Updated at 6:30 p.m. with comment from Ken Paxton's Democratic challenger Justin Nelson.

AUSTIN — The Texas Attorney General's Office says it needs more time to decide who has the authority to remove a controversial and factually questionable Confederate plaque from the state Capitol.

In May, Attorney General Ken Paxton was asked to give his opinion on which political entity — the Legislature, the state historical board, the governor himself — has the power to decide the fate of the Children of the Confederacy plaque. Paxton had 180 days to issue his decision.

But this week, a full six months later, his office said it wanted an extension.

"We will not issue an opinion on your request within 180 days of the date received because we need more time to review the law and complete the analysis that your request requires," Virginia K. Hoelscher, chair of the agency's opinions committee, wrote to the requestor, Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, on Wednesday. "We will issue this opinion as soon as possible."

Paxton, a Republican, is fighting for a second term as the state's top lawyer against Democrat Justin Nelson. Election Day is Nov. 6.

Moody questioned whether Paxton did not want to issue a response on such divisive topic so close to the election.

"I find it very disturbing that six months was somehow not adequate for an office full of lawyers to give an answer to a very simple legal question," Moody told The Dallas Morning News. "If politics is the reason, that makes this even more disappointing and disturbing.

"I can think of no other reason at this point."

The saga over the plaque dates back years, when black lawmakers first began asking for its removal. Those calls were picked up again by Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, whose Capitol office was recently relocated around the corner from the plaque.

Unlike the dozens of other nods to the Confederacy erected on the state Capitol grounds at or near the turn of the century, the Children of the Confederacy plaque was mounted during the civil rights era and features the group's creed at the time, which reads:

"Because we desire to perpetuate, in love and honor, the heroic deeds of those who enlisted in the Confederate Army, and upheld its flag through four years of war, we, the children of the South, have enlisted in an Organization called "Children of the Confederacy," in which our strength, enthusiasm and love of justice can exert its influence.

We, therefore, pledge ourselves to preserve pure ideals: To honor our veterans, to study and teach the truths of history (one of the most important of which is, that the war between the states was not a rebellion nor was its underlying cause to sustain slavery) and to always act in a manner that will reflect honor upon our noble and patriotic ancestors."

The last clause has come under fire by politicians from both parties for its inaccuracy.

Joe Straus, a Republican and the outgoing speaker of the Texas House, has called repeatedly for the plaque to be removed. Gov. Greg Abbott has said that he agrees but that the 181-member Legislature should vote to do so first.

"Because the Legislature was the body that put it up, it's the Legislature's responsibility to take it down," Abbott said last month during a debate with his Democratic challenger, Lupe Valdez. "Should they take it down because of the factual inaccuracy? Absolutely."

But Johnson believes the State Preservation Board, which Abbott chairs, has the power to remove the plaque immediately. He's balked at what he's called the governor's stall tactics and, on Thursday, had this criticism for Paxton.

"If I were writing a book chronicling my experience in Texas politics thus far, it would be titled Profiles in Cowardice, and our attorney general would have just earned his very own chapter with this latest display," Johnson, who is running to succeed Straus as speaker, told The News.

In the six months since Paxton's office was asked to weigh in on the plaque's future, it has issued 26 opinions, including on everything from Hurricane Harvey relief funds to the gun rights of poll workers. Attorney general's opinions do not have the force of law, but they can be cited in legal proceedings in support of an argument.

Margaret Justus, the spokesperson for Paxton's Democratic challenger Justin Nelson, accused Paxton of being too distracted by his legal troubles to do his job. Paxton was indicted for securities fraud in July 2015 and has not yet faced trial.

"We need a leader not a crook," Justus said. "This is what happens when you have an attorney general, who is under indictment, spends his time trying to stay out of prison instead of doing his job."