Posted on 03/02/2021 12:47:10 PM PST by The Pack Knight
EXECUTIVE ORDER
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF TEXAS
Executive Department Austin, Texas March 2, 2021
EXECUTIVE ORDER GA34 Relating to the opening of Texas in response to the COVID-19 disaster.
WHEREAS, I, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, issued a disaster proclamation on March 13, 2020, certifying under Section 418.014 of the Texas Government Code that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) poses an imminent threat of disaster for all counties in the State of Texas; and
WHEREAS, in each subsequent month effective through today, I have renewed the disaster declaration for all Texas counties; and
WHEREAS, I have issued executive orders and suspensions of Texas laws in response to COVID-19, aimed at protecting the health and safety of Texans and ensuring an effective response to this disaster; and
WHEREAS, I issued Executive Order GA-08 on March 19, 2020, mandating social distancing restrictions in accordance with guidelines promulgated by President Donald J. Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and
WHEREAS, I subsequently issued a series of superseding executive orders aiming to achieve the least restrictive means of combatting the evolving threat to public health by adjusting social-distancing restrictions while implementing a safe, strategic plan to reopen Texas; and
WHEREAS, under Executive Order GA-32, in effect since October 14, 2020, most establishments have been able to operate up to at least 75 percent of total occupancy, except in some areas with high hospitalizations as defined in that order, where most establishments have been able to operate up to at least 50 percent of total occupancy; and
WHEREAS, I also issued Executive Order GA-29, regarding the use of face coverings to control the spread of COVID-19, and a series of executive orders, most recently GA-31, limiting certain medical surgeries and procedures; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 hospitalizations and the rate of new COVID-19 cases have steadily declined due to the millions of Texans who have voluntarily been vaccinated, many more who are otherwise immune, improved medical treatments for COVID-19 patients, abundant supplies of testing and personal protective equipment, and Texans' adherence to safe practices like social distancing, hand sanitizing, and use of face coverings; and
WHEREAS, in the Texas Disaster Act of 1975, the legislature charged the governor with the responsibility "for meeting ... the dangers to the state and people presented by disasters" under Section 418.0 l l of the Texas Government Code, and expressly granted the governor broad authority to fulfill that responsibility; and
WHEREAS, under Section 418.012, the "governor may issue executive orders ... hav[ing] the force and effect of law;" NOW, THEREFORE, I, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, and in accordance with guidance from medical advisors, do hereby order the following on a statewide basis effective at 12:0 l a.m. on March 10, 2021:
l. In all counties not in an area with high hospitalizations as defined below: a. there are no COVID-19-related operating limits for any business or other establishment; and b. individuals are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings over the nose and mouth wherever it is not feasible to maintain six feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household, but no person may be required by any jurisdiction to wear or to mandate the wearing of a face covering.
"Area with high hospitalizations" means any Trauma Service Area that has had seven consecutive days in which the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients as a percentage of total hospital capacity exceeds 15 percent, until such time as the Trauma Service Area has seven consecutive days in which the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients as a percentage of total hospital capacity is 15 percent or less. A current list of areas with high hospitalizations will be maintained at www .dshs.texas.gov/ga3031.
2. In any county located in an area with high hospitalizations as defined above: a. there are no state-imposed COVID-19-related operating limits for any business or other establishment; b. there is no state-imposed requirement to wear a face covering; and c. the county judge may use COVID-19-related mitigation strategies; provided, however. that: i. business and other establishments may not be required to operate at less than 50 percent of total occupancy, with no operating limits allowed to be imposed for religious services (including those conducted in churches, congregations, and houses of worship), public and private schools and institutions of higher education, and child-care services; 11. no jurisdiction may impose confinement in jail as a penalty for violating any order issued in response to COVID-19; and iii. no jurisdiction may impose a penalty of any kind for failure to wear a face covering or failure to mandate that customers or employees wear face coverings, except that a legally authorized official may act to enforce trespassing laws and remove violators at the request of a business establishment or other property owner.
3. In providing or obtaining services, every person (including individuals, businesses, and other legal entities) is strongly encouraged to use good-faith efforts and available resources to follow the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) health recommendations, found at www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus.
4. Nothing in this executive order precludes businesses or other establishments from requiring employees or customers to follow additional hygiene measures, including the wearing of a face covering.
5. Nursing homes, state supported living centers, assisted living facilities, and long-term care facilities should follow guidance from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) regarding visitations, and should follow infection control policies and practices set forth by HHSC, including minimizing the movement of staff between facilities whenever possible.
6. Public schools may operate as provided by, and under the minimum standard health protocols found in, guidance issued by the Texas Education Agency. Private schools and institutions of higher education are encouraged to establish similar standards.
7. County and municipal jails should follow guidance from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards regarding visitations.
