TX AG Ken Paxton told Austin City Council to comply with SB 14’s prohibition on gender transition treatments, or potentially face legal consequences.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pushed back against the Austin, Texas, city council after members passed a resolution seeking to defy the state’s ban on transgender treatments.
On Thursday, Paxton told the city council they must comply with SB 14’s prohibition of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and invasive surgeries for children, or potentially face legal consequences.
“The resolution is no more than an empty political statement,” Paxton wrote in a press release.
If the City of Austin refuses to follow the law and protect children, my office will consider every possible response to ensure compliance. Texas municipalities do not have the authority to pick and choose which state laws they will or will not abide by. The people of Texas have… https://t.co/cvjrXo74ia
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) May 2, 2024
“Each clause directing the City Manager to defy SB 14 is prefaced with the nonsensical qualification, ‘except to the extent required by law.’ In other words, the Austin City Council would order the City Manager and city employees to follow the law while pretending to say the exact opposite.”
“If the City of Austin refuses to follow the law and protect children, my office will consider every possible response to ensure compliance,” Paxton stated.
“Texas municipalities do not have the authority to pick and choose which state laws they will or will not abide by. The people of Texas have spoken, and Austin City Council must listen.”
Paxton’s warning comes as the Austin City Council on Thursday passed a “Transgender Protection Resolution,” ordering the city manager and city staff to defy SB14 signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in June 2023.
