Attorney General Ken Paxton says he blocked a Travis County Court order that would’ve forced the Texas Workforce Commission to comply with an agreement it made with the developer of a Muslim-oriented housing development.
The agency and the developer, Community Capital Partners, agreed last fall to resolve allegations of fair housing violations against the project. Community Capital Partners sued the Texas Workforce Commission after it sent the commission fair housing policies for the development but didn’t receive any review or response from the agency according to a press release from the developer.
The court’s ruling would’ve required the commission to review and respond to the fair housing documents as promised. But Paxton appealed the court’s ruling with the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, which he said in a press release suspended the decision while the case is ongoing.
“Following my appeal of the flawed ruling that would have required the Texas Workforce Commission to unlawfully approve fair housing documents for EPIC, I am glad to see that the developers will not receive such services as this lawsuit is proceeding,” he said.
The Travis County Court’s ruling was a temporary injunction — a short-term order that’s meant to maintain the status quo while a case is ongoing. Under most circumstances, filing an appeal doesn’t automatically suspend a temporary injunction.
The Texas Tribune has reported there’s an unusual state law that lets the attorney general supersede a state judge’s order by filing an appeal.
A State Court Report article explains it like this:
"The state’s option to sidestep a trial court’s temporary injunction by immediate appeal derives from a complex and unusual set of appellate rules and code provisions. Read together, they provide that, when the state, a state agency, or an agency’s head files a notice of appeal from an injunction or declaratory judgment, enforcement of that order is suspended automatically pending appeal."
The ongoing dispute with the Texas Workforce Commission is one of many controversies plaguing the proposed Muslim housing community in North Texas — which is years away from construction. Paxton and other top Texas Republicans have repeatedly targeted the project that’s now called The Meadow and was once known as EPIC City. Texas officials have accused the development of implementing Sharia Law and creating a no-go zone for non-Muslims, something the developer has repeatedly denied.
Civil rights groups argue the state’s attacks are religious discrimination. A spokesperson for the developer previously told KERA Paxton is targeting the development because of its association with the Muslim community. The Attorney General still refers to the project as EPIC City in press releases and references the East Plano Islamic Center, the mosque associated with the project.
"His express reference to EPIC in official press materials confirms that this is not neutral or even-handed enforcement, but religious discrimination by the State," the spokesperson said.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
