GovWin SLED Coronavirus Recon

General

• (Iowa) Gov. Reynolds signs new proclamation continuing the State Public Health Emergency Declaration
  • Today, Governor Reynolds signed a new proclamation continuing the Public Health Disaster Emergency until June 25, 2020. As previously announced, the proclamation permits bars, wineries, breweries, distilleries, and social and fraternal clubs may reopen on May 28 with the same public health measures as restaurants in place.
• Kansas governor vetoes limits on her power but loosens rules
  • Gov. Laura Kelly not only killed a bill approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature last week but also issued a new state-of- emergency declaration to replace one set to expire Tuesday night. Many Republicans question whether she has the legal authority to do that — and retain the governor's broad emergency powers — so her action is likely to keep an intense partisan dispute burning and risk a potential court challenge.
• Arizona Senate adjourns without taking up coronavirus bills
  • The Arizona Senate's plan to pass a series of House bills and possibly consider two pieces of coronavirus-related legislation were upended Tuesday when a majority of members abruptly voted to adjourn for the year.
• New York City asks ISPs, technology companies to help close digital divide
  • As the coronavirus pandemic forces residents to work, learn and receive health care over their home internet connections, New York City is asking internet service providers and other technology companies for ideas to close a digital divide that still leaves millions of residents in nation’s biggest city without high-speed internet.
• Hawaii Hits Public Health Benchmarks, But Reopening Plan Requires Longer Wait
  • The state is slated June 1 to enter the act-with-care yellow phase, which allows for the reopening of medium-risk activities and businesses.

Funding & Economic Impact

• Report: Up to $1.5 billion Wyoming revenue hit amid COVID-19
  • Collapsing energy prices and the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to cost Wyoming up to $1.5 billion in revenue over the next two years, preliminary estimates released Tuesday show.
  • That alone would yield an $877 million state general fund shortfall over the next two years — equivalent to the entire state government payroll or all spending on public education, state Budget Director Don Richards said in a report to the Legislature's Joint Revenue Committee.
• (North Carolina) Gov. Cooper appoints Kinston native to oversee COVID-19 county funding
  • Governor Roy Cooper announced that $85.4 million in federal funds provided for COVID-19 relief to counties will be disbursed to counties.
  • The North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office was established to coordinate and oversee funds made available through federal and state COVID-19 recovery legislation.
•  (Pennsylvania) Facing nearly $5 billion shortfall, Pa. lawmakers plan to pass short-term budget
  • With the true financial fallout from the coronavirus still unknown, and the prospects for recovery uncertain, the Pennsylvania legislature is on track to approve a temporary, five-month spending plan that does not raise taxes and keeps funding level for all state departments.
• (Massachusetts) Boston creates $6M coronavirus fund for small businesses reopening safety costs
  • The city of Boston is rolling out $6 million in grants for small businesses ready to reopen, with the cash aimed at helping owners pay for the protective equipment and other measures they’ll need to start back up.
• Amid Kentucky budget struggles, McConnell wants restrictions on federal assistance to states
  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’ll only support sending more federal funds to state and local governments if the money is spent on responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Homeland Dems critique House pandemic relief bill for excluding state cyber aid
  • Three Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee, including the panel’s chairman, sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi again asking that explicit cybersecurity funding for state and local governments be included in the next round of federal aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• (North Carolina) COVID-19 funds to be disbursed to NC counties for public health and essential services
  • Governor Roy Cooper announced $85.4 million in federal funds provided for COVID-19 relief will be disbursed to counties across the state
• (South Dakota) Noem previews plan to spend $1.25 billion coronavirus relief
  • Governor Noem says she will disburse the $1.25 billion the state has received towards health care, small businesses, education and local governments
• Miami plans to freeze hiring, postpone projects to weather COVID-19 budget crunch
  • Miami’s city government is proposing a nearly citywide hiring freeze, postponing asphalt repairs at the Miami Marine Stadium and trimming budgets across all municipal departments to address a projected $19 million shortfall amid the economic downturn in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Higher Education

• (Indiana) Purdue University’s campus will reopen in August. Here’s what that could look like.
  • The President of Indiana’s second largest four-year university says coronavirus poses “zero lethal threat” to young students as the university plans to open in the fall. Implementations include: mandatory masks in buildings and crowded areas, the semester ending prior to thanksgiving, de-densify living and learning spaces, and enhanced disinfecting procedures on campus.
• (Pennsylvania) Facing nearly $5 billion shortfall, Pa. lawmakers plan to pass short-term budget
  • The state continues to be on track to approve a five-month spending plan to weather coronavirus economic fallout. The one exception to the five-month plan is for education funding in which dollars for early childhood and special education, as well as for public schools and higher education, would be flat-funded through the end of the next fiscal year.
• (Washington) UW Medicine furloughs 1,500 staffers, with more on the table; could $500 million shortfall hamper coronavirus response?
  • UW Medicine officials will issue one to eight-week furloughs for 1,500 professional and classified non-union staff, which includes management and administrative workers. This came after UW Medicine declared an anticipated $500 million budget shortfall.

