MRT: WH: Texas Has ‘Full Resurgence’ of COVID-19; State Has $3B in CARES Act Funds to Spend Before Year End; Hegar: Budget Forecast Improves; AG Paxton: Harris County Election Office Violated Law
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak
TUESDAY – 12/01/20
Find us on Facebook
Tips, comments and suggestions: MustReadTexas@gmail.com
Subscribe to the daily email here
Good morning from Austin, TX.
Thank you for reading.
** You are temporarily receiving a free version of the indispensable Must Read Texas morning email.
Become a paid subscriber for $3.50/month — http://www.MustReadTexas.com.
“If something of importance is known in Texas, Matt knows it. With a decline in the number of credible news organizations, the Must Read Texas morning email is indispensable for anyone that wants to continue to be informed.” – Former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX)
TOP NEWS
"Blistering government report blasts poor training, oversight of Texas law,"The Houston Chronicle's St. John Barned-Smith and Eric Dexheimer -- "Last year, more than 600 Texas law enforcement officers received a dishonorable discharge from their agencies for misconduct. Yet more than a quarter of them were rehired to work as sworn officers.
To qualify for a peace officer license, Texas cops need fewer hours of basic training than licensed cosmetologists and less than half the education required of air-conditioning and refrigeration contractors. While the basic training requires officers to spend 48 hours on the firing range, it demands only two hours of “civilian interaction” instruction.
The difficulty of purging bad officers from the ranks of Texas police and outdated and inadequate officer training highlight how state lawmakers have rendered the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement unable to meaningfully oversee the profession, according to a blistering new report by the Sunset Advisory Commission. The commission reviews the performance of state agencies every 10 years or so.
The Sunset Advisory Commission’s critical findings come amid a contentious nationwide re-evaluation of the fundamental role of police. The deaths of Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and George Floyd, among others, have prompted calls for stronger oversight from police departments and civilian review boards, as well as stricter limits on police use of force.
But in Texas, the regulation of law enforcement is “by and large, toothless,” the Sunset report concluded.
Although it is charged with licensing police and correctional officers and 911 dispatchers, the law enforcement commission differs from state agencies that regulate other professions in that it has almost no authority to act against an officer’s license. Instead, most oversight of police conduct is left up to each of the state’s 2,700 law enforcement agencies, which set their own policies and standards.
Without a shared definition of professional conduct, many have widely differing rules. For example, “In the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, chokeholds are an acceptable technique west of the 3200 block of Sandy Lane, but are not allowed on the east side of the same street because it crosses two different … jurisdictions,” the Sunset report found.
Texas’ patchwork of uneven oversight has resulted in “a fragmented, outdated system with poor accountability, lack of statewide standards, and inadequate training,” the Sunset report stated.
While advocacy groups and demonstrators have demanded better police oversight, they also have called on cities to reallocate millions of dollars from law enforcement budgets into community services.That, in turn, has sparked swift blowback from conservative politicians and supporters of law enforcement. In Austin, a lawmaker recently filed legislation prohibiting local governments from cutting police budgets." Houston Chronicle
"Harris County GOP chair Keith Nielsen resigns after racist post, fundraising struggles,"The Houston Chronicle's Jasper Scherer -- "Harris County Republican Party Chairman Keith Nielsen resigned Monday, the party’s secretary confirmed, ending a brief tenure dogged by his social media post that displayed a Martin Luther King Jr. quote next to a banana.
The post, which recalls a racist trope associating Black people with monkeys, sparked calls from high-ranking Texas Republicans for Nielsen to decline the office, which he won after defeating former party chair Paul Simpson in March. Nielsen at first said he would not take office, then reversed course, despite opposition from some precinct chairs due to the social media post.
Nielsen did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
His resignation follows months of lackluster fundraising by the party, which saw donations virtually dry up after Nielsen took over Aug. 3. The party reported a haul of $14,600 from that point until Oct. 24, the latest date covered by campaign finance reports.
