Today, the Travis County court presiding over Harris County’s
mask mandate lawsuit against Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton granted
Harris County’s request for a temporary injunction, allowing Harris County to keep in place its
mask mandates for schools and County employees.
Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee, who represents Harris County in the lawsuit,
stated:
“This decision is another important win in reining the Governor in and empowering officials to
institute measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, especially in our schools. Governor Abbott
is misusing the Texas Disaster Act to make this pandemic worse. We’re not letting up on this fact.
And I plan to see this fight through until the Texas Supreme Court reaches a final decision.”
The temporary injunction takes effect immediately. It is expected that the Attorney General will immediately appeal, and the legal battle will continue in the Third Court of Appeals in Austin.
