DALLAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a ruling Friday that the emergency powers local governments have under a declared disaster do not allow them to extend evictions moratoriums.
This comes one day after Dallas County said it would not hold eviction hearings until Aug. 25.
The Texas Supreme Court had halted eviction proceedings in March, but that moratorium has since expired.
When asked how the state planned to help Texans unable to make their rent payments in an interview Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott told WFAA that Pres. Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress were working on a plan.
The end of the $600 federal unemployment benefit on July 25 in Texas has put stress on a system and residents already stretched thin by business closures, cut hours and a loss in wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the week ending Aug. 1, the state reported that 61,940 Texans sought unemployment aid.
While that signified a drop, again, from the previous week, the number is still much higher than was the state agency reported prior to the coronavirus.