$1,728,330
Other
Jan. 23, 2012
Texas sued the Department of Justice, seeking court approval of its law to require voters to provide a photo ID at the polls. The law’s approval was required through the Voting Rights Act. The voter ID law itself is the target in another case.
The suit against the Justice Department was resolved when the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a separate 2013 case that states previously required to get preclearance for redistricting plans were no longer subject to federal approval.
$919,580
Other
July 19, 2011
Texas sued the U.S. Department of Justice, seeking court approval of its plan to redraw its congressional and legislative voting districts. The approval was required through the Voting Rights Act.
The case was resolved when the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a separate 2013 case that states previously required to get preclearance for redistricting plans were no longer subject to federal approval.
$641,931
Immigration
Dec. 3, 2014
Texas and 24 other states sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over President Obama’s executive order granting deportation relief for as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants. The states say the president infringed on congressional authority over immigration laws.
A panel of three federal judges at the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Obama’s immigration plan in November 2015. After hearing an appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4. That left the lower court ruling in place. Though the case returns to lower courts for hearings on the merits, the ruling was seen as a major victory for Texas and other opponents of the federal order.
$607,010
Air and Water Quality
Sept. 20, 2011
Texas sued the EPA over regulations introduced that year to address pollution drifting into other states.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the rule in 2014 but asked the D.C. Circuit to consider some lingering issues. In July 2015, the D.C. Circuit directed the EPA to ease some emissions limits set for Texas, but the overall rule remains in place, prompting victory declarations from both Texas officials and environmental advocates.
$358,157
Social Issues
March 16, 2012
Texas sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which refused to fund the state’s Women’s Health Program because of a Texas law that prohibits state dollars from going to groups affiliated with abortion providers.
A federal judge denied Texas’ request for an injunction to stop the federal health department from cutting off funding. Texas withdrew its case and chose to use state funds for the Women’s Health Program.
$342,750
Climate Change
Feb. 16, 2010
Texas and industry groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency over the Endangerment Finding, a 2009 decision to regulate greenhouse gases on the basis that they contribute to global warming and “threaten the public health and welfare.”
$156,187
Climate Change
Oct. 23, 2015
Texas joined a coalition of 24 states to sue the EPA over President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, one of his most sweeping proposals yet to address climate change by slashing carbon emissions from power plants.
The case is pending in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. But the U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the regulation as litigation continues in a decision that was seen as an early victory for Texas and opponents of federal plan.
$138,433
Air and Water Quality
June 29, 2015
Texas sued the EPA over the Waters of the U.S. rule, which is aimed at clarifying the waters that are under the federal government’s jurisdiction.
The case is pending in the U.S. Southern District Court of Texas, and Texas has also filed the lawsuit with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. In October 2015, The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a case filed by other states challenging the regulation, issued a nationwide stay — blocking the rule as it winds through the courts.
$138,338
Other
Nov. 18, 2015
Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened on behalf of Texas landowners in a complicated dispute over who owns a stretch of land along the meandering Red River. The General Land Office [has also intervened] (http://www.glo.texas.gov/the-glo/news/press-releases/2015/december/land-commissioner-bush-intervenes-in-lawsuit-against-unconstitutional-seizure-of-private-property-by-the-blm.html), and the cost reported includes figures provided by both agencies.
The lawsuit is currently pending in the Wichita Falls division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
$96,477
Other
April 22, 2013
Texas and Louisiana sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for shortening the red snapper fishing season in federally governed waters off Texas’ coast. Texas argued this was done to unfairly punish the state for lax red snapper fishing regulations in its own waters.
A federal judge in Brownsville agreed with Texas, issuing a ruling in 2013 that gave anglers more than two extra weeks to harvest red snapper in federal waters off the Texas coast.
$84,155
Air and Water Quality
Dec. 12, 2010
Texas’ pollution control permitting program lets industrial facilities bypass some burdensome regulations if they reduce their air emissions. After waiting for the EPA to weigh in on the program for years, Texas got a rejection in the fall of 2010, and promptly sued that December alongside one of the state’s biggest power companies, Luminant.
