If no state money is appropriated, the settlement is void and the case returns to the court system.

AUSTIN — House and Senate budget negotiators have tentatively adopted language that would bar state funds from being used to pay the $3.3 million whistleblower lawsuit settlement reached by Attorney General Ken Paxton and former aides.

The settlement agreement, reached in February as Paxton was beginning his third term, has been a lingering backstory to the 2023 legislative session as many several key leaders from both political parties expressed misgivings about using taxpayers' money to put to rest allegations of wrongdoing by the Republican attorney general.

With the session drawing close to its May 29 end date, budget writers are under the gun to put the finishing touches on the $308 billion spending plan to fund state operations for the two-year cycle that starts Sept. 1.

A provision in the budget agreed to by House and Senate members, commonly called a rider, would prohibit the Office of the Attorney General from using "any appropriated funds for the purposes of a settlement or judgment relating to lawsuits or claims."

More:Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to settle with four whistleblowers for $3.3 million

It remains unclear when the House-Senate conference committee will complete its work and send the final document to both chambers for final adoption. And because the document remains a work in progress, language in the working draft is subject to change before...

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