Texas Lawsuit Results in Court Upholding Federal Law

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton commended the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas for granting a nationwide temporary restraining order halting implementation of the Biden Administration’s unlawful order to the Department of Homeland Security to freeze virtually all deportations of illegal aliens.

“The Court’s decision to stop the Biden Administration from casting aside congressionally enacted immigration laws is a much-needed remedy for DHS’s unlawful action. A near-complete suspension of deportations would only serve to endanger Texans and undermine federal law,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Blatantly illegal security threats cannot be allowed to stand, and the rule of law must be upheld. I commend the Court for prioritizing the law and safety of our citizens, and I will continue to defend Texas against the unlawful and unconstitutional actions of President Biden and his Administration.”

Read a copy of the order here.

Texas AG Request for Opinion

Official Request Summary RQ-0396-KP
Residency requirement to become a candidate for county attorney

Date Received
Friday, January 15, 2021

Official Requestor
Mr. Rusty Friedrichs
Goliad County Auditor
Post Office Box 526
Goliad, Texas 77963

Texas AG Notification of Opinion

Original Official Request Summary RQ-0369-KP
Whether yard signs and a social media post qualify as an “announcement” for candidacy for another office, thus triggering the automatic resignation provision of article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution.

Official Opinion Summary KP-0351
Article XVI, section 65 of the Texas Constitution provides that certain district or county officers automatically resign from office upon announcing their candidacy for any other office of profit or trust under the laws of this State or the United States. Article XI, section 11 applies this provision to officers of a home-rule city that hold a term longer than two years. To qualify as an announcement under these provisions, the person’s statement must be made in a public setting and be clear and unequivocal. Whether any given statement satisfies these requirements will involve questions of fact, but to the extent, a person posts campaign signs on public property, visible to the general public, urging his or her election, a court would likely conclude that such acts constitute an announcement for purposes of article XVI, section 65.

Article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution requires that any vacancy in a home-rule municipal office with a term exceeding two years be filled by majority vote of the qualified voters at a special election.

If a city councilmember automatically resigned within 120 days of the general election in November, the special election to fill the vacancy should be held on the same day as the general election.

Article XVI, section 17 of the Texas Constitution provides that all officers within this State shall continue to perform the duties of their offices until their successors shall be duly qualified. Pursuant to this provision, officeholders subject to the automatic resignation provision hold over in office until a successor is duly qualified.

A city councilmember may not rescind an announcement for candidacy to avoid application of the automatic resignation provision.

Texas AG Notification of Opinion

Original Official 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.

Official Opinion Summary KP-0350
Chapter 351 of the Tax Code authorizes an expenditure of hotel occupancy tax revenue in the direct promotion of tourism and the convention and hotel industry, provided the expenditure is for one of the specified uses listed in the statute. To the extent the particular agreement about which you ask expressly provides that the public space is intended to benefit the residents of the apartment complex and does not promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry, it does not satisfy section 351.101. While it is ultimately a fact question, a court is unlikely to determine that the expenditure as described is an authorized expenditure of hotel occupancy tax revenue.

Texas AG Notification of Opinion

Original Official Request Summary RQ-0367-KP
Information a local jurisdiction must provide if denying or conditionally approving a plat under chapters 212 and 232 of the Local Government Code and the authority of local governments to establish prerequisites to the submission of a plat application.

Official Opinion Summary KP-0349
Sections 212.0091 and 232.0026 of the Local Government Code require local jurisdictions to provide specific reasons and legal citations for denying or conditionally approving a plan or plat.