BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 19, 2020)
[BG PODCAST]
NEW -> Episode 79- Texas Hemp Policy Update with Marissa Patton, Associate Legislative Director, Texas Farm Bureau (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Judge sends Austin’s land code rewrite back to square one. Austin City Council member: ‘This is the least of our worries right now.’ (Community Impact)
A local judge ruled against the city of Austin’s position that property owners do not have protest rights in a comprehensive revision of a city’s land development code in a March 18 decision, marking a significant setback in the city’s eight-year effort to overhaul its rules around what can be built in the city and where.
Judge Jan Soifer said the city violated state law by not notifying individual property owners of the Planning Commission’s public hearing regarding changes to their, or nearby properties’, zoning, and not acknowledging individual property owners’ right to protest changes to their, and nearby properties’, zoning.
However, the city council’s stated aspiration of passing a new land code in 2020 has already taken a substantial blow from the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, or COVID-19, which has caused widespread health and economic harm in Austin and across the nation. Earlier this week, the city halted all work on the land code rewrite as it headed for a third and final vote on April 2… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Planning, Development Services still operating (Austin Monitor)
Despite the unprecedented challenge presented by the COVID-19 outbreak, the city is attempting to conduct its land use and development services business to keep those processes moving forward.
Jerry Rusthoven, leader of the Planning and Zoning Department, told the Austin Monitor on Wednesday that all members of his 55-person staff are doing their jobs from home. They are able to do that in part, he noted, because some staffers from the Development Services Department are performing intake duties for them. When an applicant brings in a document intended for the Planning Department, the DSD employee at the intake desk scans it and emails it to the appropriate person at Planning and Zoning.
If someone comes to try to conduct planning and zoning business in person, Rusthoven said, a sign at the office explains what number to call to reach a receptionist, who will forward the message to the appropriate staff member.
Denise Lucas, director of the Development Services Department, posted a memo to all stakeholders Tuesday. “Our Development Services Department team knows that many of you are working hard to keep important projects moving forward under challenging conditions,” she wrote… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Parks remain accessible, but playscapes cause community concern (Austin Monitor)
Austin’s public parks are institutions of expansive green space and outdoor recreation that would appear to be prime locations to abide by social distancing policies while offering the chance to get out and about. However, depending on the destination, enjoying these public facilities can breach city-enacted safety measures.
This week, the city limited gatherings to no more than 10 people in a confined outdoor space. Playgrounds and recreational parks make the list of places that must abide by that limitation.
This has left some Austin families wondering if parks and playgrounds are a viable destination to enjoy with their children now that the school district has extended spring break until April 6 and many parents are working from home.
“We’re not going to playgrounds. We used to go to playgrounds constantly,” Carrie Cunningham, a mother of two in North Central Austin, told the Austin Monitor. She said since playgrounds are generally teeming with children and the potential for contact, her family has decided to avoid them. “It’s already so hard to explain this to kids and explain to them why we’re in this twilight zone,” she said. “So what we’ve done is revert to things where they don’t have to touch anything.” For the Cunninghams, this means city greenbelts, trails and open space.
Not only can enjoying a playscape with children violate social distancing, but Sheryl Kubala, a mother of three, told the Monitor she is wary of the risks associated with improperly sanitized play equipment used by dozens of kids.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.” The virus can survive on plastic and steel surfaces for up to 72 hours, according to a new study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health.
A city spokesperson told the Monitor, “Neither the Centers for Disease Control nor the industry has established standards for daily cleaning of playgrounds. With that being said, to the extent possible, PARD crews are proceeding with the established protocols associated with cleaning and exploring opportunities for supplemental assistance from area contractors. It is not possible to disinfect/sanitize every playground every day.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Abbott plans to unveil state policy on bars and restaurants amid pandemic (Austin American-Statesman)
Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday he will be making an announcement Thursday on state policy regarding public gatherings, as well as bars and restaurants, and asked for immediate input from local officials.
“I will be providing an announcement tomorrow that addresses all of this, but I do want to have the opportunity to get input from local elected officials today,” Abbott said at a news conference in Arlington. “And so I’m telling every local elected official in the state of Texas, we need to hear from you today about your needs, your strategies and your thoughts and your input as they will shape what I announce tomorrow.”
Abbott’s comments came in response to a question about the patchwork of different local policies on bar and restaurant closings.
