AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court has ordered PFLAG, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy group, to turn over records to the state attorney general’s office as part of an investigation into banned medical care for transgender minors, reversing a lower court decision that had previously shielded the organization. Fox 7 Austin reported the ruling Friday.
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office first issued a civil investigative demand (CID) to PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) after the advocacy group’s executive director “filed an affidavit during a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on gender-affirming care,” according to Fox 7.
As reported by Fox 7, the affidavit said “families with transgender adolescents were sharing ‘contingency plans,’ seeking to move out of state or looking for ‘alternative avenues’ for care in Texas.”
The attorney general’s office argued those statements produced a “reasonable belief” that the LGBTQ+ advocacy group “possessed information about medical providers attempting to circumvent the state ban through deceptive billing,” according to Fox 7.
To block the state’s subsequent civil investigative demand in February 2024, PFLAG sued, arguing it was “an overreach that threatened member privacy,” as reported by Fox 7.
According to Fox 7, “Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock wrote that the courts should not interfere with the investigative discretion authorized by lawmakers.”
Chief Justice Blacklock wrote, “Whether or how vigorously the Attorney General’s office should pursue investigations of this nature are political questions entrusted by the Legislature to the Attorney General, not to the courts,” as Fox 7 reported.
He added, “Courts are well suited to resolve discovery fights. Courts are not well suited to second-guess the wisdom of investigatory decisions made by an elected executive officer entrusted by the law with broad discretion.”
According to Fox 7, the Texas Supreme Court ruled the district court focused on the original CID request by the attorney general’s office rather than the revised version, which “allowed for PFLAG to anonymize and redact identifying information of its members.”
The court said any concerns PFLAG had regarding privacy were “mitigated by the agreement” to allow for such protections, as reported by Fox 7.
Chief Justice Blacklock wrote, “Since proposing the revised CID in March 2024, the Attorney General’s office has consistently disclaimed any desire to revive its original CID or to obtain information that would identify individual PFLAG members,” according to Fox 7.
Under Texas consumer protection laws, the court clarified the attorney general only needs a “reasonable belief,” not necessarily concrete proof of a violation, to issue a demand for organizational documents, as reported by Fox 7.
According to Fox 7, Chief Justice Blacklock stated, “The Attorney General’s statutory CID authority is triggered not by demonstration of proof that the target of a CID has relevant material. It is instead triggered by mere belief. […] By choosing to submit the affidavit, PFLAG voluntarily invited further inquiry by the Attorney General’s office into the affidavit’s contents.”
Fox 7 reported the court ordered the release of documents in categories including communications about “contingency plans” or alternative care options, referrals or lists of health care providers for transgender youth in Texas, as well as communications involving certain providers mentioned in the attorney general’s investigation.
According to Fox 7, the court said “requests for information on PFLAG’s internal organization were not clearly relevant and did not need to be released.”
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Categories: Breaking News Civil Rights National Issues Tags: civil investigative demand Ken Paxton LGBTQ Rights PFLAG Texas Supreme Court transgender health care