BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 15, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
*NEW* [BG BLOG] City of Austin: New Risk-Based Guidelines to Help the Community Stay Safe During COVID-19 Pandemic (LINK TO BLOG)
[BG PODCAST] Episode 86: COVID19 Update with Selena Xie, President, Austin EMS Association (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
City to pursue strategy protecting at-risk workers from Covid-19 threat (Austin Monitor)
The city is expected to begin assembling a strategy to limit the spread of Covid-19 among at-risk workers with high rates of contact with the public, including those in jobs that have restarted following state government moves to reopen the Texas economy.
A resolution led by Council Member Greg Casar asks the city manager to create a plan to help workers work remotely if possible, or limit their exposure to the virus in the workplace and help them access unemployment benefits if they lose their job for health reasons related to the virus. It also calls for steps to educate local workers about their rights under federal legislation related to Covid-19, including paid sick time for those who have symptoms that could signal infection.
Casar said at-risk workers are the third cohort, along with homeless people and nursing home patients, who have the highest risk of infection and perpetuating community spread of the virus. With plans in place to house those experiencing homelessness in local hotels, and with strike teams addressing issues at nursing homes, he said it is time for the city to take steps to limit the impact of the virus on local workers… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Central Health Says Latinx Patients Test Positive For COVID-19 At A Rate 3 Times Higher Than Others (KUT)
Latinx patients at Central Health's drive-thru testing sites are testing positive for COVID-19 three times more often than non-Latinx patients, the county-backed health agency said Thursday.
It added that 1 in 5 patients overall have tested positive in the last two weeks at sites run by its health service provider, CommUnityCare.
Test results from the seven low-barrier testing sites across the Austin area represent roughly a sixth of overall COVID-19 tests in Travis County, Central Health said. But so far, results from its sites show Latinx patients are disproportionately represented.
Of the nearly 3,200 tests with confirmed results, 1,679 patients identified as Latinx, with 412 testing positive for the new coronavirus. Of the 1,120 non-Latinx patients, 82 tested positive; patients who didn't identify their ethnicity had a positivity rate of 11%. Central Health is awaiting results for another 403 tests.
The trend aligns with one outlined earlier this week by Austin area health officials, who told county leaders in a briefing that data suggested Latinx COVID-19 patients were hospitalized for the disease at a disproportionate rate… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin traffic engineers recommend residential and downtown speed reduction to 25 mph (KXAN)
Austin traffic engineers are recommending reduced speeds on many roads citywide to prevent traffic injuries and deaths.
These recommendations will be presented Friday May 15 by the Austin Transportation Department to Austin’s Urban Transportation Commission. The Office of Austin’s City Traffic Engineer carried out a recent traffic engineering study, finding that speeds on roads in the urban core, neighborhood streets, and downtown streets should all be reduced. The department notes that speeding is the primary contributing factor in around a quarter of Austin’s traffic deaths.
Citing an AAA study from 2011, the department’s presentation noted that as motor vehicle speeds increase, the risk of serious injury or death for a pedestrian also increases and driver’s field of vision decreases as well… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Eviction proceedings and debt collections can resume this month, Texas Supreme Court orders (Texas Tribune)
Evictions and debt collection proceedings can resume in Texas next week, the Texas Supreme Court has ordered, after the court temporarily put both on hold during the coronavirus pandemic.
Eviction hearings can be held as soon as Tuesday, with orders authorizing evictions allowed starting May 26. That does not apply to certain tenants who are protected through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, including renters in homes covered by federally backed mortgages. Tenants covered under that federal moratorium have protections through Aug. 23. Others may be protected through local orders, like those in place in Austin, Dallas and San Marcos.
Similarly, debt collectors can again garnish accounts starting later this month.
