MRT: TX Passes 4,000 Deaths, But Houston Sees Rates Steady; 100 TX Mayors Plead with Congress for Relief Funding; Hegar: $4.6B Budget Deficit Ahead
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak
TUESDAY – 07/21/20
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 being a paid subscriber.
TOP NEWS
"Texas passes 4,000 deaths, but Houston sees rates steady,"AP's Paul J. Weber -- "Texas surpassed 4,000 deaths in the coronavirus pandemic Monday but officials in Houston, one of the hardest-hit cities in the U.S., say they are cautiously optimistic about recent trends following weeks of alarming surges at hospitals.
Texas reported more than 7,400 confirmed new cases and at least 62 new deaths. The virus continues taking a particularly hard toll along the Texas-Mexico border: Hidalgo County has reported more than 140 deaths over the past week, and the county judge on Monday signed a shelter-at-home order.
The new order, which goes into effect Wednesday, sets a curfew, limits travel and gatherings and recommends all nonessential businesses cease any activity that can’t be provided at curbside or by takeout.
“This action will help us do the right thing to save and protect each other from this deadly disease by sheltering at home,” said Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez.
In nearby Starr County, where the Department of Defense had sent one of five teams of Navy doctors to help the only hospital, County Judge Eloy Vera said they were considering creating an ethics committee to discuss rationing hospital resources.
“It sounds cold, and I hate to think that we would even have to do it, but we need to at least consider what chances a patient has of surviving,” Vera said.
But in Houston, officials say they are seeing signs of optimism. Dr. David Persse, Houston’s health authority, said during a news conference that the positivity rate for COVID-19 testing has slightly dipped in recent days and the number of people requiring hospitalization “seems to have tapered off a bit.”
The positivity rate was at 24.5% on Friday, slightly down from a high of 25.9% earlier this month, Persse said, adding that the positivity rate was still “very high.”
Persse said some of the reasons why hospitalizations might have leveled off recently include hospitals doing a better job of treating patients and the length of time people are staying at medical facilities is getting shorter.
“I think this is good news. This is no reason for us to take our foot off the brake, however,” Persse said. “That’s probably my biggest fear. My fear is that anytime there’s good news, I don’t want people misinterpreting that we’re winning the battle. Right now, we’re kind of at a stalemate. If we want to win this battle, we need to keep doing everything that we do that we know works: wear the mask, no large gatherings, wash your hands, etc. Those things work.”
The economic toll of the virus on Texas also sharpened into focus a little more Monday as the state’s budget forecast plummeted to a projected $4.6 billion shortfall, less than a year after state officials had expected a surplus.
Republican Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the forecast remains highly uncertain and depends on whether the outbreak continues to spread in Texas. “Consumers and businesses must be confident the virus is controlled before economic output, employment and revenues return to pre-pandemic levels,” Hegar said." AP
"Facing budget shortfalls, nearly 100 Texas mayors plead with Congress for coronavirus relief funding,"The Texas Tribune's Reese Oxner and Juan Pablo Garnham -- "As Congress resumes work on a new coronavirus financial relief package, nearly 100 Texas mayors are pressing the state’s congressional delegation for more funding to address revenue losses incurred due to the economic downturn brought by COVID-19.
Texas received $11 billion in funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which were distributed among the state, counties and cities. Some Texas mayors said these have to be spent before the end of the year and for expenditures related to the pandemic response — and don’t address government entities’ losses in anticipated revenues related to decreased economic activity. Others said there’s been conflicting information about how the money can be spent.
Since March, the economic slowdown has directly hit cities’ revenues. According to the state comptroller, local sales tax allocations for cities in June dropped by 11.1% compared with the same month last year.
“The budget calamity looming over local governments is real and it requires extraordinary measures,” said a letter signed by 97 Texas mayors and directed to members of Congress. “We therefore fear that state and local revenue is going to take time to rebound. We also fear that if we do not stabilize our economy, we could see a drop in property tax revenue next year.”" Texas Tribune
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
"Texas faces a looming $4.6 billion deficit, comptroller projects,"The Texas Tribune's Cassandra Pollock -- "Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered bleak but unsurprising news Monday: Because of the economic fallout triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the amount of general revenue available for the state’s current two-year budget is projected to be roughly $11.5 billion less than originally estimated. That puts the state on track to end the biennium, which runs through August 2021, with a deficit of nearly $4.6 billion, Hegar said.
Those figures are a significant downward revision from Hegar’s last revenue estimate in October 2019, when the comptroller said the state would have over $121 billion to spend on its current budget and end the biennium with a surplus of nearly $2.9 billion. The state, Hegar said, will now have roughly $110 billion to work with for the current budget.
