Laura Beeman and Janet Lock v. Brad Livingston, in His Official Capacity as Executive Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Summary

The Supreme Court of Texas held that Texas Department of Criminal Justice prisons are not “public facilities” under Chapter 121 of the Texas Human Resources Code. Because the statute did not require the accommodations sought by the plaintiffs, the executive director’s alleged conduct was not ultra vires, and sovereign immunity barred the suit. The court affirmed dismissal for want of jurisdiction.

Holdings

1. TDCJ prisons are not public facilities within Chapter 121's definition because the statutory term public, when used as an adjective, means open and accessible to the public, and prisons are generally inaccessible and not open to the public.
2. Because Chapter 121 did not apply to TDCJ prisons, Livingston could not have acted without legal authority or failed to perform a ministerial act under that statute; Beeman therefore could not proceed under the ultra vires exception to sovereign immunity.
3. The court declined to use the ADA to expand Chapter 121's definition of public facilities to include prisons because Chapter 121 contains no analogous definition and the Legislature did not amend the relevant language to include prisons.

Questions Presented

1. Whether TDCJ prisons qualify as public facilities under Texas Human Resources Code Chapter 121.
2. Whether the alleged failure to provide accommodations could constitute an ultra vires act permitting suit against the TDCJ executive director despite sovereign immunity.
3. Whether the federal Americans with Disabilities Act informs the interpretation of Chapter 121's definition of public facilities.

Disposition

affirmed