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Whistleblowers Beef Up Accusations Against Texas AG Paxton
Law360 (February 12, 2021, 6:54 PM EST) Former high-ranking lawyers from the Texas Attorney General s Office added more details to a whistleblower suit against their ex-boss, Ken Paxton, alleging he had an intense and bizarre desire to abuse the power of his office to benefit a campaign donor in exchange for political contributions and home renovations.
The additional detail hit a Travis County District Court docket about a week before a hearing is set to begin on Paxton s bid to dismiss the claims brought by four former top staffers who left in a mass exodus in the fall. The whistleblowers James Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, J. Mark.
Judge temporarily blocks Texas from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid program
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Planned Parenthood of South Texas office manger, Twila Aguilera, looks at the number of patient intakes and services provided at the San Pedro clinic location on Thursday, Aug. 22nd, 2019.Carlos Javier Sanchez | Contributor
A Texas judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked Republican leaders from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid, as the nonprofit provider claims the effort did not follow procedure and could unjustly strip some 8,000 low-income women of critical care including birth control, STI treatments and cancer screenings.
State health officials had given women on Medicaid until Wednesday to find alternatives to Planned Parenthood for the non-abortion services. Planned Parenthood and other women’s health advocates have warned there are few other providers willing to provide the care, in part because the state’s reimbursement rate is among the lowest in the c
Changing Times, Funding Threaten Connectivity in Rural Texas
As state subsidies for Internet and phone service access for rural Texans hang in the balance, rural telephone service providers are staring down the barrel of substantial funding cuts. Shutterstock/Pavel Ignatov
As wireless providers move towards using data instead of voice calls, the Texas Universal Service Fund (TUSF), which is responsible for offsetting the high cost of connecting Texans across the state, has reduced payments received by rural telephone providers by 66 percent.
In response to this decrease, rural telephone providers, which are now facing financial uncertainty, filed a suit in Travis County District Court against the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), which oversees the fund.
Texas AG alleges San Antonio mayor told staff to not contact ICE, flouting SB 4 law
Accusations against San Antonio mayor included in amended petition in ongoing sanctuary cities lawsuit
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Mayor Ron Nirenberg
SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg for the first time has been implicated by the Texas Attorney General in an ongoing “sanctuary cities” lawsuit that accuses the city of flouting a state law that requires local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
According to a petition filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, Nirenberg instructed city staff not to contact federal authorities after 12 people believed to be immigrants without documentation were found inside a tractor-trailer in December 2017.
Rural phone companies file suit against Texas PUC
E-T staff report
Nearly 50 rural Texas telephone companies have filed a lawsuit against the Public Utility Commission of Texas, accusing the state regulatory agency of illegally withholding universal service fund (“USF”) revenues crucial to maintaining the statewide telecommunications network in rural areas.
The lawsuit contends the PUC’s action was taken in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act, through illegal rulemakings, and in direct contradiction of existing state law, according to a news release from the Texas Statewide Telephone Cooperative Inc.
The rural telephone companies and their customers cover more than 55% of the geographic area of the state of Texas, and allege that without this vital funding, telecommunications service to customers in rural areas of the state is placed in jeopardy.