Urgent Updates
What happens with regard to the governor’s re-opening plan on
Monday (May 18)?
According to existing Executive Order GA-21, starting on Monday, May 18, 2020,
the following are added to the existing reopened services list:
-Services provided by office workers in offices that
operate at up to the greater of: (i) five individuals; or (ii) 25 percent of
the total office workforce; provided, however, that the individuals maintain
appropriate social distancing.
-Manufacturing services, for facilities that operate at up to 25
percent of the total listed occupancy of the facility.
-Gyms and exercise facilities and classes that operate at
up to 25 percent of the total listed occupancy of the gym or exercise facility;
provided, however, that locker rooms and shower facilities must remain closed,
but restrooms may open.
According to the governor’s May 5 press release, “these newly opened services are subject to
recommended minimum standard health protocols outlined by DSHS. These
protocols will be available on the Open Texas webpage.”
Executive order GA-21 expires “at 11:59 p.m. on May 19, 2020,
unless it is modified, amended, rescinded, or superseded by the
governor.” Because the current order is expiring on Tuesday, the governor
will most likely issue a new one. He will conduct a press conference on
Monday at a time to-be-determined to announce his plans.
With the above additions, what are the basics of Executive Order
GA-21 right now?
Executive Order GA-21 provides that Texans should stay home/work
home (“minimize social gatherings and minimize in-person contact with people
who are not in the same household”), unless (while following DSHS/CDC prevention guidelines):
-Accessing essential businesses (as defined by TDEM and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security).
-Accessing “re-opened services” as listed in the order.
-Attending religious services according to attorney
general’s guidelines.
-Participating in “essential daily activities,” such as going to
the grocery store or gas station; providing or obtaining other essential or
reopened services; visiting swimming pools, parks, beaches, rivers, or lakes;
hunting or fishing; or engaging in physical activity like jogging, bicycling,
or other outdoor sports.
According to the governor’s May 5 press release, “these newly opened services are subject to
recommended minimum standard health protocols outlined by DSHS. These
protocols will be available on the Open Texas webpage.”
Interpretations vary significantly, but – based on everything
the League’s legal staff has reviewed – the order means that anything not
listed above should remain closed unless and until the governor issues further
orders.
What is the latest regarding the attorney general’s lawsuit to
stop mail-in ballots for those fearful of contracting COVID-19 at the polls?
Yesterday’s (May 14) update provided a detailed rundown of
the lawsuits related to mail in ballots. Today (May 15), the attorney
general issued the following press release:
“AG?Paxton Asks Texas Supreme Court to Stay Order
Expanding Mail-In Voting:
Attorney General Ken Paxton today asked the Texas Supreme Court to immediately stay an order by the Court of
Appeals for the Fourteenth Judicial District, which reinstated
a Travis County District Court order allowing anyone in Travis County to
vote by mail using special protections intended to aid only those with true
disabilities or sicknesses. The Fourteenth Court correctly concluded that the
trial court’s order was superseded, but it incorrectly allowed the order to go
into effect anyway.
Attorney General Paxton also filed a petition asking the Texas Supreme Court to uphold
the State’s automatic right, guaranteed by the Legislature, to stay temporary
injunctions from lower courts upon filing an appeal.”
The cases referred to in the press release are both in state
court. The request for stay was filed in the pending Houston court of
appeals case styled as State of Texas v. Texas Democratic Party. The
petition was filed with the Texas Supreme Court in the attorney general’s
pending motion for writ of mandamus styled In Re State of Texas. As
mentioned in previous updates, the state court websites were hacked, which
means we can’t link to them at this time.
What has the Texas District and County Attorneys Association
written about enforcement of the governor’s executive orders?
The Texas District & County Attorneys Association (TDCAA), a
non-profit organization dedicated to serving Texas prosecutors and their staff
as well as attorneys in government representation, provides
regular COVID-19 updates to state prosecutors. City officials may be
interested in this update from May 7:
“We have gone on record several times over the past two months –
such as here and here and here and…well, you get the idea – to recommend that
criminal enforcement of these orders should be a last option, but this
latest cause célèbre [the Dallas salon owner debacle] should
effectively put an end to any further debate over the wisdom of that option. As
it’s been pointed out before, if the governor is going to keep changing the
tune he plays as he leads the state out of this pandemic, there is little
incentive to put your own necks on the line to enforce an order that could be
invalidated the next day. If you do that, you may simply be making someone
else’s problem your problem, and that rarely ends well for the one at the
bottom of the marionette’s strings. But as always, the ultimate decision is up
to you—after all, that’s why you ran for this job, right? LOL”
TDCAA also includes “quotes of the week” in its
updates. These seemed particularly apropos:
“We’ve got an entire legal system that was developed to deal
with a world that doesn’t exist anymore.”
-Lawyer quoted in Dallas Morning News regarding re-opening during a pandemic.
“These are Colosseum rules, where the fate of the gladiators is
determined not by law but by the roar of the crowd. Sometimes the partisans
yell for the lions, sometimes for the hairstylists. You don’t know what’s going
to happen until you’re in the ring.”
-Ross Ramsey, executive editor of The Texas Tribune,
in a recent commentary.
Further Updates
Did the U.S. House of Representatives vote on H.R. 6800, the
HEROES Act today? What's next?
Not yet, but they are expected to shortly. The U.S. House of
Representatives spent most of the day debating rule changes to allow members of
Congress to hold hearings and vote remotely, and they are expected to pass H.R.
6800 along a party-line vote. H.R. 6800 is the $3 trillion stimulus package
that Senate leaders, as well as President Trump, have said is “dead on arrival”
in the Senate. Senate leaders have also indicated that negotiations on a
fifth stimulus package will not take place until sometime in June.
H.R. 6800, among many other things, would provide additional
local Coronavirus relief funds to allow cities to continue to combat COVID-19,
as well as respond to the negative economic impacts of the pandemic. We
applaud Congress' efforts in recognizing that cities need flexible funding to
stabilize and reopen their economies. Funding is critical to delivering
essential services, ensuring public health, and providing for public safety
during this time.
As the conversation moves to the Senate, we urge you to continue
telling your stories and communicating with those who represent you in
Washington, D.C. Interested city officials should directly contact their member
of Congress (find out who represents me) and Senators Cornyn and Cruz to express their needs.
Continue to check these updates for ways that you can advocate
on behalf of your citizens and your community during this critical time. Your
voice and your actions are making a difference.
What has the lieutenant governor said about large-scale sporting
events?
He penned an op-ed for the Dallas Morning News today (May 15)
titled “It’s time to play sports again with fans in the stands.”
Where can I find archived issues of the TML Coronavirus Updates?
TML Coronavirus Updates are archived by date here and by subject here.