Hegar’s latest estimate, he stressed in a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders, carries “an unprecedented amount of uncertainty” and could change drastically in the coming months, thanks to the pandemic and, to a lesser extent, a recent drop in oil prices.
“We have had to make assumptions about the economic impact of COVID-19, the duration and effects of which remain largely unknown,” Hegar wrote. “Our forecast assumes restrictions [on businesses and people] will be lifted before the end of this calendar year, but that economic activity will not return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this biennium.”" Texas Tribune
"Hidalgo County orders residents who test positive to stay at home as coronavirus cases rise," The Austin American-Statesman's Nicole Cobler -- "Hidalgo County officials are ordering residents who test positive for COVID-19 to self-quarantine for 14 days amid surging cases in the Rio Grande Valley and as Texas surpassed 4,000 coronavirus-related deaths Monday.
The order, which went into effect Monday, says rule violators may be subject to criminal prosecution or civil court proceedings. It’s unlikely, however, the county has the authority to take those actions because Gov. Greg Abbott has not allowed local leaders to impose such restrictions in the fight against the coronavirus.
Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez noted that he has little power to enforce the order.
“I understand that some of the orders that I may put in place tomorrow may not have the enforcement capability that I would require, but you know what, I don’t think I’m going to need it,” Cortez said in a Facebook news conference Sunday. “I believe that you voluntarily are going to do the right thing.”
Under the Hidalgo County order, those who have tested positive or been notified by health officials that they’ve come into contact with someone who has tested positive must remain in their homes for 14 days. Visitors are not allowed without approval from the Texas Department of State Health Services or the Hidalgo County Health and Human Services department." Austin American-Statesman
"Feds tell TEA to repay more than $2.5 million spent on special education contract,"The Houston Chronicle's Shelby Webb -- "The U.S. Department of Education has asked Texas to repaymore than $2.5 million after state auditors found the agency violated purchasing rules when it awarded a multimillion-dollar no-bid contract to a group tasked with collecting data about special education students.
In emails sent to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath and Texas Education Agency Director of Special Education Justin Porter, an audit facilitator with the federal department’s Office of Special Education Programs said the costs associated TEA’s 2017 $4.4 millioncontract with the Atlanta-based company SPEDx were “not reasonable,” and that the agency did not use “reasonable methods to protect personally identifiable information” of disabled students.
Although TEA paid SPEDx more than $2.5 million in federal funds allocated through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, state auditors found only about $150,000 worth of work was completed.
“Most of the IDEA funds paid to SPEDx under the contract provided no benefit to the IDEA program, and, therefore, were not allocatable to the IDEA program under the cost principles of the Uniform Guidance,” Audit Facilitator Susan Kauffman wrote in a May 13 email.
In a statement, TEA officials wrote that Commissioner Morath canceled the contract well before its completion date because it lacked support from parents and educators.
“TEA shares the primary objective of leveraging federal special education funds to provide impactful, high quality services to students with disabilities,” the statement said. “TEA will work with the U.S. Department of Education to ensure that resolution of this issue does not in any way come at the expense of services to Texas students with disabilities.”
The statement also said the agency had updated its procedures and additional oversight put in place to ensure “errors like these do not reoccur.”
The federal decision largely is based off the findings of the Texas State Auditor’s Office, which showed TEA officials failed to check SPEDx's security controls, potentially jeopardizing the data of thousands of special education students statewide. The agency also failed to mention a professional relationship between a top TEA official and a SPEDx subcontractor, state auditors wrote.
Parents and special education advocates had raised concerns about contract from the time it was awarded in May 2017, until TEA Commissioner Mike Morath canceled it that December. TEA auditors originally dismissed those concerns in December 2017, saying in a memo “the accusations could not be substantiated, and the complainant's charges were made without basis and were not supportable.”
Dustin Rynders, supervising attorney for Disability Rights Texas’ education team, said the U.S. Department of Education’s decision confirmed that the SPEDx contract was flawed from the beginning.
“I also think TEA is consistently in a position to put out additional requests for proposals and contracts, I hope they learned lesson from this failed contract attempt and that money will be used to benefit students going forward,” Rynders said." Houston Chronicle
"Houston-area school boards consider changes to reopening plans following new TEA guidance,"The Houston Chronicle's Shelby Webb -- "School district leaders across Greater Houston are asking their boards this week to approve changes and resolutions in light of revised state guidance on how districts may reopen campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fort Bend, Channelview and Galveston ISD administrators have asked their trustees to approve tweaks to their 2020-2021 school year calendars; Friendswood ISD Superintendent Thad Roher will ask his board to OK the district’s reopening plan; and officials in Clear Creek ISD are asking the board for $771,600 to hire additional staff for their virtual schooling option.