The state’s highest civil court had put holds on both as Texans contend with the financial toll of the novel coronavirus, which has sent the state's economy toward a recession. More than 1.9 million people have filed unemployment claims with the state in the past two months… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texans afraid of catching COVID-19 can temporarily use mail ballots, appeals court says (Dallas Morning News)
A state appeals court upheld an order by a lower court that allows election officials to temporarily expand mail voting to people whose only qualification is their fear of contracting the coronavirus. On Thursday, the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston ruled 2-1 to keep intact Travis County Judge Tim Sulak’s temporary injunction which expanded mail voting to people who lack immunity to COVID-19. Chief Justice Kem Thompson Frost dissented.
The Texas Democratic Party, which filed the lawsuit, celebrated the court’s decision. “The Court of Appeals correctly stood up Judge Sulak’s order which remains in effect,” said Chad Dunn, the party’s general counsel. "Eligible voters can vote by mail during this pandemic. It is time for a few state officers to stop trying to force people to expose themselves to COVID-19 in order to vote.” Attorney General Ken Paxton has opposed the expansion of mail voting during the pandemic and asked the Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday to stop local election officials from accepting mail ballots from people whose only qualification was a lack of immunity to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. “We look forward to the Texas Supreme Court resolving this issue," Alejandro Garcia, a spokesman for Paxton’s office, said in a statement. Paxton has asked the Supreme Court to respond to his request within two weeks… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas spends $45 million on 300,000 coronavirus tests (Austin American-Statesman)
In a glimpse into the cost of coronavirus testing, the state of Texas is paying $45 million for 300,000 oral-swab tests — or $150 per test, according to a purchase order obtained by the American-Statesman through an open records request. So far, 80,000 of the tests have been sent to Texas prisons, which have been bedeviled by outbreaks.
The April 30 purchase agreement is with San Diego-based Gothams LLC, and includes the processing of tests at the private lab of Curative, Inc., according to Seth Christensen, spokesman for the Texas Department of Emergency Management, which made the purchase. Officials with Gothams and Curative, a Los Angeles-based startup, were not immediately available for interviews Wednesday. Christensen said part or all of the purchase may be eligible for federal reimbursement. The purchase price includes the processing of each test. The price tag agreed to by the state for the prison tests is roughly three times as high as the cost of COVID-19 tests listed on a pricing bulletin distributed by Medicare in mid-March. The prices for health care providers and laboratories to test patients for COVID-19, according to the Medicare bulletin, was $35.92 for the tests developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and $51.33 for all other commercial tests… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
GOP senator urging colleagues to not take meetings with Chinese companies (The Hill)
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) is urging colleagues not to take meetings with Chinese companies and “exercise caution” while meeting with Chinese government officials.
“Blacklisting China in Congress mirrors punitive steps the executive branch has already taken,” Blackburn wrote in a "Dear Colleague" letter dated Thursday.
The senator noted that several Chinese tech companies, such as Huawei, have been banned from selling telecommunications equipment to U.S. government agencies by the Trump administration, adding they “likewise cannot be trusted to lobby members of Congress with the best of U.S. intentions in mind.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
As Economy Reopens, a Push to Rethink Regulations (Governing)
During the coronavirus crisis, businesses have felt the heavy hand of the state, facing restrictions regarding the capacity at which they can operate or even whether they can open.
But regulations have also been loosened in some areas, notably medicine. Nearly every state has waived medical licensing requirements, making it easier for retired or out-of-state physicians to provide treatment, or allowing them to practice telehealth without a prior established relationship with the patient. Twenty-one states have waived or suspended practice agreement regulations for nurse practitioners, which require them to have doctors supervise care and prescriptions.
A number of lawmakers are hoping to extend this approach to a much wider range of commerce, reducing the number of regulations that might stand in the way of businesses fully reopening and prospering. “We’re going to have to clear a path to entrepreneurship and business growth,” says Todd Huston, speaker of the Indiana House.
Shielding businesses from civil liability due to the spread of COVID-19 is a top priority for congressional Republicans. On Monday, the idea was endorsed by 21 Republican state attorneys general. That same day, the Oklahoma Senate passed a bill to shield businesses from COVID-related lawsuits. Similar legislation has been introduced in Kansas… (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.
PLEASE RESHARE and FOLLOW:
Twitter #binghamgp
Instagram #binghamgp