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Urgent Updates
What’s the latest on the county versus state court battle in
El Paso over Coronavirus authority?
Late Friday (November 13), the state’s Eighth Court of Appeals
overturned El Paso County’s shutdown of restaurants and
other nonessential businesses.
What does this latest judgment mean for cities? While not
binding in all areas of the state, it means that at least one appellate court
believes that county (and likely city) shutdown regulations can’t be stricter
than the tiered structure (50% occupancy for El Paso in this case) set forth
in the latest Governor’s orders.
Is there any follow-up on the state’s distribution of the
anti-viral drug bamlanivimab?
Yes, on Friday (November 13), the Governor announced that the drug, which can prevent COVID-19
hospitalizations in some cases, will be distributed to acute care hospitals
starting this week.
How are city sales tax collections doing?
Last Thursday (November 12), Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced that November city sales tax distributions were
up by 6.1% over November of 2019. This was a pleasant surprise, as the
Comptroller had previously reported, on November 3, a drop in state sales tax
collections of 3.5%. It is unclear why cities are doing better than the
state as a whole.
Further Updates
How will the pandemic impact the state’s economy in 2021, and
what does that mean for cities?
As the Comptroller’s recent announcements show, state sales
tax collections are down over November of last year, yet city sales tax
distributions are up. At the live, virtual TML Economic Development
Conference on December 10, Deputy Comptroller Lisa Craven will discuss the
2021 state economic forecast, and answer your questions about what impact
this may have on cities. Registration is open.
Where can I find archived issues of the TML Coronavirus
Updates?
TML Coronavirus Updates are archived by date here and by subject here.
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