The party spent just $4,140 between Aug. 3 and Oct. 24 as it ran a coordinated campaign for the slate of Republican judicial candidates in Harris County. The party had just $10,690 in the bank, according to its most recent campaign finance report.
During the first six months of the year under Simpson, the party raised $92,624, after reporting it had taken in $206,056 during the last six months of 2019." Houston Chronicle
"Texas man sent to prison for bomb threat to Federal Reserve," via AP-- "A South Texas man was sentenced on Monday to two years in federal prison after making online threats to bomb a Federal Reserve building, according to authorities.
Joel Hayden Schrimsher had pleaded guilty on Aug. 24 to conveying false or misleading information through the internet concerning the potential destruction of a federal building.
Schrimsher, 19, was arrested after federal authorities in June 2019 traced to him threats made on Twitter in which he had said, “I’m gonna mail a bomb to the Federal Reserve.”
Authorities said Schrimsher acknowledged to making a tweet about bombing and damaging a Federal Reserve building and claiming he was being “edgy” when he made the threats.
During a court hearing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez said that Schrimsher had precursor chemicals and bomb making recipes in his bedroom in Harlingen at the time he made the threats.
“The FBI and our law enforcement partners take threats of violence very seriously,” said Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office." AP
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
"White House says Texas has ‘full resurgence’ of COVID-19 and must do more to slow spread," The Dallas Morning News' Allie Morris and Sue Ambrose -- "The White House, pointing to a “full resurgence” of COVID-19 in Texas, says the state must do more to stop the virus’ spread.
Guidance issued last week calls on Texas to proactively test teachers, hospital staff and other community members to search for silent spreaders, and to significantly reduce the number of people allowed to gather indoors.
“The silent community spread that precedes and continues to drive these surges can only be identified and interrupted through proactive, focused testing,” said the White House report issued Nov. 22. “This must be combined with significant behavior change of all Americans.”
The recommendations, made before the Thanksgiving holiday, were made public Monday by the Center for Public Integrity.
The White House’s coronavirus task force has been producing detailed reports for all 50 states since June. Each report contains county-level statistics about the virus’ spread, as well as recommendations tailored to each state. But the reports are not widely available, making it difficult to evaluate if certain states have followed the guidelines.
On Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott declined to answer questions about the report’s recommendations. Instead, spokeswoman Renae Eze said the state is sending resources and medication to hard-hit areas and suggested local authorities need to do more to enforce occupancy limits and mask orders.
As winter approaches, COVID-19 cases are soaring nationwide. While the latest report put Texas in the “red zone” for its high level of coronavirus cases, much of the country is worse off. The report ranked Texas 34th for cases per capita." Dallas Morning News
"Texas has $3 billion of federal coronavirus relief funds to spend before the end of the year,"KXAN'sJohn Engel -- "Facing a deadline at the end of the year, Gov. Greg Abbott is determining how to spend the remaining $3 billion Texas received when Congress approved the CARES Act for coronavirus relief.
Texas received $11.24 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March, which has to be spent by Dec. 30. Cities and counties with a population greater than 500,000 automatically received a combined $3.2 billion under state law.
Abbott’s office told KXAN, of the $8 billion left for the state to distribute, $4.5 billion has already been spent.
The state plans to distribute an additional $1.45 billion to the Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas Department of Emergency Management and is working with state agencies to determine how to spend the remaining $2 billion before the end of the year.
A spokesperson for Abbott said the state plans to spend every CARES Act dollar before the Dec. 30 deadline.
