Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
The Texas attorney general adopted rules requiring local prosecutors in the state’s most populous counties to prepare and produce reports containing multiple categories of information about criminal matters. The attorney general relied solely on Texas Government Code Section 41.006, which directs district and county attorneys to report requested information concerning criminal matters and the state’s interests.
District and county attorneys from several counties challenged the rules. After an earlier appeal involving a temporary injunction, the parties filed cross-motions for traditional summary judgment on remand. The trial court declared the rules invalid, determined that their promulgation constituted ultra vires acts, and permanently enjoined the attorney general from enforcing them against the appellees.
On appeal, both sides agreed that the court’s reasoning in the earlier appeal controlled and that additional briefing was unnecessary. The attorney general maintained the appeal to preserve error but offered no new arguments.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifteenth Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s final summary judgment. Relying on its prior analysis, the court held that Section 41.006 grants the attorney general neither express nor implied authority to promulgate the challenged rules. The trial court therefore properly declared the rules invalid and granted permanent injunctive relief.
The court emphasized that the appeal concerned only the attorney general’s authority to adopt the rules, not the attorney general’s ability to request information about criminal matters from local prosecutors on an ad hoc basis. It also lifted its temporary administrative stay and dismissed all pending motions as moot.
Key Takeaways
- Texas Government Code Section 41.006 does not expressly or impliedly authorize the attorney general to promulgate the reporting rules in Chapter 56 of Title 1 of the Texas Administrative Code.
- The court affirmed declaratory relief invalidating the rules and a permanent injunction barring their enforcement against the appellees.
- The decision does not resolve whether the attorney general may obtain criminal-matters information from local prosecutors through individual, ad hoc requests.
Why It Matters
The decision limits the attorney general’s ability to convert a statutory power to request information into generally applicable administrative rules. It confirms that an agency or statewide official must have express or properly implied rulemaking authority before imposing regulatory requirements.
For Texas prosecutors, the ruling prevents enforcement of these standardized reporting rules against the appellees while leaving open the attorney general’s authority to seek information through case-specific requests.