GovWin SLED Coronavirus Recon

Word on the Street

(What our Analysts are hearing from government)

• District of Columbia’s FOIA deadlines may be extended during this period of time for which the Mayor has declared a public health emergency. This is pursuant to section 503 of the COVID-19 Response Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, effective March 17, 2020.
• The California Department of General Services (DGS) has chosen to postpone the second RFI for tablets due to COVID-19. The first RFI was released in January 2020 and they were supposed to release a second RFI with cost worksheets prior to releasing an RFP this month.

General 

• Maryland launches cybersecurity task force for extra protection during pandemic
  • The state has created a new cybersecurity task force made up of Maryland National Guard members and officials from the state Department of Information Technology. The new team is responsible for monitoring state government websites — such as the portal for unemployment benefits — to make sure that the public can still access state services and public-health updates.
• Maryland Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rumor Control Page Launches
  • The Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), in partnership with the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), and the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT), today launched the Maryland Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rumor Control Page.
•  (Oklahoma) COVID-19 briefs
  • U.S. Department of Education has granted preliminary approval of Oklahoma waivers allowing public school districts greater flexibility in the spending of existing federal funds
• (Arizona) Gov. Ducey implements more restrictions for out-of-state amid COVID-19 pandemic
  • Travelers who come from an “area with substantial community spread through any airport in the state” are required to be quarantined or isolated for 14 days
• (Arkansas) Governor Gives Local Officials More Power to Control COVID-19 Spread:
  • Gov. Hutchinson of AR issues amendment to an executive order allowing city and county officials more leeway to take local action in preventing the spread of COVID-19 including reasonable city or county curfews and closures of city or county owned parks and facilities.
• California to Spend Nearly $1B for 200 Million Masks Per Month
• Minnesota Secretary of State Pushes COVID-19 Election Changes:
  • Min. Secretary of State Steve Simon has proposed legislation that would expand mail-in voting, change the location of vulnerable polling places and reduce in-person polling places.
  • The proposal would use $400 million of the state’s election-related funding as a part of the $2.2 trillion relief package approved by Congress.
• (Virginia) Northam pushes elections back
  • Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced he is pushing the state’s June 9 congressional primary back by two weeks to June 23. As governor, he has the authority to make this move. In addition, he is recommending local and special elections set for May to be pushed back to November. That move requires action by the General Assembly, which is returning to session April 22.
• DC Council passes COVID-19 relief bill with rent freeze, consumer protections
  • Meeting remotely for the first time in its 45-year history, the D.C. Council on Tuesday unanimously passed its second emergency COVID-19 relief bill, a measure that establishes a rent freeze and mortgage payment deferrals, an expansion of unemployment insurance and more.