“Of the $8 billion in CARES Act funding that Texas received, Governor Abbott has worked closely with legislative leaders and state agencies to allocate $6 billion so far as part of a data-driven strategy to bolster the state’s ongoing efforts to mitigate this virus and protect the lives and livelihoods of the people of Texas,” said Renae Eze, Abbott’s press secretary. “With $2 billion remaining of the original funding, the state will spend every dollar by the end of the year to ensure the health and well-being of all Texans.”" KXAN
"Despite staggering pandemic losses, Texas budget forecast better than expected, state comptroller says,"The Texas Tribune's Mitchell Ferman -- "Despite “historic declines,” state lawmakers will have more money to work with in the upcoming legislative session than Comptroller Glenn Hegar expected over the summer, he said Monday. But Hegar did not outline specifics as state coffers continue to suffer from the economic recession spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sales tax revenues, by far the largest part of the state budget, fell by 4.8% in the second half of the 2020 fiscal year compared with the same stretch last year, Hegar said. It was a much softer hit than he anticipated, thanks to Texans staying home and spending money on “staycations instead of vacations.”
Other revenue streams, such as taxes related to alcohol, hotel occupancy, and oil and gas, were down more than 40% in the same period this year compared with last, Hegar told lawmakers Monday during a Legislative Budget Board meeting at the Capitol.
“Revenues remain down significantly relative to a year ago, and well below what we expected to collect when the Legislature wrapped up work on the budget in 2019,” Hegar said.
Legislative budget writers decide how much money will be allocated for large state expenses like how much school districts get, how well health care programs are funded, which transportation projects get built and what amount state law enforcement gets based on how much the comptroller says will be available during the next two-year budget cycle, which runs from September 2021 through August 2023. Hegar will likely unveil that number as the session nears." Texas Tribune
"Texas AG Ken Paxton claims Harris County's elections office, administrator were created illegally," The Houston Chronicle's Zac Despart -- "Harris County failed to follow the Texas Election Code when it created an independent election administration office, rendering the office and the appointment of Isabel Longoria as administrator null and void, according to Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In a letter last Wednesday to the county attorney’s office, Paxton said Harris County did not inform the secretary of state in a timely fashion, as required by law, when it created the new office in July and when an administrator was selected in October to run it.
“As a result, neither the Commissioners Court’s July 14, 2020 order nor the Election Commission’s October 30, 2020 appointment of Longoria to the position holds any legal weight,” Paxton wrote. “In short, the Harris County Office of Election Administrator does not exist.”
Longoria’s appointment should be rescinded, the attorney general said.
County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth referred questions to County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who deferred to the county attorney’s office. First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard said all required documentation regarding the election administration office has been sent to the secretary of state.
“We feel confident that, after they review this, all misunderstandings will be cleared up,” Soard said.
Longoria said in a statement that the county attorney had advised her there were no procedural issues with the creation of her office; she will continue working.
The Democratic majority on Commissioners Court voted in July to create an independent office to run elections in Harris County. The switch, which already has been made in the other largest Texas counties, consolidates the election management role of the county clerk and the voter registration duty of the tax assessor-collector.
The Election Code requires counties to inform the secretary of state within three days of creating an elections administration office. Within six days, it must inform the state of the appointment of an administrator.
Paxton said Harris County waited two weeks to inform the secretary of state it had created the elections administration office and three weeks to formally disclose the hiring of Longoria as administrator, a senior aide in the county clerk’s office.
Harris County must take “corrective action” within 14 days, the attorney general said, or the state may take the issue to court. Paxton did not respond to a question asking why his office did not address Harris County’s error in July.
County Attorney Vince Ryan placed an item on Tuesday’s Commissioners Court agenda to discuss the matter.
Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, a frequent critic of local Democrats, urged Commissioners Court to revoke Longoria’s appointment.
“Appointing an administrator of elections in the nation’s third largest county should have been made by following the prescribed legal process to the letter,” Bettencourt said in a statement. “The attorney general’s letter is specific that the duties of that office should be returned to the elected county clerk and tax assessor-collector.”
