News and Information 

Feel like you’ve got too much information coming at you too often?  You’re not alone. The Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool introduces the Local Officials:  Stronger, Together Podcast Series! The Pool is producing this regular podcast series (dubbedSTP) to help local officials (and their managers and employees) understand key legal concepts in just 15 minutes or less per episode.  

After arming you with that information, each episode will give you easy action items to help keep your citizens, employees, volunteers, and property safe, all while saving public dollars.    

Our first episodes – “Local Governments and Firearms: Avoiding a Jam” and “Sewage Backups: Know Before You Go” – are now available at www.tmlirp.org by clicking on the Stronger, Together Podcasts link on the front page.  Comprehensive written materials with additional information accompany each episode. 

City councilmembers can earn up to 19 Texas Municipal League Institute CEUs for listening to the podcasts. To receive CEUs for a particular episode, an elected official must provide a description of the episode, which must be educational in nature, pertain to municipal leadership, and should enhance your service as an elected official, for TML approval. 

Attorneys who listen to podcasts may be eligible for up to three hours of self-study CLE credit.  Please refer to the State Bar CLE compliance rules for more information.

Scott Houston, the Pool’s Member Liaison, is your podcast host.  After serving the Texas Municipal League for over 20 years, the last half as general counsel, Scott now serves as member liaison for the Pool and part-time special counsel to the Texas Municipal League. Educating city officials has been Scott’s passion for two decades, and the STP Series is an excited new way to do so.  We plan to eventually provide analysis and written materials on dozens and dozens of topics.

Questions or comments?  Visit www.tmlirp.org, call 512-791-4158, or email scott.houston@tmlirp.org. 

Catalytic Converters: GONE in 120 Seconds!

Did you know theft of catalytic converters is on the rise? According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), catalytic converter thefts have increased significantly across the country, and Pool members have been the victim of this theft. Read more

Texas Legislature: A Quick Pool-Related Update 

With only weeks remaining in the regular Texas legislative session, most of the 7,000 filed bills won’t pass. Of course, some will, and here’s a quick look at bills of interest to Pool members that are moving through the process:

Disaster Orders: Last month’s newsletter reported on a bill that would clarify the division of state and local powers during a pandemic. On March 11, a House committee held a hearing on H.B.3 (Burrows), known as the “Texas Pandemic Response Act.” Since then, however, no further action has been taken. That means the bill is likely dead, although its provisions could still be amended onto other legislation.

But another bill, H.B. 1656 (Murphy), is moving and would provide that a disaster order issued by the governor preempts and supersedes the order of a mayor or county judge.

“Defunding” the Police: Efforts to prohibit a city from reducing its police budget year-over-year continue. For example, H.B. 2438 (Meyer) would cap the property tax rate of a city that does so. In addition, S.B. 23 (Huffman) would require a city to hold an election prior to reducing law enforcement funding, with certain exceptions.  Finally, H.B. 1900 (Goldman) may be a bill that “gets legs,” although that’s unclear at this time.

Disease Presumption:  Since the pandemic began, the Pool has treated first-responder COVID-19 claims as presumption claims under the workers’ compensation law.  S.B. 22 (Springer) and H.B. 541 (Patterson) would require that such claims be treated as such. A related bill, H.B. 2242 (Patterson), would require a city to pay a police officer or firefighter for leave taken due to a disease contracted while on duty, with some exceptions.  

State Legislature Police Reform:  Since the last newsletter, Congress hasn’t taken additional federal action on qualified immunity or similar law enforcement reform.  At the Texas legislature,

H.B. 1089 (Reynolds) would create an additional state cause of action against a law enforcement officer and raise the current caps in the Tort Claims Act. Another bill, H.B. 88 (Thompson), would also create a state law cause of action. Both bills appear to be stalled in committee, however. 

The Texas Legislature is now considering a bill to clarify the division of powers during a pandemic. On March 3, a committee of the Texas House of Representatives held a hearing on H.B.3, known as the “Texas Pandemic Response Act.” 

Rather than amend the Texas Disaster Act, which is the current law authorizing the governor and mayors and county judges to act during other types of disasters, the bill creates an entirely new law relating only to pandemics.

Among many other things, the 19-page bill would:

• provide that any local order is void if it is inconsistent with the governor’s or Department of State Health Services’ actions.
• prohibit a political subdivision’s election officials from changing any voting procedures, unless they first obtain approval from the secretary of state.
• provide that, if a mayor requires the closure of a business during a pandemic, the city’s property tax revenue may be capped.

The bill would also allow the governor to “temporarily reassign resources, personnel, or functions of state agencies and political subdivisions for the purpose of performing or facilitating emergency services during a pandemic disaster.”  The breadth of that power remains unclear.

The bill will soon move on to debate by the full Texas House, and the Pool – in coordination with the Texas Municipal League – will continue to monitor and provide input on it and similar disaster-related legislation. 

Police Reform:  A Quick Additional Update

Last month’s newsletter reported that some federal and state legislators want to change how police officers defend against claims of alleged misconduct.  That defense is known as “qualified immunity (QI), which protects an officer from excessive force claims if his actions were reasonable considering court decisions governing similar situations.

Last summer, the U.S. House passed “The George Floyd Act,” which would limit the use of QI. The Act now appears to be bogged down in the Senate, with QI being the main sticking point. 

Texas legislators have introduced similar legislation, which would ban chokeholds and require an officer to intervene if another officer uses excessive force.  The legislation would also eliminate QI, but it appears to be in trouble as well. 

While some legislators believe police officers should be more accountable for their actions, strong opposition from state leaders, police organizations, and others may mean the chances of wholesale changes to QI are slim.

The Pool will continue to monitor any legislative activity on police reform.

Member Spotlight

The City of Live Oak had noticed a rise in the number of workers’ compensation claims and injuries due to work-related accidents. The Safety Committee introduced a program called the Safety Spot to promote safety awareness. The program detailed that any time there were three or more employees meeting together, one would volunteer a safety tip to help those in the meeting prevent work related accidents. Read more

Service In Focus

Cyber Security Awareness Training
It’s time to complete your annual cyber training. The annual cyber training requirement is due to the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) by June 15. The Pool’s cyber security training will not change for this year and is DIR approved.  You can access this training through the Pool’s website, Youtube channel, or online learning center.