Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Wednesday sued the city of Austin to prevent the temporary ban on restricting food and drink in person during the New Year’s holiday from being enforced.
He dress is asking the Travis County District Court for a temporary restraining and restraining order to prevent Austin Mayor Steve Adler (D) and Travis County Judge Andy Brown from enforcing the restrictions.
Paxton argues that the restrictions violate an executive order from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), which says “all Texas commercial establishments will operate” under certain protocols, but without limits on hours of operations.
Adler and Brown imposed an emergency shutdown on Tuesday, banning indoor and outdoor food and beverage services between 10:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The order went into effect Thursday and will remain in effect until January 3rd.
Paxton previously sent a letter to Adler and Brown asking them to amend or repeal the restrictions or “face imminent legal action by the state.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Paxton said officials “do not have the authority to transgress” Abbott’s order.
“The fact that these two local leaders issued their orders in the evening and on the eve of a major holiday shows the contempt they have for jeans and local businesses.”
In a statement to The Hill, Adler said the order was issued on terms drawn from similar orders in El Paso and San Antonio that Abbot had not previously challenged.
He noted that doctors asked him and Judge Brown to do “everything we can to limit the unmasking of people who are not at home.”
“We believe cities have the authority to react to local conditions and protect their residents when the state does not. We also believe our orders do not conflict with the governor’s rules,” Adler said. “We are making these two independent arguments. Regardless of how the court rules, each of us, individually, must decide what we will do to better protect our neighbors and save lives.”
Adler noted that there has been a 70 percent increase in ICU use over the past nine days, adding that there are about 60 ICU beds with adequate staff in Austin / Travis County.
There have been 50,194 COVID-19 infections in Travis County since the pandemic began and 548 dead.
Updated at 12:36 pm