Scope: State (Texas)
Branch: Executive
Severity: Amber
Date occurred: August 8, 2024
Governor Greg Abbott signed Executive Order GA-46 on August 8, 2024, directing the Health and Human Services Commission to require public hospitals and hospital districts to collect and report information on the cost of care provided to patients not lawfully present in the United States. The order directs hospitals to inquire about patients' immigration status and to report aggregated cost data to the state.
Constitutional basis: Governor directing state agency to impose new immigration-status inquiry and reporting duties on hospitals by executive order, without legislative enactment, a novel directive use.