The dispute is the latest in a series of disagreements between Texas leaders and Harris County officials over how the state’s largest county runs its elections. Paxton and state Elections Director Keith Ingram see their actions as reigning in rogue local leaders; Hidalgo and county officials view them as unnecessary micromanagement." Houston Chronicle
TEXANS IN DC
Gene Green guest column: "Biden should consider benefits of fracking on federal lands," via The Waco Tribune-Herald-- "When it comes to energy and environmental policy Joe Biden vows to pivot from the deregulatory frenzy of the Trump administration but not abandon common sense. Biden has spent a public career finding balanced policy approaches. Unlike Trump, he actually appreciates the art of a deal.
Biden is on track to secure the presidency for the Democratic Party partly because he demonstrated a willingness to embrace some of the ambitious climate change policies from the party’s liberal wing while also making it clear he will not arbitrarily shut down the fossil fuel sector. As much as Biden believes in the jobs and economic opportunities expected from a clean energy revolution, he will not consequently throw thousands of Americans out of work. His connection with everyday Americans and their struggles is real. During the presidential debates, candidate Biden affirmed that he would oppose a ban on fracking. His opponents should stop creating an issue where there isn’t one.
At the same time, Biden maintained his support for banning new energy exploration and development on some of the 700 million acres of federal lands. The problem with a federal leasing ban is twofold. First, a leasing ban would undermine the measurable strides the U.S. has made toward reducing emissions. According to a recent American Petroleum Institute analysis, a federal leasing ban would shift our country away from clean-burning natural gas and back toward its previous dependence on coal. This regressive shift would increase carbon emissions by an average of 58 million metric tons by 2030. If Joe Biden sincerely seeks to take meaningful action to address climate change, a federal leasing ban is counterproductive to that goal.
The second problem with a leasing ban is economic. The Bureau of Land Management contends that oil and gas activity on federal lands generated $71.5 billion in economic output, supporting 300,000 jobs in 2018. That was more than two thirds of all economic output from activity on federal lands, which includes grazing, timber, and mineral extraction. Royalties and tax revenues generated from federal leasing practices make it possible for states and municipalities to fund critical government services, from schools to emergency operations to parks. In neighboring New Mexico, this accounts for one sixth of state revenues.
Only a portion of the 75,000 square miles that makes up the oil-and-gas-rich Permian Basin is federal land; Texas benefits from energy development in this area since Texas-based companies are involved in drilling and transport operations. The same American Petroleum Institute analysis found that closing off energy work on federal lands could lead to 120,000 job losses in Texas alone.
As much as Americans take the threat of climate change seriously, they also believe an extreme climate agenda shouldn’t be a priority. This is true in states where fracking has created an economic boom. The Progressive Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, commissioned a poll in September finding that 71% of Pennsylvania and Ohio voters — and 66% in gas-producing counties — said climate change is a “real and very serious problem.”
At the same time, the voters surveyed in the PPI poll voiced opposition to a ban on natural gas by a huge and unequivocal margin of 74-21 percent. Among their chief concerns about banning gas production are job losses, along with rising energy prices. The poll found these sentiments transcend party affiliation. The poll indicates that many voters have a sensible understanding of our energy future, and that natural gas will serve as a valuable bridge fuel that will avert disruptions to the economy and our electric grid. Even among more progressive constituencies, a ban on natural gas is viewed unfavorably. According to PPI’s poll, 61 percent of Democrats oppose a ban. Younger voters aged 18-34 similarly oppose a ban by 61 percent. Interestingly, voters who hold advanced degrees oppose a ban by a whopping 76 percent.
Voters recognize that it will take many years to move away from natural gas and other fossil fuels. Otherwise, the disruptions to the economy, reliable power and affordable energy could be unacceptable. Joe Biden understands this. He appreciates his role as environmentalist-in-chief cannot crowd out his responsibilities to defend and support working families and to bring about economic recovery.
Ultimately, the underlying reasons for Biden to reject a ban on fracking — jobs, affordable energy, and reduced carbon emissions — should apply as well to fracking on federal lands. If fracking is playing a useful role in transitioning to new ways of producing and consuming energy, it should not matter where the work takes place.
