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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has sued the Biden administration to try to block a federal rule that shields the medical records of women from criminal investigations if they cross state lines to seek abortion where it is legal.

The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services seeks to overturn a regulation that was finalized in April. In the suit filed Wednesday in Lubbock, Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the federal government of attempting to “undermine” the state’s law enforcement capabilities. It appears to be the first legal challenge from a state with an abortion ban that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the nationwide right to abortion.

The rule essentially prohibits state or local officials from gathering medical records related to reproductive health care for a civil, criminal or administrative investigation from providers or health insurers in a state where abortion remains legal. It is intended to protect women who live in states where abortion is illegal.

In a statement, HHS declined comment on the lawsuit but said the rule “stands on its own.”

“The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to protecting reproductive health privacy and ensuring that no woman’s medical records are used against her, her doctor, or her loved one simply because she got the lawful reproductive care she needed,” the agency said.

Texas’ abortion ban, like those in other states, exempts women who seek abortions from criminal charges. The ban provides for enforcement either through a private civil action, or under the state’s criminal statutes, punishable by up to life in prison, for anyone held responsible for helping a woman obtain one.

It’s not clear whether public officials have sought patient medical records related to abortion. But the state has sought records related to gender-affirming care, demanding them from at least two out-of-state health centers last year. Like many Republican-controlled states, Texas bans gender-affirming care for minors.

At least 22 Democratic-controlled states have laws or executive orders that seek to protect medical providers or patients who participate in abortion from investigations by law enforcement in states with bans.

The federal regulation in question is an update to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which prohibits medical providers and health insurers from divulging medical information about patients. Typically, however, law enforcement can access those records for investigations.

A group of Republican attorneys general, all from states with strict abortion laws, had urged Health and Human Services to ditch the rule when a draft was released last year. In a 2023 letter to HHS, the group said the regulation would unlawfully interfere with states’ authority to enforce laws.

“With this rule, the Biden Administration makes a backdoor attempt at weakening Texas’s laws by undermining state law enforcement investigations that implicate medical procedures,” Paxton said in a news release.

AUSTIN – The Texas Tribune reports that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Travis County to block an effort to register more voters before the November election.

The Texas Tribune and Votebeat obtained a draft copy of the lawsuit.

Paxton’s lawsuit follows a decision by the Travis County commissioners to hire Civic Government Solutions to contact non-registered county residents and encourage them to register. Travis County includes Austin.

“We just thought it was nice thing to do,” said Ann Howard, a Travis County Commissioner at The Texas Tribune Festival shortly after news of the lawsuit was made public.

Paxton, in a statement, called the decision illegal.

“Travis County has blatantly violated Texas law by paying partisan actors to conduct unlawful identification efforts to track down people who are not registered to vote,” Paxton said. “Programs like this invite fraud and reduce public trust in our elections. We will stop them and any other county considering such programs.”

A spokesperson for the county said the commissioners stood by their decision.

“Travis County is committed to encouraging voter participation and we are proud of our outreach efforts that achieve higher voter registration numbers,” said spokesperson Hector Nieto. “We remain steadfast in our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the voter registration process while ensuring that every eligible person has the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. It is disappointing that any statewide elected official would prefer to sow distrust and discourage participation in the electoral process.”

Paxton took a similar step earlier this week when he sued Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, the state’s second most populous city. And last month, Harris County, the state’s most populous, stopped short of taking similar steps.

Harris, Bexar and Travis counties are all Democratic strongholds in a reliably Republican state. The lawsuits are part of a series of steps both Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott — both Republicans — have taken in recent weeks “safeguard Texans’ sacred right to vote.” Late last month, Abbott announced the state had removed roughly a million people from its voter rolls since he signed a legislative overhaul of election laws in 2021. However, election experts cautioned that both federal and state law already required regular voter roll maintenance, and that Abbott’s comments could be used to undermine trust in elections.

DALLAS – A Texas law designed to help parents more closely monitor their children’s social media consumption went somewhat into effect over the weekend, despite a portion of the law’s requirements being blocked by a federal district judge last Friday, according to the Dallas Observer. Judge Robert Pitman blocked a portion of House Bill 18, otherwise known as the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act, after finding unconstitutional a provision that would force social media companies to remove harmful content from the feeds of minors. Other details of the law, such as requiring social media companies to obtain parental consent before issuing an account to a minor, did go into effect. The injunction was granted after two technology industry companies — Computer and Communications Industry Association and NetChoice — filed a suit in July that argues that HB 18 violates First Amendment rights by monitoring and censoring speech on social media.

