patient using mifepristone,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The COVID-19 pandemic only reinforces the need to follow reasonable guidelines when prescribing potentially dangerous medications to prevent patients from being forced into hospitals already dealing with the strain of the pandemic. To argue otherwise demonstrates a lack of true interest in women’s health and safety.”
The district court’s current injunction prevents the Food and Drug Administration from enforcing provisions of the Elements to Assure Safe Use for the mifepristone Risk Evaluation & Mitigation Strategy (REMS).
Use of abortion medications with close physician supervision presents risks to patient health and safety, and mifepristone is approved strictly through 10 weeks of pregnancy, with later use involving a higher risk of failure, infection, and risk to the patient’s life.
Read a copy of the amicus brief here.
AG Paxton Applauds President Trump, White House Title 32 Extension of Texas National Guard
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today applauded President Trump for extending federal funding for the Texas National Guard’s mission to help combat COVID-19 across the state.
This extension of the Texas National Guard will be fully funded by the federal government through the end of 2020.
“The Texas National Guard is vital to bolster our response and recovery as we work together to stop the spread of COVID-19. I sincerely thank President Trump for extending this federal funding to our great state and ensuring that Texans have much-needed resources during this time,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Our federal partners are invaluable and we will continue to work tirelessly to safely reopen Texas.”
Request for Opinion
Original Request Summary RQ-0368-KP
Whether hotel occupancy tax revenue may be used to fund a public space at an apartment complex under section 351.101 of the Tax Code
Date Received
Friday, July 31, 2020
Official Requestor
The Honorable Rafael Anchia
Chair, Committee on International Relations
& Economic Development
Texas House of Representatives
Post Office Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
Notification of Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ-0360-KP
Authority of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County to prohibit service and access to its transit authority system to a person who refuses to comply with a rule requiring facial coverings.
Official Opinion Summary KP-0323
If wearing a facial covering in a transit authority vehicle or facility is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Authority may require any person medically capable of doing so to wear a facial covering when entering its vehicles or facilities.
Notification of Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ-0360-KP
Authority of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County to prohibit service and access to its transit authority system to a person who refuses to comply with a rule requiring facial coverings
Official Opinion Summary KP-0323
If wearing a facial covering in a transit authority vehicle or facility is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Authority may require any person medically capable of doing so to wear a facial covering when entering its vehicles or facilities.
Notification of Opinion
Official Request Summary RQ-0356-KP
County authority to require facial coverings in courtrooms, courthouses, and county buildings
Official Opinion Summary KP-0322
County authority to require facial coverings in courtrooms, courthouses and county buildings can be found in in the Texas statutes, and in emergency and executive orders.
Notification of Opinion
Official Request RQ-0331-KP
Construed within the context of chapter 23, articles 23.01 and 23.04 identify the court that may issue a capias, after commitment, or the posting of bail.
Official Opinion Summary KP-0321
Construed within the context of chapter 23, articles 23.01 and 23.04 identify the court that may issue a capias, after commitment, or the posting of bail.
Request for Opinion
Official Opinion RQ-0367-KP
Information a local jurisdiction must provide if denying or conditionally approving a plat under chapter 212 of the Local Government Code and the authority of local governments to establish prerequisites to the submission of a plat application.
Date Received
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Official Requestor
The Honorable Bryan Hughes
Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068
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