In March 2012, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of Texas and said the EPA had illegally disapproved of the permitting program.
$82,599
Air and Water Quality
Feb. 29, 2016
Texas sued the EPA in February 2016 for rejecting parts of a seven-year-old state proposal to reduce haze in wilderness areas.
In July 2016, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a preliminary victory to Texas by allowing the case to move forward and temporarily halting the EPA’s actions that the state had challenged. The case is still pending in that court.
$73,283
Business Regulation
Nov. 4, 2013
Texas sued the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over its hiring guidelines, which said that employer policies of not hiring felons could violate federal anti-discrimination law. The state argued that the guidelines were in conflict with state law and jeopardized public safety.
The U.S. Court for the Northern District of Texas dismissed the suit in 2014. But the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in June 2016, and the case has been remanded for further consideration.
$49,775
Air and Water Quality
June 11, 2010
Texas and oil and gas companies sued the EPA over its decision to reject the state’s “qualified facilities” program, which allowed some small or midsize industrial facilities to skip certain steps when seeking environmental permits.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the EPA’s decision in 2012 and later denied a rehearing request from Texas.
$41,534
Air and Water Quality
July 26, 2010
Texas and industry groups sued the EPA after it nixed the state’s “flexible permit” program, which asked small or midsize industrial facilities to keep their emissions under a “capped” number.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the state’s favor in 2012. In 2014, the EPA officially approved most of the flexible permitting program.
$40,522
Other
March 23, 2010
Texas and 12 other states challenged the constitutionality of the federal Affordable Care Act, claiming parts of the law — including the individual mandate and expansion of Medicaid — exceeded federal authority.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2012 that the law was constitutional. The justices also clarified that the individual mandate was permissible under Congress’ power to levy taxes but that forcing an expansion of Medicaid was unconstitutional.
$36,871
Air and Water Quality
April 16, 2012
Texas and a coal plant developer sued the EPA over the agency’s new limits on mercury and other toxic chemical emissions from power plants.
In June 2015, The Supreme Court upheld Texas’ challenge in a 5-4 decision and struck down the EPA’s mercury regulations. The agency will now have to rewrite them.
$35,402
Air and Water Quality
July 10, 2015
Texas sued the Environmental Protection Agency after regulators rejected parts of the state’s clean air program. The EPA directed the state to revisit how it regulates pollution from industrial plants. Texas must submit new regulation plans by November 2016.
The case is pending in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
$33,718
Air and Water Quality
Aug. 23, 2010
Texas and North Dakota sued the EPA over rules that limited how much sulfur dioxide could be in the air.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Texas’ argument in 2012. And Texas has not appealed.
$29,163
Air and Water Quality
Sept. 11, 2013
Texas and three other states sued the EPA for taking too long to decide which areas of the country had too much sulfur dioxide in the air. The state also intervened in lawsuits filed by the Sierra Club on the same issue, and the cost reported includes figures provided by the agency for all such lawsuits.
The case is pending in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
$28,242
Social Issues
March 18, 2015
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the U.S. Labor Department for allowing federal medical leave benefits for certain same-sex couples.
In July 2015, Paxton filed a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit with the U.S. Northern District Court of Texas. The move came almost a month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional.
$27,028
Climate Change
May 4, 2011
After Texas refused to submit its plan to follow the greenhouse gas rule, the EPA wrote its own plan for the state. The state sued, calling the agency’s action a “takeover” of state affairs.
$25,609
Climate Change
Feb. 23, 2012
Texas sued the EPA for rejecting the state’s plan to address air pollution that drifts into other states. The EPA had disapproved of the plan because it didn’t include steps to follow the recently announced greenhouse gas rule, which Texas was also challenging in court.
According to court records, Texas withdrew this lawsuit in late 2015 after the EPA approved its plan. The Supreme Court largely upheld the EPA’s greenhouse gas rule in 2014.
$25,252
Climate Change
Dec. 15, 2010
Texas and industry groups sued the EPA for asking states to submit a plan on how they would follow a new rule that would regulate greenhouse gas emissions from big industrial plants.