The governor was flanked by Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams and Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, following the death Sunday of Patrick James, 77, who had been living in the Texas Masonic Home in Arlington and was confirmed on Tuesday to have contracted COVID-19.
Abbott, Williams and Whitley also were joined by John Hellerstedt, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, and Chief Nim Kidd, of the Texas Division of Emergency Management… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
'The shock is very different': Texas unemployment claims jump as economic turmoil from virus hits (Houston Chronicle)
First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Texas last week jumped nearly 40 percent from a year ago as local governments shut down events, low oil prices buffeted the energy industry and customers stayed home to prevent exposure from the new coronavirus. Last week, more than 16,000 people applied for unemployment insurance in Texas, nearly 4,500 more claims than the same week last year, according to data provided by the Texas Workforce Commission. “If there’s no demand for what you’re providing - whether it’s restaurants or airline flights - you have to cut your supply, and the first thing you cut is personnel,” said Patrick Jankowski, an economist at the Greater Houston Partnership, a business-financed economic development group.
Texas is taking steps to expedite the payment of unemployment benefits to laid off workers. Governor Greg Abbott instructed the Texas Workforce Commission to waive a one-week waiting period and begin paying benefits as soon as claims are processed. The TWC will also waive work search requirements, which usually requires individuals to register for work search and complete a minimum number of work search activities per week. Some of the first jobs to go are those associated with expanding a company, such as sales roles, marketing, and contract workers needed for expansion projects, experts said. Keith Wolf, the managing director of Murray Resources, a Houston staffing company that works with around 300 employers in the Houston region, said that typically between 40 and 60 companies contact them per month. Now, that’s on pace to be down between 60 and 70 percent this March… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas transit agencies are still getting front-line responders and low-income Texans to work. But service may change as the crisis continues. (Texas Tribune)
Society and employment as many urban Texans know them continue changing at breakneck speed as officials move to stem the growing spread of the new coronavirus, but the state's largest transit agencies are still operating trains and buses.
Ridership is falling, to be sure. But officials across the state say public transit hasn't been singled out as a specific source of spread — and many of the state's low-wage workers and front-line responders to the virus have no other option for getting to work.
“Transit provides a critical service for many, including those currently stocking the grocery stores or nurses and medical technicians. We are committed to providing this critical service as long as we are able to,” said Mariette Hummel, a spokesperson for Austin's Capital Metro.
Still, transit officials said people who have COVID-19 symptoms should not be riding. And those who need to hop on a bus or train should still practice social distancing… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
If the Mexico border closes, economic ripples will be felt around the world (Dallas Morning News)
Business leaders and residents are bracing for a wrenching economic blow that could be felt far beyond this region if the U.S.-Mexico border is sealed to help prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to close the 5,500-mile U.S.-Canada border from nonessential traffic while allowing trade goods to keep flowing, including essential items like food, medicine and fuel. That announcement didn’t dispel confusion or worries here, especially among leaders of the thousands of foreign-owned assembly plants that stretch along the 2,000-mile southwestern border.Concerns deepened after announcements by Ford and General Motors that they will temporarily close their plants in the U.S. Both were under pressure to protect workers from the spreading coronavirus, but the move will further disrupt supply chains between the countries of North America. Mexico and the U.S. have more than $600 billion in annual cross-border trade. A Mexican government official said late Wednesday afternoon that Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked by phone Wednesday, but added that there was “nothing concrete” to announce. “Depending on the measures, it could be catastrophic for North America” if coronavirus disruption widens, said Jesus Canas, a senior economist at the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank and an expert on cross-border manufacturing… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Yes, States and Local Governments Can Close Private Businesses and Restrict Your Movement (Politico)
Can the state tell your favorite local restaurant to close, or tell you that you must stay at home unless it’s absolutely necessary to leave, because of an emergency? The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have closed down bars, movie theaters and dine-in restaurants. Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area have imposed a shelter-in-place order that allows people to leave their homes only for essential activities.
In response to these drastic measures intended to slow down the spread of coronavirus, there are plenty of voices on social media, and even some in government, denouncing such measures as unprecedented, un-American and unconstitutional. Most of us have never imagined such impositions outside of a situation of armed conflict, but allegations that those measures in the current circumstances are unlawful are wrong. And this is a case where legal misinformation can exacerbate a public health crisis… (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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