BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 20, 2020)
[BG BLOG]
Analysis: Why Rent Control Isn't An Option for Austin (LINK TO BLOG)
[BINGHAM PODCAST]
*NEW* SPECIAL EPISODE - ATX COVID-19 COMMUNITY UPDATES (4.10.2020): Austin Independent School District (LINK TO SHOW)
BG PODCAST EPISODE 82: Metro Discussion with Mayor Larry Wallace, City of Manor (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin, Travis County lawmakers drafting local plan on reopening businesses (KVUE)
Local officials in Austin are starting to talk about how the city will get back to normal – how it was before COVID-19 – but said residents should prepare for it to take weeks or longer. They also said they are not yet ready to give specific details for how the process to begin reopening will be put in place.
In a Facebook address on Thursday night, Mayor Steve Adler said a deciding factor to determine when to begin the process will be how much people are following a city rule that they wear face masks or coverings. He said city officials will consider whether they can open some businesses – retail and restaurants – but with fewer people than normal.
"We have to be prepared, if we take that kind of controlled risk, we have to be prepared to [be] back to where we are now, if we have a flareup that we suddenly need to control," he said. "But we have to make that deal with ourselves, where we could move people back."
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said on Friday officials are putting together a local plan that will involve a task force with members of the community and the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
She said officials will release more details about that plan next week.
But local officials warn that even as they begin the process of reopening, people should not expect things to look like they used to for a long time… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Schools work to protect students as coronavirus pushes classrooms online (Austin American-Statesman)
As Central Texas schools have shuttered and learning has moved online, districts are working to protect students in their new digital environments. The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 11, which included new requirements to increase the safety of students after the 2018 deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School, among others. Districts used the funding from the legislation — about $110 million over a two-year budget cycle — to beef up security by adding more cameras, fencing and protected front entrances.
Now, Central Texas school districts are using the money to expand their online security and mental health initiatives. They are using technology and threat assessment teams made up of staff who work to address the needs of students who could pose a threat to themselves or others. The need for more virtual protections has become critical as stay-at-home orders are pushing students online even more. Students are now more isolated and cannot access typical supports that they would find on campus. Eanes, which assigned each of its students an iPad, launched its Gaggle Safety Management initiative. While students are learning from home, the system scans district-provided email and Google Drive accounts, which allows the district to analyze student content for inappropriate behavior as well as self-harm, cyberbullying, substance abuse and threats to others… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Mute. Mute! Glitches emerge as Texas government meetings go virtual (Houston Chronicle)
For tech industry and other remote workers accustomed to the virtual meeting, the stay-at-home orders put into place to slow the spread of COVID-19 have meant little, if any change to their routines. Over the past three weeks, however, tens of thousands of newly house-bound Texans are rapidly discovering the conveniences (all-day pjs) and perils (Mute. Mute!) of the virtual meeting.
That includes government workers. Yet unlike most other small-screen meetings now being held in living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms across the state, at virtually every layer of the government — courts, schools, cities, planning and zoning commissions — officials are required by law to conduct their business in front of the public. Occasionally, citizens must be given the opportunity to talk back. “It’s as American as apple pie for a citizen to travel to a courthouse, walk in and sit in the gallery and watch a court proceeding,” said Ryan Turner of the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. “What we’re trying to do is come up with a substitute for the experience.” For governments inclined to secrecy, not having the public physically nosing around is an unexpected convenience. In Snyder, in West Texas, the local hospital district said social distancing required it to limit attendance at a recent meeting to 10 people - which, after board members and staff, left room for no one else. The sole member of the public wanting to attend, a reporter for The Snyder News, was shut out, said publisher Bill Crist… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Law puts expansive emergency power in Abbott’s hands (Austin American-Statesman)
State law gives Gov. Greg Abbott expansive and far-reaching power to deal with emergencies, and he has responded to the growing coronavirus outbreak with a torrent of action that is affecting lives and livelihoods across Texas. Along the way, Abbott’s actions have been met with praise for his decisiveness as well as escalating criticism that he has gone too far (often from the right wing of his Republican Party) or not far enough (often from Democrats and local officials). And, no surprise with such high stakes in play, the lawyers have gotten involved. Multiple lawsuits are seeking to overturn Abbott’s stay-home order or limit his reach on abortion, voting and criminal justice, with attorneys for Texas fighting to keep the expanded powers within the governor’s grasp.
The day that changed Texas arrived with moderate fanfare on March 13, when there were 30 confirmed cases statewide of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, but with indications that things were about to get much worse. In the days before social distancing, Abbott told a Capitol room crowded with reporters and state officials that he had declared the entire state, all 254 counties, a disaster area. The action unleashed a broad set of powers that Abbott would soon tap under the Texas Disaster Act, passed by the Legislature in 1975 and amended numerous times since. Six days after declaring all of Texas a disaster area, Abbott issued the first executive order under his new powers. With 108 known COVID-19 cases in Texas and three people dead, the order barred Texans from gathering in groups of more than 10, and it closed schools, gyms, bars and restaurant dining rooms (but not drive-thru, pickup or delivery options)… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
IDEA Public Schools CEO Tom Torkelson resigns from Texas’ largest charter school network (Houston Chronicle)
IDEA Public Schools CEO Tom Torkelson resigned from his position leading Texas’ largest charter school network Friday evening, ending a two-decade run with the organization he co-founded and helped build into one of the nation’s most prominent charter operators. In a message sent to staff members around midnight, IDEA board chair Al Lopez said Torkelson stepped down “to embark on the next chapter of his career.” Board members selected JoAnn Gama, the charter’s president, superintendent and other co-founder, to replace Torkelson as CEO.
“We are excited that JoAnn is chief executive at this important moment, and we are grateful for everything Tom contributed to build IDEA into the remarkable organization it is,” Lopez wrote. In an interview Saturday, Torkelson said he and IDEA’s board members reached a mutual decision about his departure after multiple conversations. Torkelson said he expects to support Gama with the transition amid the statewide shutdown of schools caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. “I think there was 100 percent unanimity that this was the right call for the organization at this time,” Torkelson said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Supporters of digital currency say pandemic bolsters case for a new approach (NPR)
Widespread unemployment and economic turmoil as a result of the coronavirus pandemic mean people are looking for government relief fast, which some say could open up the possibility for a new approach: digital currency. But there are many hurdles to overcome, including adopting the infrastructure and growing trust in the system. Since Congress passed the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history last month, direct payments to Americans have been trickling out. The most vulnerable Americans could wait a long time for their funds, though, especially people without bank accounts.
Nearly a quarter of households reported not using banks in 2017, according to the latest survey from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and more than half of households surveyed did not have enough money to start an account. As chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., drafted a provision in an early version of the relief package that called for digital "wallets" for people without bank accounts. The measure did not make it into the final legislation. Digital currency could also cut the lag time of mailing a check or even transferring funds into a traditional account. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said the COVID-19 crisis is showing the country that being able to transfer money virtually means they get help faster. People who are relying on the paper process for their small business loans or $1,200 payments could be waiting months, he said, which could give people an excuse to look toward the future… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The Bingham Group, LLC is an Austin-based full service lobbying firm representing and advising clients on municipal, legislative, and regulatory matters throughout Texas.
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