$25,122
Air and Water Quality
July 19, 2012
Texas sued the EPA for adding Wise County, a largely rural county, to a previously defined region of North Texas counties whose smog pollution level violates federal law.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Texas’ challenge in June 2015. Texas did not appeal the court’s denial of all petitions for review.
$20,850
Air and Water Quality
Dec. 22, 2015
Texas filed suit over the EPA’s tightened standards on ground-level ozone — which aim to crack down on pollution coming from factories, power plants and vehicle tailpipes. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the rule isn’t supported by scientific data and will unnecessarily harm the state’s economy.
The case is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
$19,823
Air and Water Quality
Aug. 6, 2012
Texas sued the EPA after the agency rejected its plan for reducing regional haze, which involves cutting sulfur dioxide emissions. The challenge was based in part on Texas’ lawsuit over the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which factors into the regional haze plan.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule was legal, but Texas is challenging other aspects of the EPA’s regional haze rule; that case is pending in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
$19,615
Other
Oct. 22, 2015
Texas joined Kansas and Louisiana in suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service over a fee the states pay to help fund President Obama’s sweeping federal health reform law. Texas feels the effect of the federal Health Insurance Providers Fee, levied on insurers, because the state reimburses the companies that operate with public funds in its privatized Medicaid program. Texas says having to pay up under the threat of losing other sources of federal funding amounts to “coercion.”
The case is pending in a North Texas federal court.
$19,000
Business Regulation
March 22, 2010
Texas sued the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over an order that natural gas pipelines in Texas make daily internet posts about their business activities.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Texas that the order exceeded the commission’s authority, and the order was vacated in October 2011.
$15,234
Other
Aug. 11, 2010
Texas sued the U.S. Department of the Interior after the department imposed a deep-water offshore drilling moratorium following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Texas withdrew the suit after the drilling moratorium was lifted.
$12,942
Air and Water Quality
Dec. 20, 2010
Texas challenged the EPA’s new restrictions on particulate matter pollution — tiny particles that can get lodged in people’s lungs — from big industrial plants.
The EPA agreed to reconsider an administrative, nonlegal challenge Texas had already filed against the rule, and the lawsuit is pending based on the agency’s decision.
$9,709
Air and Water Quality
March 14, 2011
Texas sued the EPA for rejecting the state’s air quality plan that relied in part on the state’s pollution control project permitting program, which the EPA had also rejected.
In 2012, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said the EPA had illegally disapproved of Texas’ pollution control permitting program, which took away the agency’s basis for rejecting Texas’ air quality plan.
$6,619
Immigration
Dec. 2, 2015
In its lawsuit, Texas claims the federal government and the International Rescue Committee — one of about 20 private nonprofits that have a state contract to resettle refugees in Texas — are violating federal law by moving forward with the planned resettlement of two Syrian families.
A U.S. district court judge dismissed Texas’ attempt to block Syrian refugees from resettling in the state. The Dallas-based judge ruled that Texas did not have grounds to sue the federal government in the case and failed to provide a “plausible claim” that a refugee resettlement nonprofit breached its contract. At the time, Paxton said his office was “considering our options moving forward.”
$6,105
Other
Sept. 23, 2010
Texas sued the U.S. Department of Education after it denied the state’s application for $830 million in education funding.
The state withdrew its case after Congress repealed an amendment by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, that was tied to withholding the funding.
$5,448
Air and Water Quality
Oct. 15, 2012
Texas challenged the EPA’s new restrictions on pollution from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells.
The state withdrew its case two months later.
$3,595
Climate Change
June 1, 2010
Texas and industry groups sued the EPA over its regulation of greenhouse gas emissions at big industrial facilities like power plants and refineries, arguing that the EPA illegally tweaked the Clean Air Act and that it did not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from industrial plants.
While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that the EPA was not allowed to tweak the Clean Air Act the way it did, the ruling had almost no practical effect. That’s because the court also decided the EPA can regulate greenhouse gases for most big industrial facilities without using the illegal tweak.
$2,440
Climate Change
July 7, 2010
Texas and industry groups sued the EPA over the Tailpipe Rule, which set greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and light trucks.