Gene Green is a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives." Waco Tribune-Herald
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
"Former Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Trump’s NATO ambassador, pledges ‘smooth’ transition to Biden administration,"The Dallas Morning News' Tom Benning -- "Former Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, on Monday vowed there would be a “smooth” and “seamless” transition to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, even as President Donald Trump continues to fight the election result.
The Republican’s comments, delivered at a virtual news conference in Brussels, put her at odds with many of her GOP counterparts -- including Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz -- who’ve mostly refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory.
“We are going to work in a transition for a new administration coming in,” she said ahead of a NATO ministerial meeting. “We are going to make sure it’s smooth. That’s what we have in democracies, and that’s what we are going to produce.”
Hutchison’s comments are particularly noteworthy, given that Trump is still her boss and that most administration officials have followed his lead in casting doubt on the November election.
The Texan was unequivocal about what would happen come January, when Biden is sworn in as the next president. She repeatedly referred to the Democrat as the president-elect and made assurances that she would do her part to assist in the transition from one administration to the next." Dallas Morning News
REMAINDERS
DALLAS COWBOYS: "Reality overwhelms hope for Cowboys, last in woeful NFC East" AP
HOUSTON TEXANS: "Watson's play helps Texans to first winning streak of season" AP
HOUSTON TEXANS: "Texans' Fuller says he's been suspended 6 games for PEDs" AP
TEXAS FOOTBALL: "Texas coach Tom Herman avoids talking about his future" AP
TEXAS BASKETBALL: "Ramey, No. 17 Texas beat Davidson 78-76 in Maui Invitational" AP
SMU BASKETBALL: "Hunt, Bandoumel lead SMU past Texas A&M-CC 91-54" AP
'MACK ON POLITICS' PODCAST
LATEST "MACK ON POLITICS" PODCAST:The 2020 election and the Biden transition are the subjects of the 265th episode.
Sirius XM chief DC correspondent Olivier Knox returns to our podcast.
In this conversation we consider the Trump campaign’s election challenges, evaluate the Biden transition and legislative outlook for 2021, and discuss the urgent need for help at food banks across the country, a topic that is close to our guest’s heart.
Available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and on the web at http://www.MackOnPoliticsPodcast.com.
BOOK MATT MACKOWIAK AS A SPEAKER
Would you like to have Matt Mackowiak speak to your group?
Matt Mackowiak will preview the 2020 election and review the 2019 legislative session for your company, association, convention or meeting.
Contact us for rates and dates.
---
"I am not always up to date on current news. I know I can count on Matt to give me the 'cliff notes' version of the most important news of the day. I rely on Matt to keep me informed with news that is important to me. He is my news source, and should be yours." - Debra Coffey, TFRW Patron's Co-Chair, former First TFRW VP
"Matt is a straight shooter. He says what he thinks and his analysis is educated and bold. As a repeat presenter at our association meetings he has continually wowed the crowd." - Clayton Stewart, PAC Director, Texas Medical Association
“Wanting a candid and thorough assessment of the statewide primary ballot, I arranged for Matt to speak to members from across the state during a board meeting. For more than an hour, he provided insights into the campaign environment and looked ahead to the 2015 legislative session in ways that our members found valuable, useful and clearly helpful. This portion of the board meeting was a big hit for our members, and have been talking about it for months. Matt has the contacts, experience and balanced insight to give a behind the scenes perspective that provides value.” - Jerry Valdez, Executive Director, Career Colleges & Schools of Texas
---
RECENT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:
Nov. 10 - Leadership Austin Engage Series: Election Review (virtual)
Oct. 20 - Lake Travis GOP luncheon (Lakeway, TX)
Oct. 19 - Zoom Election Preview @ Headliners Club (Austin, TX)
Oct. 19 - IPI luncheon (Dallas, TX)
Sept. 29 - IPI Debate preview (virtual)