Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the City of Austin to prevent the City's unlawful use of public money to fund expenses for women traveling out of Texas to procure abortions.
In the approved budget for fiscal year 2024-2025, the City of Austin appropriated $400,000 in taxpayer money for the city’s “Reproductive Health Grant” which purports to “support Austinites traveling to access abortion . . . including support for airfare, gas reimbursements, hotel stays, ride reimbursements, childcare stipends, companion travel, and food.”
Such an appropriation violates the Texas Constitution’s Gift Clause which stipulates that the Legislature has “no power to authorize any county, city, town, or other political corporation or subdivision of the State to lend its credit or to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual. . . whatsoever.”
Attorney General Paxton is seeking a temporary restraining order to halt any distribution of funds while the litigation proceeds. He further asked the court to grant temporary and permanent injunctions prohibiting Austin from unlawfully spending taxpayer money on “logistical support” for abortions.
“No city in Texas has the authority to spend taxpayer money in this manner. In this case, the City of Austin is illegally seeking to use public funding to support travel expenses for out-of-state abortions,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The Texas Constitution prohibits governmental entities from doing so.”