Here are some key takeaways from his discussion of his office's role in flooding recovery, human trafficking and other issues of interest to Houston area residents.
- The attorney general's office employs 750 lawyers and handles more than 30,000 cases a year.
- Incidents of price gouging of necessities during a disaster—such as Hurricane Harvey—are punishable by fines of $20,000 per occurrence, or $250,000 per occurrence if the victim is age 65 and older.
- After Hurricane Harvey, the attorney general’s office received over 3,000 complaints of price gouging by businesses such as hotels and gas station in the Greater Houston area.
- Among cities in the United States, Houston ranks first for the number of human trafficking offenses recorded.
- The attorney general's office also tracks down fugitives. In August, the attorney general’s office arrested 117 fugitives—or 3-4 per day.
- To date, the office has caught over 7,000 fugitives.
- The office handles 27,000 to 28,000 open public records requests each year, and 52 lawyers are assigned to respond to those requests.
- The attorney general's office is litigating about 30,000 cases at any given time.
- The office sued the federal government about 27 times in 27 months under Paxton's leadership, including 12 suits against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- A total of 62 percent of the budget for the state attorney general’s office goes toward child support.
- The officer's Child Support Division collects $12.27 for every dollar it spends.
Paxton also discussed some issues brought up by chamber members, like human trafficking, which several attendees said has been a concern in parts of Harris County including the FM 1960 corridor.
"We have both law enforcement people and we have lawyers...who are willing to talk about it and educate people as to what to look for and what are the signs; education can help prevent it," Paxton said. "We’re willing to do anything to help you stop it, because Houston should not be number one on that list."
