The Texas House General Investigating Committee voted unanimously on Thursday in favor of 20 articles of impeachment against the state’s attorney general. A vote on the floor of the Texas House to impeach Ken Paxton could occur by the weekend and would result, if approved by a majority vote, in his suspension as attorney general pending a trial in the Texas Senate.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion Wednesday that voter registration tactics targeting teachers and eligible students of voting age violate the state Constitution and electioneering laws.
A Texas lawmaker called into question a voter registration campaign, encouraged by a third party advocacy group, which targets teachers and eligible students. He wants to know if the tactics they use violate the state’s Constitution.
Members of the Texas House introduced a series of bills in an apparent attempt to obstruct the conservative agenda set by Governor Greg Abbott. The Texas Constitution states that there shall be no legislation on subjects other than those designated by the governor in his proclamation calling for the special session.
The Supreme Court of Texas held that the U.S. Supreme Court opinion recognizing the right of same-sex couples to marry does not automatically entitle them to spousal employment benefits. The unanimous court held that the 2015 opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges did not address the right to tax, insurance, or other benefits–only the right to marry.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 45, more commonly known as “American Laws for American Courts,” or ALAC. It prohibits the use of any foreign law in the state’s courts, specifically in family cases that involve marriage or parent-child relationship matters.
The Supreme Court of Texas heard oral arguments today in a case where Houston taxpayers sued urging that subsidizing employment benefits for the spouse of a same-sex couple is illegal. Lawyers for the taxpayers describe the case as “the only one of its kind in the nation.”
The Supreme Court of Texas decided to hear a Texas case fighting taxpayer-funded employment benefits for gay spouses.
Austin firefighters sued for allegedly spending time on union activities instead of answering emergency calls have filed their response to the lawsuit that seeks to halt the practice.
The Texas Attorney General issued an opinion on Monday that concluded a commissioners court may use county funds on holiday lights and decorations.
Two taxpayers filed a motion for rehearing with the Texas Supreme Court on Monday to reconsider their order denying review of a case against the openly gay former Houston Mayor and the City of Houston. They urge that Mayor Annise Parker violated the Texas Constitution and state statutes when she gave spousal benefits to gay employees in 2013 and 2014. Parker issued these benefits to employees prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling.
A Texas Supreme Court Justice has issued a dissenting opinion stating that while the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that same-sex couples may marry, the U.S. Constitution does not necessarily require cities to offer benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. While marriage may be a fundamental right, spousal benefits are not. He says that the same constitutional strict scrutiny does not apply to employment benefits.
HOUSTON, Texas — A judge in Harris County, Texas, has sanctioned Child Protective Services and ordered the agency to pay $27,500 in attorneys fees. He has also ordered CPS personnel to read the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the Texas Constitution.
The planned religious monument dubbed the “Tallest Cross in America” is heading to a Corpus Christi, Texas, court on Tuesday. San Antonio atheist Patrick Greene filed a lawsuit against the Abundant Life Fellowship to stop its planned construction of a 230-foot cross.
The Lone Star State has taken one more step towards Texas Independence. A resolution has passed a platform committee at the Texas GOP Convention and is now expected to go to a vote before all of the delegates.
Former Governor Rick Perry and his legal team were at the state’s highest criminal court on Wednesday morning arguing that the remaining count against him (abuse of official capacity) should be dismissed. A special prosecutor argued that a second count (coercion of a public servant) dismissed by an immediate court of appeals should be reinstated.
The Texas Attorney General has responded to the “newly invented federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage” created by the “activist” U.S. Supreme Court by telling Texas officials “Texas must speak with one voice against this lawlessness.” He issued an opinion and said Texans must “act on multiple levels to further protect religious liberties for all Texans” and must “immediately do anything we can to help our County Clerks and public officials who now are forced with defending their religious beliefs against the Court’s ruling.”
A long time statutory probate judge in Harris County, Texas, is raising an issue which begs the question of where the legislature’s power over the judiciary begins and ends. It is his opinion, that Senate Bill 1876, relating to appointing attorneys, mediators, or guardians, via a rotating list, is unconstitutional as violative of the separation of powers.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott moved forward with his priority legislation items by declaring five issues to be “emergency items.” The emergency designation allows the Texas Legislature to act on the items within the first sixty days of the session which
Two Texas Legislators are proposing to amend the Texas Constitution to protect the “Right to Hunt and Fish.” Resolutions to create the amendment have been authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) and Rep. Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin). If passed, the proposal would place the issue on the ballot for voter approval in November 2015.