$860
Air and Water Quality
July 16, 2013
Texas and 11 other states sued the EPA after their Freedom of Information Act requests were denied. The states were seeking records of EPA legal negotiations with environmental groups over clean air regulations.
A federal court in Oklahoma dismissed the case in 2013.
$61
Business Regulation
Feb. 13, 2013
Texas and 10 other states joined a Texas bank in a lawsuit challenging the Dodd-Frank financial regulations. They argued that three federal oversight groups received too much power affecting state-level financial interests.
In July 2015, a D.C. Circuit Court judge said that Texas and the other states do not have standing to sue but affirmed the right of the bank plaintiffs’ lawsuit to go forward. That case is pending.
Not Available
Social Issues
Feb. 23, 2012
Texas and six other states sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over the Affordable Care Act, aiming to exempt religious organizations from having to subsidize contraception and related services that conflict with their religious beliefs.
A federal district court judge in Nebraska dismissed the case in 2012. The states appealed but withdrew their case in 2013 when the Obama administration changed the rules to make them more favorable to religious organizations.
Not Available
Business Regulation
May 19, 2016
Texas and several other states intervened in a lawsuit — filed by several business groups — seeking to thwart a new U.S. Department of Labor rule requiring employers to publicly disclose the use of consultants (lawyers included) aimed at persuading workers regarding collective bargaining or organizing unions. Previously, those parties were exempted from reporting in certain circumstances. The states argued that the rule would jeopardize attorney-client privilege.
In June 2016, a U.S. District Court in Fort Worth blocked the rule as it wound through court, drawing cheers from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. But the case is still pending in that court.
Not Available
Social Issues
May 25, 2016
In May 2016, Texas led a group of 11 states in a lawsuit to stop a federal directive instructing school districts to let transgender students use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.
The lawsuit is currently pending in the Wichita Falls division of the U.S. Northern District of Texas Court.
Not Available
Climate Change
July 29, 2016
Texas sued the EPA over its rules aimed at slashing methane emissions from oil and gas producers. Attorney General Ken Paxton called the rules “a gross demonstration of federal overreach” and accused regulators of failing to consider the price tag for the industry to comply.
Filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the challenge has been consolidated with those from other states.
Not Available
Social Issues
Aug. 23, 2016
Texas sued the federal government over a regulation prohibiting discrimination against transgender individuals in some health programs. Texas and four other states claim the new federal regulation would force doctors to perform gender transition procedures on children.
The lawsuit is currently pending in the Wichita Falls-based District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Not Available
Business Regulation
Sept. 20, 2016
Texas is leading a lawsuit against President Barack Obama’s administration over a new rule that makes millions more workers eligible for overtime pay. Critics of the rule say it will place a new burden on businesses. The Labor Department says that the policy is on sound legal footing.
The lawsuit is currently pending in the Sherman-based Eastern District Court of Texas.
Not Available
Other
Sept. 28, 2016
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a lawsuit aiming to halt the Obama administration’s plan to cede oversight of the internet domain-name system to an international body. Critics claim the transition could open up the Internet to censorship by countries like China and Russia. Administration officials say such concerns are unfounded.
The lawsuit is currently pending in the Galveston-based Southern District Court of Texas.
Not Available
Other
Jan. 3, 2017
Texas sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for what it says is an “unreasonable delay” in deciding whether to allow the delivery of execution drugs from India. The FDA seized 1,000 vials of sodium thiopental at a Houston airport.
The lawsuit is currently pending in the Galveston-based Southern District Court of Texas.
Not Available
Air and Water Quality
Jan. 17, 2017
Texas and 13 other states sued the federal government to block a federal rule limiting coal mining near waterways. Paxton said the “the federal agency adopted the revised rule without the participation of the states.”
The lawsuit is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Not Available
Air and Water Quality
Jan. 18, 2017
Paxton has asked for a review of a regulation aimed at curbing hazy conditions in national parks and wilderness areas in Texas and surrounding states. The regulation requires states to craft plans about how to go about doing so. Paxton said the regulation gives federal land managers powers they don’t have under federal clean air laws.
The lawsuit is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.