Gavel To Gavel 87th Legislative Session: December 11, 2020
Until recently, we’ve had very little in the way of specifics regarding House and Senate procedures during the pandemic. This week we received valuable insight on the measures that have been decided and those that remain outstanding for both chambers.
House Administration Chair Rep. Charlie Geren had a discussion with the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (TTARA) about the lower chamber’s status on pandemic procedures for the 87th Legislative Session. He established upfront that little has been decided. They have installed plexiglass dividers in all the committee rooms and ordered air purification systems for the committee rooms, conference rooms and offices. Purification filters have been installed in the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system in the chamber.
Outstanding questions include committees meeting every week or every other week, fewer members of the public allowed in the gallery, virtual testimony, masks and testing, reserving a portion of the gallery for members that are uncomfortable being on the floor, and remote voting, the software for which has already been purchased. A rules group comprising Reps. Ana Hernandez, Todd Hunter, Brooks Landgraf, and Joe Moody is working on virtual testimony and remote voting. When asked about redistricting, Rep. Geren said he believed that would be a special session issue, as the numbers are unlikely to arrive until July.
Similar to the House, the Senate is still working through their process. The Quorum Report obtained notes taken from a two-day Senate GOP Caucus wherein pandemic procedure was discussed at length. Here is what was reported by QR (amended slightly for brevity): There will be a shorter-than-usual ceremony for the start of the session; the Senate will take off the week of January 18th; the Senate Finance Committee will begin its meetings the week of January 25th; and those testifying in-person will be required to sign up online three days in advance, they’ll need to test 24 hours in advance, and they will receive a QR code they’ll have to show at the entrance to the Texas Capitol. Follow this link for the complete list.
One outstanding question for the Senate is remote voting. The Quorum Report states that the information provided here appears to apply to the first 60 days of session. We will continue to report on the progress of both chambers.
In other news for the Legislature, we have some rapid-fire updates for both the House and Senate, including appointments, elections and answers to areas of uncertainty:
The Texas House GOP Caucus elected Representative Jim Murphy as Chairman, Representative Tom Oliverson as Vice-Chair, Representative Craig Goldman as Treasurer, and Representative Candy Noble as Secretary.
Sharon Carter and Hugh Brady will continue to serve as the Texas House Parliamentarians.
In the Senate, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced that he has appointed Sen. Eddie Lucio to serve as vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He will be replacing Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa. Sen. Hinojosa has been the vice chairman for seven consecutive sessions.
The Governor’s office has also been active with a flurry of new appointments to different commissions and boards, and yesterday he announced three new members of his staff. Dr. John Zerwas will serve as special advisor and Steve Munisteri and Mark Miner as senior advisors. Dr. Zerwas resigned as a State Representative just last year after having served in the Texas House of Representatives since 2007. Munisteri’s credentials include serving as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas and as a campaign advisory to U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Mark Miner was the communications director for the Republican National Committee, and the senior advisor and communications director to former Texas Governor and former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
For our COVID-19 news, two important announcements have come out of the Governor’s office this week. First, the Governor and the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) launched a COVID-19 Rapid Testing Pilot Program for front line workers of small businesses. The program is intended to help small businesses conduct rapid testing of employees and mitigate the spread of the virus. Local Chamber of Commerce organizations will receive testing supplies from TDEM, and will then allocate the supplies to the local small business and their employees that choose to participate.
Second, the Governor announced that Texas will participate in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, a federal COVID-19 vaccination program for residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Staff and Pfizer vaccines from partnering Walgreens and CVS locations will be sent to facilities to vaccinate residents and volunteering staff, at no cost to the facilities. Long-term care facilities that have not enrolled in the pharmacy program may choose to enroll with the Texas Department of State Health Services' (DSHS) Immunization Program.
Lastly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) gave the green light to the Pfizer vaccine, clearing the way for the FDA to approve it last night. Roughly 2.9 million doses are expected to be distributed within the first week. This is fantastic news as COVID-19 hits record highs throughout the country.