Knock me over with a bag full of unmarked bills.
Local governments could find their emergency powers hemmed in during future emergencies under recommendations proposed by a task force that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick set up.
State government needs an off-switch to end local disaster declarations if necessary and clarify what steps mayors, counties and school boards can take during an emergency, says the Texans Back to Work Task Force in its 114-page report.
“The recent shutdown showed how the principles of representative government can be thwarted when mayors and county judges have too much power in making unilateral decisions without the agreement of the rest of the executive body,” the report says.
The report comes as public pushback against emergency orders is increasing at all levels of government, particularly from conservatives.
[…]
“Obviously we’re not calling for a one-size-fits-all,” said Task Force Chairman Brint Ryan, founder and CEO of Ryan, LLC. “But if there was a framework, you know a conceptual framework or guidelines in place, then you could achieve that local control and local initiative without confusing businesses that have to operate in more than one locale.”
Patrick echoed that concern, saying “we can’t have this patchwork” where even cities in the same county can have different rules.
See here for the background. Just a reminder, there was a time when Greg Abbott thought it was just peachy keen for local officials to make their own decisions about stay at home orders, because “What is best in Dallas may not be best for Amarillo or Abilene.” Funny how these things work, isn’t it? Also as a reminder, those whiny conservatives are in the minority of public opinion. But Dan Patrick’s gonna Dan Patrick, and he chooses his megadonors wisely. We could have had this report the same day he named his task force, it’s not like they were going to come to any other conclusion.
There is a lot of strangeness going on. I find a certain irony in all of the people who accused Trump of being a dictator and having fascist tendencies, suddenly switch to criticize him for not taking control of everything and making directing everything to close and everyone to be locked in their homes.
A bit of a digression: what about all of these used masks littered everywhere? How sanitary is that? With all of the winds they are fluttering around. Not to mention that they have low esthetic value. It has been a problem apparently around the world:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckvaADyUyz8&t=76s
Jason,
Your brush stroke is too broad and a little disingenuous.
When Trump is acting like a dictator…he is acting and/or trying to be a dictator. Remember “absolute authority” comments.
When Trump, and his sycophantic lackeys, are egregiously dropping the ball on the legitimate need for a central, i.e. Federal, management of a national (see that word national) health crisis that is not being in control and it reasonable to criticize his mismanagement.
Jason making sure that Americans are safe is not a fascist thing. Have you inhaled the Lysol this morning or tried the flashlight shining where the sun does not shine yet, as recommend by that person you constantly defend.
brad and manny,
I do agree that Trump had the information before everyone else and took steps to minimize any risks, in fact, he said that we have “15 cases, they are recovering it will soon be zero.” That projection was a little off.
the role of the central government has been debated since the drafting of the constitution (see: The Federalist Papers). The federalists were in fact opposed to the Bill of Rights, being of the mind that listing specific rights of the people could be construed as limiting the rights to only those listed. Their intent was to use the constitution to describe the rights and duties of the federal government, and allowing all others to go to the states and the people. The role of the central government is still under debate.
BTW: I forgot to mention earlier, I heard this morning that the fly over today is rescheduled for Sunday afternoon. I know that there were some posting here interested in it.
Jason,
Trump says we are at war with an Invisible Enemy.
Is it the role of the individual states to fight this war or the Federal Government?
Republican tweet:
In a nutshell, Gov. Abbott Calls the actions of a Judge in Dallas excessive, when the Judge was acting based on Gov. Abbott’s order. Gov. Abbott is now upset that a private citizen is in jail for operating a private business, which is a consequence of his order. 3/5 #Txlege
— Rep. Mike Lang (@RepMikeLang) May 6, 2020
Jason a little off, surely you are joking.
76,000 and counting, even the idiot Trump who low balls numbers said 3,000 death a day by June. We are at 2,000 a day plus now, do the math at how many people will die because the idiot that you constantly defend did not do what any reasonable person would have done, prepare for what was coming.
To give you an idea, when we entered WWII the day following Pearl Harbor millions of American men were called up via the selective service. But we had a president that was not an idiot or followed by idiots.
Being told you are going to have to serve whether one wants to or not, is really taking your freedom away, not that bullshit that mostly white racist men and women are yelling about now a days.