Funding & Economic Impact 

• Idaho Panel to Oversee $1.25 Billion Virus Rescue Package
  • (New York) NYC rolls out $1.3B in budget cuts with big hits to education and social services
  • New York’s City Hall recently detailed its plans to cut $1.3 billion from its spending plans due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cuts stretch across the massive municipal bureaucracy, including education, transportation, social services and benefit programs, according to a detailed list released by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.
• Coronavirus: After hospital cuts, Baker administration invests $800 million to health care providers for COVID-19 response
  • Gov. Charlie Baker announced the $800 million infusion and acknowledged that hospitals were hit hard by the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
• (Washington) Small business owners look to grants, loans to recover from COVID-19 pandemic
  • In an announcement Tuesday, Governor Jay Inslee said the state is offering up to $10,000 in emergency funding for small businesses.
• (Ohio) COVID-19 funding available to qualified families in Montgomery County
  • Families with children 18 years old or younger can apply for special COVID-19 relief funds under the Prevention, Retention, and Contingency (PRC) program through Montgomery County Job & Family Services.
• Foundation creates COVID-19 relief fund for Virginia college students
  • The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges has created a $500,000 COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund to help college students at VFIC schools to help those impacted by the pandemic.
• (Illinois) Cook County announces $10 million COVID-19 relief fund for suburban businesses, gig workers
  • Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced a $10 million immediate relief fund for suburban businesses and gig workers on Tuesday, building on ongoing efforts crafted to help those hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
• (San Diego) SD Mayor Announces Emergency State Funds to Protect Homeless from COVID-19
  • More than $7 million in emergency state funding has been secured for the San Diego region to help protect the homeless population amid the coronavirus pandemic, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced Tuesday.
• Lawmakers Seek $2B Broadband Aid As Part Of COVID Funds
  • A bipartisan group of lawmakers urged congressional leadership to dedicate funding in any future emergency aid legislation to keep students and low-income families online during the deadly coronavirus pandemic, citing recently introduced bills seeking $2 billion for this purpose.
• Health and Human Services Announces Upcoming Funding Action to Provide $186 Million for COVID-19 Response
  • The Department of Health and Humans Services announced an upcoming action by the CDC to provide $186 million in funding for additional resources to state and local jurisdictions in support of our nation’s response to COVID-19
• WATCH: Massachusetts Will Spend $800 Million To Shore Up Hospitals And Other Health Care Providers
  • The Baker administration will direct another $800 million to the Massachusetts health care industry, with funding to be distributed to recipients over the next four months
• (Alaska) Governor signs budget, vetoes millions he says will be covered by federal COVID-19 relief
  • Vetoed funding related to education and schooling, community assistance, Medicaid, and transportation
• (New Jersey) Smith Announces $2.4M in CARES Act Emergency Funds for Lakewood Health Centers
  • Two community health centers in Lakewood have been awarded an added $2.4 million in federal funds to help combat the impact of the coronavirus, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) announced today.
  • The funding follows more than $4.5 million in emergency funding awarded last week to local governments in the Fourth Congressional District by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Most of the funding came in the form HUD’s CDBG “COVID-19 Recovery” funding. Monmouth County was awarded $1,595,421; Ocean County, $820,810; Lakewood Township, $835,784; Hamilton Township, $398,638, and; Middletown Township, $156,171. Additionally, Monmouth County was awarded $752,907 in HUD Emergency Shelter Grant funding.
• Nashville schools asked to explore $100M budget cut as coronavirus takes economic toll
  • Mayor John Cooper has asked Nashville schools to explore ways to potentially cut up to $100 million from its current budget as the coronavirus continues to take a toll on the city's revenue collections.
  • As non-essential businesses remain closed and Nashville residents are spending less time outside, city officials are forecasting a $200 million to $300 million shortfall in expected taxes and other revenue for the current fiscal year.
  • That could mean significant cuts to funding for schools, given that education makes up the largest portion of the city budget.

Procurement

• GM signs DPA contract on ventilators
  • GM is to deliver 30,000 ventilators to the Strategic National Stockpile by the end of August.

Technology

• Legislative Watch: The Rise of Drones During the Pandemic

Higher Education

• (New York) Debt Relief for 300,000 Private Borrowers in N.Y.
  • Andrew Cuomo, New York's Democratic governor, announced the state will offer relief to 300,000 borrowers who took out private student loans.
  • Those borrowers were excluded from the $2.2 trillion federal stimulus bill, which allowed most other student loan borrowers to avoid making payments for six months, without interest.
• (Association of Public and Land-grant Universities) APLU Urges Congress to Provide Additional Emergency Aid for Students, Universities, and Research
  • APLU) today called on Congress to expand emergency coronavirus relief to support the nation’s public research universities in its phase-four coronavirus relief bill.
  • The request contains $47 billion in emergency funding for students and institutions through the funds disbursement mechanism set up in the CARES Act
• Call for Lottery-Style College Admissions
  • Many colleges and universities have gone test optional in college admissions amid the coronavirus crisis, which also is wreaking havoc with large numbers of high school transcripts.
  • That combination likely means admissions staff members at selective colleges will have "extraordinary discretion" in making decisions about whom to admit
• Law Schools and Coronavirus: Bar Exemptions and More
  • The American Bar Association's Board of Governors passed a policy resolution this week urging state licensing authorities to allow 2019 and 2020 law graduates who can’t take the July bar exam to practice law in a limited capacity.
  • Some jurisdictions already have canceled the July administration of the test due to COVID-19.

K-12 Education

• States Can Ask to Use Existing Federal Education Funds for Remote Learning Tech
• Coronavirus Relief: These States Have Received Education Spending Waivers
  • As of April 8, 28 states had requested and been approved for that funding flexibility, the U.S. Department of Education announced.
• Charter Schools Eye Coronavirus Relief Aimed at Small Businesses
  • Some charter schools may qualify for programs in the federal coronavirus relief package that aim to aid small businesses affected by the pandemic
  • Charter schools have faced pushback from charter critics who believe those funds should be directed to businesses—like restaurants and retail stores—that have had to close their doors and lose revenue as the nation tries to slow the spread of the virus.
• (Kentucky Department of Education) Kentucky will get $2.4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief. Here’s what it pays for.
  • $203 million will go to Education Stabilization Funds to help Kentucky’s K-12 schools pay for their virus response, such as coordinating their long-term school closures and purchasing technology for online learning by all students.