A second lawsuit, launched by the free speech advocacy group the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), takes a swing at the entirety of the law. “Texas has jumped on the misguided bandwagon of recent efforts to childproof the internet,” its suit, which is still in the briefing stage, states. “There’s substantial overlap between the two cases, but one of the things that distinguishes them is the fact that we are seeking to have the entire law blocked and not just the portions that were enjoined on Friday,” FIRE Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere told the Observer. “This law, like many of the other state laws that have been similarly enjoined around the country, is very well-intentioned, but it is a simplistic solution to a really complicated issue.” Pitman is also the judge overseeing FIRE’s lawsuit, which Corn-Revere said should begin moving forward on a “fairly fast timeline.” The SCOPE act was championed by State Rep. Shelby Slawson, a Republican from Stephenville, and it received overwhelming support last year, passing 125-20 in the Texas House. Slawson said the bill was written to provide “guardrails” to the digital landscape offered to teenagers.

AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports that despite a spate of recent raids the Texas attorney general’s office launched to suss out allegations of malicious voter registration efforts and the cumulative removal of more than 1 million names from the state’s voter rolls in the past three years, elected Democratic officials and civil rights groups are reminding Texans that there is still time to register to vote in the November general election and to not be dissuaded from participating in democracy. Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his office carried out search warrants in several Texas counties over the last few weeks as part of his voter registration fraud hunt, and Gov. Greg Abbott last week touted the success of legislation passed in 2021 that has resulted in 1.1 million Texans being purged from voter rolls — moves that voter advocates during a news conference Thursday at the Capitol said were attempts to disenfranchise voters and intimidate minority communities. “It is very important to stress that even if someone finds themself on the suspense list that they can still vote this election cycle,” said state Rep. Lulu Flores, D-Austin.

On Wednesday, Paxton’s office sued Bexar County for approving an initiative to send voter registration information to unregistered voters in that county, which came after Paxton’s raids of private residences in South Texas that prompted civil rights groups and Texas congressional Democrats to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene. “It is very clear that our message here today is all about letting Texans vote,” Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said Thursday. “Fear cannot and will not dictate our fundamental right; it is our right to vote.” Lydia Camarillo, CEO of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said previous attempts to limit voter participation have failed, including a 2019 lawsuit that successfully fought a voter purge effort and contributed to the resignation of then-Texas Secretary of State David Whitley. Camarillo pointed to the revamped voter fraud search as a response to the expectation that Texas’ minority communities will play a pivotal role in deciding the November election. “That is the fear that is taking place today in Texas and across red states,” Camarillo said of voting fraud searches. “It’s impossible to fight democracy without all of us standing for that fight today.”

AUSTIN – KVUE reports State lawmakers are looking for ways to continue cutting property taxes when the Texas Legislature reconvenes in 2025. On Wednesday at the State Capitol, the Texas Senate Finance Committee even crunched the numbers on getting rid of them altogether. State officials said to make up the deficit from eliminating property tax entirely, Texas would have to more than triple its sales tax rate from 6.25% to 22%. “There’s not another state in the union that has a 22-cent sales tax?” State Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) asked. “Not remotely,” responded Brad Reynolds, chief revenue estimator with the Texas Comptroller’s Office, who noted that the highest rate was around 10.25% state and local.

Reynolds said the 22% figure factors in people spending less. “That’s because purchases are going to get chased out of state in all the parts of our state that are anywhere near a border,” Reynolds said. Additionally, he said some Texans would switch to buying items not subject to sales tax. “For example: ready-to-microwave prepared meals that you buy at the grocery stores,” Reynolds said. Some lawmakers urged caution. “To me, it seems that we have an assumption that our economy will always be strong and have a surplus, but that’s not really the case when we look at past history,” State Sen. Chuy Hinojosa (D-McAllen) said. Wednesday’s discussion follows an $18 billion tax cut plan passed during the previous legislative session that voters approved in November 2023. Another concern raised during the interim hearing was the impact on Texas schools. “What happens if you eliminate property taxes as a source of funding in public education?” asked Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency. Morath said recent tax reforms have meant massive drops in how much money property-wealthy school districts like Austin ISD send to the state.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Construction is getting underway on a state-funded reproductive health and abortion clinic in southern New Mexico that will cater to local residents and people who travel from neighboring states such as Texas and Oklahoma with major restrictions on abortion, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday.

