BEAUMONT, Texas (Legal Newsline) – Republican delegates and lawmakers, pastors and bars are suing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials over the use of contact tracing to monitor the daily movements of Texans.
A large group of more than 1,000 plaintiffs including Steven Hotze, a doctor and delegate to the Republican Party of Texas State Convention, filed its case Aug. 11 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Abbott and the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The suit says Abbott entered into a $295 million for contract tracing services “in order to begin surveillance and monitoring of the daily activities of Texans” in May. He did this to ensure compliance with his social-gathering restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The contract was signed without the ‘consent of the governed’ – no vote by our duly elected representatives, no debate, no legislative oversight,” the lawsuit says. “In fact, the bidding process was open for a mere two days.”
The plaintiffs complain there is no way to opt out of the surveillance and that cell phones are reportedly being reprogrammed to facilitate the tracking.
“Defendants have not been transparent or forthcoming in explaining all the details of their $295 million scheme for contact tracing,” the suit says.