BG Reads | News You Need to Know (August 12, 2021)
Budget Hearing Day 1, Austin Council Chamber (Bingham Group)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
BG NOTE: Yesterday, Council members spent yesterday morning hearing public testimony (the vast majority virtual). Following lunch and a lengthy executive session, they then discussed and voted on language for several November ballot initiatives. Coming back from a dinner break, Council members then laid out their amendments (no debate or votes occurred) before recessing around 9PM. Council convenes today at 10AM to begin discussions and voting on respective amendments (view here).
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin and Travis County officials mandate mask-wearing in city and county property, public schools (KUT)
Austin and Travis County officials are mandating people over the age of 2 wear a mask on public property, including in buildings owned by the city and county, and in public schools.
"Today's Order to require masks in certain places is both to support Austin ISD's decision to protect children and the city's duty to protect its employees and the community," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in an emailed statement.
On Tuesday, local public health officials said a surge in COVID-19 cases paired with a shortage of health care workers meant the region was running out of available ICU beds; just two were available for a population of 2.4 million.
"The Order requires masks in public schools and inside city buildings as part of my commitment to use all available tools to keep this community safe. These are necessary yet difficult decisions, but those guided by the data and doctors will remain our North Star," Adler said.
Adler told KUT that his office is considering extending the order to include spaces such as private businesses.
People who don't follow the new rules could face being removed from public property or a fine up to $1,000. There are several exceptions to the mandate, including for those who are actively eating and drinking or exercising outside.
The new requirements, issued by Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown, go into effect at midnight. They defy an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott prohibiting municipalities in the state from requiring people to wear masks.
It's unclear if Abbott will seek legal action against Austin and Travis County. A spokesperson for the governor did not respond to a request to comment for this story… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City Council denounces Prop A, approves ballot language revealing its cost (Austin Monitor)
An upcoming proposition that would mandate police staffing could cost the city almost $600 million over the next five years. City Council is trying to drive that reality home with newly adopted ballot language.
If approved by voters on Nov. 2, Proposition A, which is the result of a petition drive by Save Austin Now, would dictate some of the ways that the city manages the police department. According to Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo, the changes would come at a cost of $271.5 million to $598.8 million over the next five years.
Van Eenoo’s calculations, which are detailed in an Aug. 10 memo, sparked immediate concern, which was echoed by Council members as they voted on ballot language for the proposed ordinance.
The average annual cost of $54.3 to $119.8 million, said Council Member Greg Casar, “will just devastate our existing city services.”
“The cost of the ballot item is the entire public library system, 20 EMS stations, 16 fire stations, the entire animal shelter and then on top of that all 22 neighborhood pools and Barton Springs,” he continued, further calculating it could be the equivalent of 1,425 city staff positions.
Due to a new property tax ceiling imposed by the state Legislature, Van Eenoo has predicted that the city would need to make deep cuts to its existing budget or hold a tax rate election in order to comply with Prop A, as city leaders would be legally bound to do should it pass.
In a statement released by Save Austin Now, co-founders Matt Mackowiak and Cleo Petricek responded to Van Eenoo’s memo.
“It makes no sense that our elected officials have chosen to allocate $515 million to homelessness over the next three years and raise taxes again this year, while simultaneously arguing that returning to an adequate police staffing level is financially impossible in the face of rising crime,” they wrote. “In a rapidly growing city with a $4.2 billion budget, we can afford public safety. What we cannot afford is to let this Council run amok any longer.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, Council members took turns expressing their concerns about the proposed ordinance and asking for further clarity on its fiscal impact… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Teacher Retirement System of Texas could move HQ to Mueller (Austin Business Journal)
Teacher Retirement System of Texas, which manages a nearly $200 billion pension fund, could be leaving downtown Austin for a new headquarters in Mueller.
The agency recently released fresh details about its long-planned move out of the Central Business District. The relocation would also result in TRS selling its current HQ building at 1000 Red River St., opening up a site that could be redeveloped.