In Conroe ISD, trustees are scheduled to vote Tuesday on a resolution asking the Texas Education Agency to suspend high-stakes State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, testing and to modify school accountability ratings for 2020-2021.
The discussions follow the TEA’s issuance of revised its guidance Friday on how campuses could reopen, giving districts more discretion on how and when to bring students back into actual classrooms. Schools now can keep all students learning remotely for the first four weeks of the school year, so long as they have the appropriate technology to learn online. Districts also can apply for a board-approved waiver that would allow them to continue distance learning for an additional four weeks.
Under the TEA’s previous guidance, districts only were allowed to have all students engage in online instruction for the first three weeks of 2020-2021.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo encouraged districts Monday to keep all students learning remotely for the full eight weeks that TEA will allow. The county health department has not ordered any campus closures, unlike health authorities in several counties in the Rio Grande Valley.
“In the absence of a widely available treatment or vaccine, our community must bring the virus under control before in-person instruction can safety resume,” Hidalgo wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “The faster we bring the virus under control and bring the ‘curve down,’ the sooner schools will be able reopen safely and stay open.”
Once schools reopen, they still will have to offer five days a week of in-person instruction to any family of a student in grades prekindergarten through eight. The new guidance, however, allows districts to keep high schoolers off campus for up to 60 percent of each grading period, as long as they have access to technology and are spending the rest of that time in virtual classes." Houston Chronicle
"Gov. Greg Abbott will toss virtual ‘first pitch’ at Texas Rangers’ opener Friday,"The Dallas Morning News' Robert Garrett -- "Gov. Greg Abbott has agreed to provide the virtual “first pitch” at the Texas Rangers’ season opener Friday, his spokesman confirmed Monday.
Abbott planned to videotape his delivery of the ceremonial first pitch on the grounds of the Texas Capitol late Monday, said spokesman John Wittman.
“We are doing tonight in front of the Capitol,” Wittman said in a text.
Asked what speed Abbott, who is right-handed, can throw a ball, Wittman joked, “98 mph!” The spokesman promised to let a reporter know.
The video of Abbott’s ceremonial first pitch will be played shortly before the Rangers play an interleague game against the Colorado Rockies at 7:05 p.m. CT Friday at the club’s new stadium, Globe Life Field in Arlington." Dallas Morning News
#TXLEGE
"‘Time is overdue’: Group of Democrats calls for removal of Confederate monuments at Texas Capitol,"The Dallas Morning News' James Barragan -- "A group of Democratic lawmakers on Monday called for the removal of Confederate memorials on the Texas Capitol’s grounds after weeks of protests against racism and police brutality this summer.
In a letter to the Republican leaders of the Senate and House administration committees, the Democrats on those committees called for the removal of seven monuments or memorials tied to the Confederacy. They pointed to the protests after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery as the catalyst for the discussion on racism.
“Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads — will we situate ourselves on the right side of history by removing these symbols of hostility, or will we continue to side with ‘tradition’ and ignore the ills of our past?” the Democrats wrote.
Rep. Carl Sherman, a freshman DeSoto Democrat who is Black, was among those who called for their removal.
“By maintaining idols and symbols of hate we are endorsing their body of work as deserving of high honor,” Sherman said in a statement. “It’s time to remove idols of men who did not love all men, nor did they believe that people of color were created equal by God. There has never been a time so right to do what’s right.”" Dallas Morning News
REMAINDERS
DALLAS COWBOYS: "McCarthy, Cowboys try to make up for lost time in 1st camp"AP
HOUSTON TEXANS: "Texans look to content for title with new-look offense" AP
'MACK ON POLITICS' PODCAST
LATEST "MACK ON POLITICS" PODCAST: The war in Afghanistan is the subject of our 195th episode.
In this conversation, we talk to Rod Lurie, director of the #1 film in America, “The Outpost”, which profiles the Battle of Kamdesh in 2009.
We explore how he came to direct the film, what techniques he tried to use, why the story was important to him, how, where and when the film was shot, how it was released, and what the response has been.
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:
June 10 - Boys State (Austin, TX)
Jan. 13 - Lago Vista GOP club (Lago Vista, TX)
Dec. 16 - Monthly Conservative Luncheon (Dallas, TX)
Oct. 7 - Texas Hotel & Lodging Association board meeting (Dallas, TX)
Sept. 26 - World Press Institute (Austin, TX)
Sept. 3 - Pflugerville Republican Club (Pflugerville, TX)