Health Care

• New York sees record 1-day rise in COVID-19 deaths
  • On April 7, New York reported its highest death toll in a single day – 731 deaths in 24 hours. This is also the highest one-day death toll anywhere in the US. New York continues to bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, with 138,836 cases and 5,589 deaths overall.
• (Michigan) Thousands of metro Detroit health care workers sickened in coronavirus pandemic
  • Thousands of health care workers are getting sick — and at least five have died — at some of the state's biggest health systems as the COVID-19 case count continues to surge in Michigan, exacerbating a growing shortage of medical staff.
• Coronavirus May Permanently Change California Health Care
  • The coronavirus has fundamentally shifted how people receive and deliver routine medical help in California, as there has been an incredible spike in telemedicine across the state and particularly in the Bay Area.
• Expanding Telemental Health in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • With the expansion of telehealth, mental health services should also be included in remote healthcare.
• 23% of positive COVID-19 cases in Iowa are health care workers
  • Health care workers on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19 account for about 23% of all positive cases in Iowa, state officials said Tuesday.

Social Services 

• (California) CA Insurance Commissioner Issues Alert About Immigrant Workers’ Eligibility for Workers’ Comp Benefits for COVID-19 Exposure or Illness
  • Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara alerted insurance companies that all workers affected by COVID-19 on the job are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits regardless of their immigration status
• Florida unemployment system upgraded, DEO now faces backlog of claims

Justice/Public Safety

• (Minnesota) Minnesota Police Groups Call for Coronavirus Data Sharing
  • Police groups in Minnesota are asking for the locations of COVID-19 infections to be shared with them, so that they can respond to calls with the proper precautions.
• 911 call centers have enough capacity so far, but upgrades are delayed
  • With call volumes to 911 surging, the phone systems are proving resilient during the coronavirus pandemic. However the pandemic is prompting emergency call centers to delay upgrades and system testing. These delays are expected to be short term, but take caution on the timeline.
• Opinion: Masks Are a Temporary Barrier to Facial Recognition
  • In this opinion piece, the topic of facial recognition with the likely increased use of face masks is discussed. The author suspects that facial recognition software will become more common as a result of face masks becoming part of our everyday lives, and that tech companies are already working on identifying faces even with a mask covering part of it.
• Stop and disperse! N.J. city will use drones to yell at people not social distancing.
  • The Elizabeth Police Department will begin to use drones with a recorded message from the mayor telling residents to socially distance and go home amid the spread of the coronavirus.

Transportation

• (Florida) Autonomous Shuttles Find Work in Fight Against Coronavirus
  • Autonomous shuttles are being used to transport viral tests and supplies at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. This frees up staff for to be available for other duties and is a forward looking opportunity for autonomous shuttles.
  • Transit agencies across the United States continue to make adjustments and cuts to services offered, below is a list of recent changes to services at transit agencies in Missouri, Michigan and Washington:
• (Missouri) MO: KC transit agency cuts bus service, part-time drivers due to stay-at-home order
• (Michigan) MI: Starting Tuesday, SMART shuttles replace buses on 'commuter' routes
• (Washington) WA: Intercity Transit to require reservations starting next week due to COVID-19
• (California) Coronavirus: Port of LA Sees Lowest Shipping Numbers Since 2009

Public Utilities

• Utilities move to delay rate case proceedings during pandemic
  • Several utilities have asked for their rate increases to be delayed given the current ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
• 'Horrible.' Coronavirus unravels energy efficiency industry
  • Utilities and state energy agencies have halted programs that help homeowners and business owners pay for new installations and building retrofits. The Department of Energy has encouraged local nonprofit grantees, some of which contract out to small third-party companies, to suspend or "severely limit" low-income weatherization activities, with the vast majority of grantees electing to do so, according to a recent DOE notice.
  • State governors have also in some cases shut down in-person construction work, which accounts for about half of the industry's workforce. Nearly all residential projects are on pause nationwide, according to several industry associations.

Community Development/Housing

• Massive Effort to Get Los Angeles Homeless into Hotels
• (California) Some on LA City Council Back Blanket Evictions Ban Amid Coronavirus Crisis