Brian Guthrie, executive director of TRS, framed it as a financially prudent move to safeguard the future of an organization overseeing pensions for 1.7 million Texas educators and school staff members.
"From our operational perspective, it presents a generational solution," he said. "We have something we could use for the next 40 to 50 years, which is what the building we’re in now was designed to do in the 1970s."
The pension fund aims to consolidate all of its operations into roughly 457,000 square feet spread across two buildings at 1900 Aldrich St. in Mueller, a mixed-use community off I-35 northeast of downtown.
TRS this week posted information about the proposed move on its website. The pension fund estimated purchasing the Mueller buildings would cost between $250 million and $300 million.
But it claims it could actually save up to $15 million over 20 years by selling the current HQ, avoiding tens of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance at 1000 Red River and avoiding lease and tax payments for space it leases elsewhere downtown.
“From an economic perspective, we believe the numbers speak for themselves,” Guthrie said.
TRS trustees must still vote on the relocation plan. The board is scheduled to consider the matter during its Sept. 16-17 meeting. Trustees will receive an updated presentation with more up-to-date financial estimates. A community forum is slated to take place on Facebook Live before the end of August, allowing TRS members and staff to discuss the proposed relocation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
More than 700 students pull out of virtual learning after Austin ISD announces mask mandate (KUT)
After Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde announced Monday that masks would be required in Austin ISD schools this year, 757 students opted out of virtual classes to attend school in person. The district accepted 4,035 students to the virtual program; 2,388 of those children are from out of district. Families who signed up to have their children do virtual learning have until 11:59 p.m. Friday to notify the district if they've changed their minds and now want their children to attend school in person.
School starts Tuesday. The virtual program will function like a separate academy. Classes will not be hybrid; teachers will teach students online only. Last year, the state paid for virtual learning, but it said this year it won't. AISD said it will use federal funds to cover the program. The mask mandate, which went into effect Wednesday, applies to all AISD students, staff and visitors. The mandate goes against an executive order from Greg Abbott that says no government institution, including schools, can require masks. The governor's office has not yet announced any consequences for the move. Dallas ISD also announced this week it is requiring masks… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
After local Texas officials defy his ban on mask mandates, Gov. Greg Abbott begins to clamp down (Texas Tribune)
As Texas students too young to get vaccinated head back to school while the highly contagious delta variant threatens to overflow hospitals, a growing cadre of local government officials have mandated mask-wearing in bids to slow the spread of COVID-19 — defying Gov. Greg Abbott.
This week, officials in Dallas and Bexar counties successfully sued for the right to again require masks in public schools and many government buildings — at least temporarily. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins went a step further Wednesday and mandated that child care centers and businesses must also require employees and customers to wear masks.
“We are all team public health and the enemy is the virus,” Jenkins said. “Right now, the enemy is winning.”
Other officials didn’t bother with a court battle. Travis County officials went ahead Wednesday afternoon with an order requiring mask-wearing in public schools. Some of the state’s largest school districts — Austin, Houston and Fort Worth — already plan to require students, teachers and staff to don masks.
“The rebellion is spreading across the state,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said.
Abbott — under intense pressure from some on his right to hold the line against local officials who want to require masks — now is trying to quell that rebellion.
Hours after Jenkins signed his mandate, Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton announced they would go to court to block Dallas County’s top official — asking the 5th Court of Appeals to overturn the state district judge’s decision that allowed Jenkins to move forward. The two men threatened to sue any government official who defies Abbott's order… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Will Democrats be arrested, forced into Capitol? Answer may impact Texas House Speaker’s future (Dallas Morning News)
The Democrats’ boycott of a second special legislative session has turned the Texas House into a powder keg. That means House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican in his first term leading the chamber, is in a critical moment. He’s tantalizingly close to having the House quorum needed for Republicans to approve their conservative agenda, including a controversial elections bill that led to the walkout by Democrats. But in order to help achieve that quorum, House members voted 80-12 to issue arrest warrants for the runaway Democrats, a move that could break the stalemate, but leave the chamber deeply fractured, while threatening Phelan’s standing as speaker. Phelan was elected speaker with strong support from Democrats. “This is his critical test,” said veteran political consultant and Austin insider Bill Miller. “How he navigates this is how he’ll be remembered.”