8. Executive Orders GA-17, GA-25, GA-29, and GA-31 are rescinded in their entirety.
9. This executive order shall supersede any conflicting order issued by local officials in response to the COVID-19 disaster, but only to the extent that such a local order restricts services allowed by this executive order or allows gatherings restricted by this executive order. Pursuant to Section 418.016(a) of the Texas Government Code, I hereby suspend Sections 418. l O l 5(b) and 418.108 of the Texas Government Code, Chapter 81, Subchapter E of the Texas Health and Safety Code, and any other relevant statutes, to the extent necessary to ensure that local officials do not impose restrictions in response to the COVID-19 disaster that are inconsistent with this executive order, provided that local officials may enforce this executive order as well as local restrictions that are consistent with this executive order.
10. All existing state executive orders relating to COVID-19 are amended to eliminate confinement in jail as an available penalty for violating the executive orders. To the extent any order issued by local officials in response to the COVID-19 disaster would allow confinement in jail as an available penalty for violating a COVID-19-related order, that order allowing confinement in jail is superseded, and I hereby suspend all relevant laws to the extent necessary to ensure that local officials do not confine people in jail for violating any executive order or local order issued in response to the COVID- 19 disaster. This executive order supersedes Executive Orders GA- 17, GA-25, GA-29, GA-31, and GA-32, but does not supersede Executive Orders GA-10 or GA- 13. This executive order shall remain in effect and in full force unless it is modified, amended, rescinded, or superseded by the governor. This executive order may also be amended by proclamation of the governor.
Given under my hand this the 2nd day of March, 2021.
GREG ABBOTT Governor
A couple points:
There are no further statewide restrictions. However, counties in hospital regions with "high hospitalization" may still impose some local restrictions, but no mask mandates.
Currently only six counties, all along the border, are in "high hospitalization" areas: Culberson, El Paso, and Hudspeth Counties in Trauma Service Area I around El Paso, and Jim Hogg, Webb, and Zapata Counties in Trauma Service Area T around Laredo.
Businesses may still require people to wear masks, and local law enforcement may enforce trespassing laws at the request of businesses.
Jail may not be imposed as a punishment for violation of any state or local executive orders.
Most important takeaway: Laws allowing county judges and other local governments to declare disasters or impose restrictions are suspended so that they cannot impose their own restrictions. So my own County Judge, Lina Hidalgo in Harris County, is out of luck.
Dallas’s little hitler Clay Jenkins will keep them going.
So no mask requirements?
What will this mean for Austin?
Businesses may still require people to wear masks...
Now that will be a problem...
He can't impose any restrictions at all, per this order. Only county judges in the six counties in "high hospitalization" areas can do anything, and all they can do is 50% capacity restrictions, not mask mandates. Dallas is not one of those six counties.
No mask mandates at all. No statewide mandates, and local governments are prohibited from them. Businesses can still require masks, though.
Businesses may require
And they will lose money
Raise holy hell when they do
Push back
You can push back till the cops come
Then leave
We don’t have to stand for this crap any more
The same as it means for Houston, Dallas, and other blue areas that aren’t in “high hospitalization” hospital regions: The county judges and mayors may not impose any restrictions.
Statewide Mask Mandate in Texas has been Lifted
https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1366846908480815106?s=20
I asked because I was under the impression the mayor of Austin had rendered some pretty strict restrictions.......and wondered if he would comply with the Governor.
“Businesses may still require people to wear masks...
Now that will be a problem...”
Yep. So now is the time we find out which businesses do not need to remain in business.
He might not want to, but the order applies to him and the Attorney General has proven to be pretty aggressive in suing local governments who fail to comply with executive orders.
The Harris County Judge wasted no time in whining about it herself.
“Currently only six counties, all along the border, are in “high hospitalization” areas: Culberson, El Paso, and Hudspeth Counties in Trauma Service Area I around El Paso, and Jim Hogg, Webb, and Zapata Counties in Trauma Service Area T around Laredo.
VERY glad to see power being stripped from the tyrannical county judges - Nelson Wolfe here in Bexar is a typical liberal POS who LOVES to exercise power over others, probably no differently than the CJs in other large counties.
Woke Businesses will now call the police to force people who refuse to virtue signal out the door.
But at least customers can say no thanks...without the force of “law” behind them, I suspect most businesses will drop those requirements pretty quickly.
I think that has pretty much been the case throughout: In terms of per-capita numbers, Covid in Texas has almost entirely been focused in the Valley and El Paso—the populated border regions. The urban counties had lots of cases just based on their populations—I am in Houston, and I only know a few people who have had it.
Article says mask mandate lifts next Wednesday.. I’m gonna throw mine in the ocean and catch endangered turtles around the neck.
Exactly. Why mask up when you can just do business elsewhere? I’m so happy about this!!
Abbott facing a primary challenge and the Snowzilla electric rate disaster.
Not good enough. He’s equivocating as usual. When the predictable leftist outcry ensues, he’ll tighten the restrictions again. Abbott is nothing but a RINO squish.
I guess the one good thing that came out of that electricity debacle could be this. It’s obvious, given the comparisons done between California and Florida, that masks,limited capacity and all the rest of the BS that has been imposed on us, makes very little difference. Just does massive damage in other ways.
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