The Texas attorney general said he’s “back to work” after his recent acquittal, but his office has repeatedly declined to fulfill one of its key duties: representing state agencies who are being sued.
Records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune give deeper insight into how Paxton’s representation denials often pushed agencies to look for outside legal counsel that was ultimately funded by taxpayers.
A bill that would require purchasing the kits is facing key opposition after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found no evidence that they’d ever been used to find a missing child. The probe previously spurred Texas to strip millions in funding.
The ruling marks the first step toward disclosing the extensive but previously shielded collection of police documents, though the state agency could choose to fight the ruling by appealing the decision.
While launching a statewide program to distribute packets to dissolve opioids, Attorney General Ken Paxton worked to connect its leaders with the state’s comptroller, who oversees the distribution of millions of dollars in opioid settlement money.