On Tuesday, the fourth day of the second special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott, Democrats were still preventing Phelan from getting the quorum needed to convene House lawmakers. Phelan later signed civil arrest warrants for 52 Democrats after the vote to direct the Sergeant at Arms to secure absent members. The vote reflects the anger that is building among Republicans who have been forced to sit idle during a 30-day special session, and now appear helpless as the quorum-breaking Democrats are setting the tone. Some Republicans have endorsed the idea of forcibly bringing Democrats back to chambers. But on Tuesday, a short time before the House was to convene, one of Phelan’s top allies downplayed the possibility of quorum-breaking Democrats being arrested. “It’s up to their constituents to put a call on them,” Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, said. " I honestly think it’s up to the representatives to show up to do the job they were elected to do.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Biden 'checking' whether or not he can intervene against Abbott's mask orders (Houston Chronicle)
President Joe Biden says the White House is “checking” on whether he has the power to intervene in states like Texas where Republican leaders have banned mask mandates. Asked whether he has the power to step in, Biden responded: “I don’t believe that I do thus far. We’re checking that.” “I think that people should understand, seeing little kids — I mean, four, five, six years old — in hospitals, on ventilators, and some of them passing — not many, but some of them passing — it’s almost, I mean, it’s just — well, I should not characterize beyond that,” Biden said.
The comments come amid a brewing court battle in Texas between Gov. Greg Abbott and local leaders who are in full revolt over his refusal to allow local mask mandates. Judges in San Antonio and Dallas have granted local requests to require face coverings. Harris County is also challenging Abbott’s order. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday the administration is “looking into ways we can help the leaders at the local level who are putting public health first continue to do their jobs.” She said those include efforts to “keep students safe and keep students in school” and that the U.S. Department of Education “and others” are working on it. Biden last week pleaded with Republican governors to change course as he condemned states that have banned public schools and universities from requiring workers and students to wear masks or get vaccinated, saying “the most extreme of those measures is like the one in Texas that say state universities or community colleges can be fined if it allows a teacher to ask her un-vaccinated students to wear a mask.” “If some governors aren’t willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it,” he said. “I say to these governors: Please help. If you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way of people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Delta Variant has dented 2021 recovery in oil demand, IEA says (Wall Street Journal)
The rapidly spreading coronavirus Delta variant and its impact on the global economy mean the world will consume less oil this year than previously thought, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.
In its closely-watched monthly market report, the Paris-based organization said that the worsening of the pandemic, as well as revisions to historical data, mean its global oil demand outlook has been “appreciably downgraded,” with some of this year’s forecast recovery shifted to 2022.
Investors have become concerned about falling commodities demand in China, where Beijing authorities last week canceled all large-scale exhibitions and events for the remainder of August. That, and other measures aimed at slowing the spread of the Delta variant, has in recent days spooked traders who were already worried about the fragile nature of China’s economic recovery.
The IEA cut its 2021 global oil demand growth forecast by 100,000 barrels a day, while upgrading its 2022 forecast by 200,000 barrels a day. The world’s thirst for oil is still expected to return to pre-pandemic highs in the second half of next year, the report said.
The watchdog added that the timing of the variant’s spread has coincided with planned supply increases from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies “stamping out lingering suggestions of a near-term supply crunch or supercycle.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dominion suits against Trump allies can proceed (The Hill)
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday rejected requests from former Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell that he dismiss lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems against the three.
The ruling pertains to three defamation lawsuits Dominion filed — at $1.3 billion each — against the three defendants for allegedly claiming without evidence that the voting machine company rigged the 2020 presidential election for President Biden by manipulating votes.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump nominee, swept aside the initial claims put forth by the defendants for why the suits should be tossed, from arguments that their alleged statements were legally protected opinions or were otherwise made without malicious intent to claims that the D.C. court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case… (LINK TO FULL STORY)