TX Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Austin For Mask Order

AUSTIN, TX — A day after threatening to sue Austin area officials for its mask order, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the city and county on Thursday.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Travis County District Court on Thursday, names Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Interim Medical Director and Health Authority Mark Escott as defendants.

“This case raises a pressing question: who is ultimately responsible for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies?" The lawsuit said. "The Texas Disaster Act charges the Governor — not an assortment of thousands of county judges, city mayors and local health officials — with leading the State’s response to a statewide emergency."

The attorney general's office's decision to sue follows its threat Wednesday towards Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown for implementing a mask order at local businesses after Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order took effect Wednesday.

The story: TX Attorney General Threatens To Sue Austin For Mask Order

Abbott's executive order allows all businesses to reopen at 100 percent capacity and lifts the state's mask mandate.

The Austin-Travis County order states people won't face charges for not wearing a mask but they could if they are unmasked and refuse to leave a business. Charges could also be increased if someone were to threaten a business or incite violence, city officials said.

More on that story: Austin Businesses Will Still Require Masks: Health Officials

Paxton's office said the decision to require masks is up to private businesses on their own premises and not for "the city of Austin, Travis County or their local health authorities."
"I told Travis County & The City of Austin to comply with state mask law,” Paxton tweeted Thursday. “They blew me off. So, once again, I’m dragging them to court.”

Local leaders argue they can keep these requirements because the state allows cities to adopt rules to protect the health of their residents. Officials argue Abbott doesn't have the power to override state law through an executive order.

“Cities have independent authority under TX constitution, & state law allows cities to create health rules,” Council Member Greg Casar wrote in a tweet on Monday. “We've spoken with legal experts, and I believe the city's [decision] today is both legal and the right thing to do.”
Adler responded to Paxton's lawsuit Thursday stating he and Brown will continue to "fight to defend and enforce public health guidance."

Adler's office said last summer’s city ordinance, put in place with the Governor’s support to make enforceable the local Health Authority rules that are guided by the data and the doctors and call for continued and mandatory masking.

“We promised to be guided by the doctors, science and data, and we will do everything we can to keep that promise," Adler said. "We are not aware of any Texas court that has allowed state leadership to overrule the health protection rules of a local health authority.”

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