Texas AG Sues State Housing Agency Over Religious Exclusions

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the state’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs, alleging it discriminates against religious organizations in homelessness and low-income home buyer programs.

Paxton argues the “Sectarian Exclusions” in TDHCA’s homelessness programs and Bootstrap Loan Program violate the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment and the Texas Constitution, he said in a complaint in state court Monday. The AG seeks declaratory relief and an injunction barring the department from enforcing regulations prohibiting the use of program funds for “sectarian or explicitly religious activities.”

“State agencies have no authority to force Christians and other ...