AG Ken Paxton has responded to a Request for Opinion from Rep. Briscoe Cain asking whether state law requires the Capitol to be open for public access allowing people to testify, whether any elected official or agency has the power to close the Capitol, and whether voting and debate must occur physically and in-person. In his response, Paxton stated that the “Legislature may impose reasonable content-neutral conditions for the time, place, and manner” of public access. Paxton further replied that courts could construe quorum provisions in the Constitution “to require physical presence in the chamber in order to attend and be counted” and that previous rules set by the House and Senate have “conformed to constitutional restraints requiring voting and debate to occur in person.” For more information, please see AG’s Paxton’s response (PDF).
