By Michelle Casady

Law360 (March 15, 2021, 3:40 PM EDT) -- A Travis County district judge has declined to grant Texas' request to immediately stop Austin and Travis County from enforcing a mask mandate that the state's attorney general has claimed in a lawsuit runs afoul of an order from the governor lifting the statewide masking requirement.

Travis County District Judge Lora Livingston decided after a hearing Friday not to enjoin the mask mandate, giving the parties two weeks to prepare for a hearing on the matter that will begin March 26, according to the docket.

Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the city mayor, county executive and their health director for failing to lift the mask mandate after he sent a letter March 10 telling them to rescind it. Paxton said in a Tweet on Friday that he sued Austin and Travis County after they "blew me off" in response to the demand a day earlier that they lift the mask mandate, which he argues conflicts with Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order that lifted the statewide masking requirement.

"The decision to require masks or otherwise impose COVID-19-related operating limits is expressly reserved to private businesses on their own premises," Paxton wrote in a March 10 letter threatening litigation. "It does not rest with jurisdiction like the city of Austin or Travis County or their local health authorities."

The latest order from Abbott states that "no person may be required by any jurisdiction to wear or to mandate the wearing of a face covering."

Mayor Steve Adler has touted Judge Livingston's decision not to enjoin the mandate as a win that will keep residents in masks through two weeks that cover the Spring Break holiday.

"Regardless of whatever direction the courts take, we will continue to do everything possible to promote what doctors and data say about the virus," he said in a statement issued to Law360. "Masking works and will continue to have a positive impact on our overall Austin community."

Adler has said the city will "fight to defend and enforce" the local rules "for as long as possible."

"Wearing masks is perhaps the most important thing we can do to slow the spread of the virus," he said in a news release. "We are not aware of any Texas court that has allowed state leadership to overrule the health protection rules of a local health authority."

Travis County Judge Andy Brown said in a Tweet on Thursday that the county's mask mandate was based on advice and recommendations from public health officials, medical professionals and the Centers for Disease Control.

"It is unfortunate that the attorney general is once again failing to make the health of our community his priority," he wrote.

In the lawsuit, which is seeking temporary and permanent injunctive relief, Texas argues that under the Texas Disaster Act, only the governor and "not an assortment of thousands of county judges, city mayors and local health officials," should have the sole responsibility for leading the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The governor's most recent emergency order, "which frees Texas business and residents of such burdens" like facemask requirements and business restrictions, clearly preempts and supersedes the local rules challenged here, Texas argued in the petition.

The attorney general's office didn't respond to a request for comment Monday.

Texas is represented by Todd Dickerson and Christopher Hilton of the Texas Attorney General's Office.

Counsel information for Austin and Travis County wasn't immediately available Monday.

The case is State of Texas v. City of Austin et al., case number D-1-GN-21-001046, in the 261st District Court of Travis County, Texas.

--Editing by Adam LoBelia.

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