Construction of the clinic will draw upon $10 million in state funding that was set aside by the governor under a 2022 executive order. New Mexico has one of the country’s most liberal abortion-access laws.

Lujan Grisham, a second-term Democrat who can’t run again in 2026, reiterated her commitment to shoring up abortion access in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and revoked universal access to abortion.

“Access to reproductive healthcare should be a fundamental human right,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Once completed, this clinic will stand as a testament to our state’s commitment to reproductive freedom for residents of New Mexico, and also those who travel here from out-of-state in need of this care.”

New Mexico accompanies Democratic-led states from California to New Jersey that are underwriting efforts to bolster abortion services and protections.

New Jersey last year awarded $15 million in zero-interest loans and grants to health care facilities that provide abortion services for facility improvements and increased security. In 2022, California legislators approved $200 million in new spending to bolster the state’s already robust abortion protections.

The governor’s announcement in New Mexico thrusts public policy on abortion back in the spotlight in the runup to the November general election, with the entire state Legislature up for reelection as Democrats defend their state House and Senate majorities.

Republican contenders for a U.S. Senate seat and a congressional swing district in southern New Mexico have said they won’t support a federal abortion ban, amid Democratic-backed political ads that highlight the potential for further federal restrictions.

The Republican Party of New Mexico on Thursday condemned public spending on an abortion clinic that caters to out-of-state visitors as an example of misplaced priorities among Democrats.

In 2021, New Mexico state lawmakers repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring access. But opposition to abortion runs deep in New Mexico communities along the border with Texas, which has one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S.

Several New Mexico cities and counties have approved abortion-ban ordinances that are on hold while the state Supreme Court weighs whether local governments have the right to back federal abortion restrictions under a 19th century U.S. law that prohibits the shipping of abortion medication and supplies.

The new clinic is scheduled for completion within 18 months to provide services ranging from medical and procedural abortions to contraception, cervical cancer screenings and education about adoptions.

The health branch of the University of New Mexico says it broke ground on the clinic in a partnership with groups including Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

The project was designed to improve health care access and create new training and residency opportunities beyond Albuquerque for University of New Mexico School of Medicine students, the University of New Mexico said in a statement.

The public university’s board of regents approved the acquisition of land for the project in May.

HOUSTON (AP) — A suspect has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Texas deputy constable who had stopped at a Houston intersection as he drove to work, authorities said Thursday.

The announcement of the murder charge came on the same day as the deputy, Maher Husseini, was remembered at his funeral as a Palestinian American who cared deeply for his family, his Islamic faith and his community.

“He was a community servant who strove to make the world a better and safer place. Safety, security and community well-being were manifested in his community service,” Abdurahman Hejazi, the religious scholar for Masjid Al-Salam Mosque in suburban Houston, said during Husseini’s funeral service.

Athir Murady has been charged with one count of murder in the killing of Husseini on Tuesday, said Joe Stinebaker, a Harris County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson.

Authorities say Murady got out of his vehicle, walked up to Husseini’s SUV and fired multiple times. The deputy was pronounced dead at a Houston hospital.

Police are still investigating a motive for the shooting.

According to authorities, Husseini was not in uniform when he was shot and had been driving his personal vehicle. Husseini had worked as a Harris County constable since 2021.

Murady, 40, was being held on Thursday at the county jail in neighboring Galveston County, after he led authorities on a chase that ended in the waters of the Texas Gulf Coast, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from west Houston where the shooting happened.

Authorities said Sgt. Nick Yeley, a Galveston deputy city marshal, spotted Murady’s vehicle in Galveston hours after the shooting.

“I think it was just fate that I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and I was utilizing the skills that I’ve learned over my career in law enforcement,” Yeley said, according to a Galveston Police Department news release.

Murady then led authorities on a short chase before driving his car into Galveston Bay. He got out of his vehicle and tried to swim from officers, who pulled him aboard a police boat.

Murady is being held without bond in Galveston County on a charge of evading arrest. He was expected to be returned to Houston but authorities could not immediately say when that would happen.

Court and jail records did not list an attorney who could speak on Murady’s behalf.

Harris County prosecutors have filed a motion asking a judge to set Murady’s bond at $5 million.

“Mahir was an American by choice and was a proud Palestinian American,” Hejazi said during Husseini’s funeral service, which was attended by officers from various law enforcement agencies and several local officials. “He loved the freedoms we enjoy here in America and wished for these freedoms to be all around the world.”

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Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70