AG Paxton Sues City of Austin for Imposing Unlawful Shutdown Orders
Press Release
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a petition for temporary injunction and temporary restraining order in Travis County District Court to halt enforcement of Austin Mayor Steve Adler’s and Travis County Judge Andy Brown’s orders, which impose a four-day shutdown of dine-in food and beverage services from 10:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., December 31 through January 3. The city and county orders violate Gov. Greg Abbott’s Executive Order No. GA-32. Relief in this suit would provide swift and much-needed victory for the people and businesses of Travis County.
“Mayor Adler and Judge Brown do not have the authority to flout Gov. Abbott’s executive orders by shutting down businesses in Travis County and our state’s capital city,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The fact that these two local leaders released their orders at night and on the eve of a major holiday shows how much contempt they have for Texans and local businesses. They think breaking the law is a game of running the clock before anyone can do anything about it. Texas is a law-and-order state, and these are lives and livelihoods that are at stake. I’ll continue to defend them against the arbitrariness of the mayor and county judge.”
Read a copy of the lawsuit here.