Weekly News Round Up Of The State’s Top Law Enforcement Officer – Texas Attorney General
“The right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed for all Americans, including college students, and the 5th Circuit’s decision…”
Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton is the lawyer for the State of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to:
- defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Texas
- represent the State in litigation
- approve public bond issues
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/.
WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP OF THE STATE’S
TOP LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER…
THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL
Texas Wins Multistate Obamacare Tax Lawsuit, Recoups Over $839 Million, Including Nearly $305 Million For Texas Taxpayers
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today commended a U.S. District Court decision ordering the Internal Revenue Service to repay Texas and five other states more than $839 million because of an unlawful Obamacare tax on state Medicaid programs.
Of that total amount, Texas stands to be repaid $304,730,608. “Obamacare is unconstitutional, plain and simple,” Attorney General Paxton said. “We all know that the feds cannot tax the states, and we’re proud to return this illegally collected money to the people of Texas.”
In October 2015, Attorney General Paxton led a multistate lawsuit against the federal government over the Obama-era regulation that threatened to choke off Medicaid funds for the health needs of millions of Texas citizens unless Texas taxpayers paid a portion of the Health Insurance Providers Fee to help fund Obamacare.
The court’s decision also means that five other states stand to be repaid Obamacare fees by the IRS: Indiana ($94,801,483), Kansas ($142,121,776), Louisiana ($172,493,095), Wisconsin ($88,938,850) and Nebraska ($36,238,918).
Texas and Wisconsin will argue at a hearing on September 5 that Obamacare, as amended by the recent tax bill, is unconstitutional in its entirety.
View a copy of the ruling here: https://bit.ly/2Bz1U6Z.
AG Paxton Issues Statement After Court Ruling Blocks City of Austin’s Unlawful Sick Leave Ordinance
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today issued the following statement after the Court of Appeals for the 3rd District of Texas entered an order enjoining the city of Austin’s unlawful paid sick leave ordinance pending appeal.
“The minimum amount of compensation established for workers, including the minimum amount of paid time off, is a decision entrusted by the Texas Constitution solely to the Texas Legislature,” Attorney General Paxton said. “I’m confident that an appeals court will recognize that the law expressly preempts cities from passing a different law simply because they disagree with the judgment of our state’s elected representatives.”
Attorney General Paxton intervened in a lawsuit filed by the Texas Association of Business, National Federation of Independent Business, American Staffing Association, LeadingEdge Personnel, Staff Force, HT Staffing, and Burnett Staffing Specialists against city of Austin’s sick leave ordinance. Austin is the first Texas city to pass such a law. The ordinance is scheduled to take effect on October 1.
When the Legislature enacted the Texas Minimum Wage Act, it intended to set a single, uniform policy for the entire state. The policy it set made no mention whatsoever of requiring employers to provide paid time off from work.
Approved by the Austin City Council in February, the sick leave ordinance broadly applies to a variety of employers – including companies, nonprofits, individual households, churches and charitable foundations. It mandates that small businesses with 15 or fewer employees provide workers with up to six days of paid sick leave per year. All other private employers are required to allow up to 64 hours of paid sick leave.
Request For An Opinion: Whether a municipality is authorized to adopt a residential homestead property tax exemption that provides for a minimum exemption greater than $5,000, and, if not, whether an appraisal district may disregard or modify the minimum exemption.
Received: Thursday, August 16, 2018
Re: Whether a municipality is authorized to adopt a residential homestead property tax exemption that provides for a minimum exemption greater than $5,000, and, if not, whether an appraisal district may disregard or modify the minimum exemption
Requestor: The Honorable Charles Schwertner
Chair, Committee on Health and Human Services
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068
AG Paxton Commends 5th Circuit Decision Upholding Campus Carry Law
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today commended a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit after it upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit by three University of Texas at Austin professors who challenged Senate Bill 11, the campus carry law. The professors claimed that the legislation passed by the Texas Legislature in 2015 would have a “chilling effect” and stifle discussion in their classrooms.
“The lawsuit was filed because the professors disagreed with the law, not because they had any legal substance to their claim,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed for all Americans, including college students, and the 5th Circuit’s decision prevents that right from being stripped away by three individuals who oppose the law enacted by the Legislature.”
In July 2017, a U.S. District Court dismissed the professors’ complaints on the grounds that they were baseless and without legal standing. Senate Bill 11 took effect August 1, 2016.
Request For An Opinion: Authority of a county under article III, section 52(a) of the Texas Constitution, to refund penalties and interest paid by taxpayers to a private collection firm in certain circumstances
Received: Monday, August 20, 2018
Re: Authority of a county under article III, section 52(a) of the Texas Constitution, to refund penalties and interest paid by taxpayers to a private collection firm in certain circumstances
Requestor: The Honorable Matthew A. Mills
Hood County Attorney
1200 West Pearl Street
Granbury, Texas 76048
Request For An Opinion: Application of Government Code section 573.062, the nepotism continuous-employment exception, to a tax assessor/collector’s sister-in-law
Received: Monday, August 20, 2018
Re: Application of Government Code section 573.062, the nepotism continuous-employment exception, to a tax assessor/collector’s sister-in-law
Requestor: The Honorable Dana Norris Young
Cherokee County Attorney
Post Office Box 320
Rusk, Texas 75785