K-12 Education

• (Oregon) Coronavirus pandemic may force Portland Public Schools to cut more than $12 million in staffing, programs
  • Portland Public Schools expects the coronavirus pandemic to blow a $58 million hole in its projected state funding for the coming year.
• (Michigan) Lansing-area schools face COVID-19 and thousands in budget cuts heading into next year
  • Michigan is set to lose $3.2 billion in state revenues this year due to the pandemic. That includes an estimated $1.2 billion loss in the School Aid Fund for this fiscal year, plus another $1.1 billion loss in the 2020-21 fiscal year.
  • A $1 billion loss translates to a loss of $685 per student for most schools from the $8,111 they receive in state funding, according to a worst-case scenario included in a memo from State Superintendent Michael Rice and other education leaders distributed ahead of the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference.
• 4 Things To Know About How Illinois’ New Budget Will Impact Education
  • Illinois lawmakers passed a state budget for the new year that starts July 1 — and it doesn’t decimate school funding as some feared it might.
  • The maintenance budget approved holds spending steady for both K-12 and higher education. Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to sign it. However, the budget is contingent on borrowing and as-yet unrealized federal aid. There are also fears level spending won’t last long if the COVID-19 pandemic continues and tax revenue doesn’t recover.
• (Vermont) South Burlington prepares for school budget vote amid pandemic
  • The district’s initial $55.8 million budget proposal was defeated 4,711-3,561, a margin of 57% to 43%. That budget would have led to an estimated 11.2% tax increase.
  • The new proposed $53.7 million budget, a 4.35% increase over the last budget year, will lead to an estimated 5.91% tax increase.
• (Oregon) Salem-Keizer budget committee considers $1.5 billion budget with COVID impacts still unknown
  • Salem-Keizer school board approved a plan to furlough nearly all district workers, including teachers and administrators, one day per week through the end of the school year, a move they hope will save up to $10 million for next year.
  • A state budget forecast released last week projected Oregon’s general fund, the largest source of K-12 school money, would be about $2.7 billion short. Guidelines from the Governor have yet to be issued.

Health Care

• Medicaid providers increasingly frustrated by delays in COVID-19 funding
  • Health care providers that primarily treat the poor, children and people with disabilities are getting left out of the COVID-19 aid being issued by the Trump administration, frustrating advocates who worry about the future of the Medicaid safety net.
• (New Mexico) State Department of Health bought masks at far above normal price
  • In the throes of the COVID-19 crisis and amid a free-for-all among states to buy scarce personal protective equipment, New Mexico’s Department of Health purchased a half-million respirators this spring at a significantly higher cost than the normal list price for such products.
• (Wisconsin) State Creating a Contact Tracing Army
  • Wisconsin has a goal of hiring 1000 contact tracers as the reopening of states will lead to greater interpersonal contact.
• In final rule, CMS makes telehealth more widely available in Medicare Advantage plans
  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized requirements that will, among other measures, increase access to telehealth for seniors in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. CMS said it wanted to finalize the proposed policies before the MA and Part D bid deadlines on June 1 for the 2021 plan year.
• (Utah) First look at proposed state budget cuts deemed potentially ‘detrimental’ to public health
  • Medicaid services would be the hardest hit under the worst-case scenario, losing nearly $48 million in state funds
• (New Hampshire) COVID-19: NH expands virus testing to more workers; UNH to hold classes this fall
  • The state has set up nine testing sites as well as mobile teams that can visit workplace parking lots
• (Maine) Maine contact tracing efforts to be expanded
  • Governor Mills announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is expanding contract tracing by increasing the number of skilled staff and volunteers, harnessing innovative technology, and securing social services to help people with COVID-19 maintain self-isolation
• (California) Gov. Newsom Launches California Connected – California’s Contact Tracing Program and Public Awareness Campaign

Social Services 

• Staffing Issues Complicate Unemployment Agency Tech Woes
  • In some states, officials believe staffing is as big of an issue — if not a bigger issue — than the technology behind the systems.
• West Virginia Leverages the Cloud to Handle Flood of Unemployment Claims
  • The state is rapidly responding to COVID-related challenges with cloud-based technologies that transform how government officials communicate with the press and public about the pandemic and dramatically increase the state’s ability to serve citizens impacted by the resulting economic downturn.
• COVID-19's 'unprecedented stress' on social services drives demand for innovative SDOH programs
• Beyond unemployment: How COVID-19 is affecting assistance programs throughout Minnesota
  • Between March 16 and May 16, tere has been a 395% increase in referrals for food help, utility referrals were up 153% and healthcare referrals jumped 85%
• As Colorado Businesses Reopen, Coronavirus-Related Worker’s Compensation Claims Are Piling Up
  • Colorado state lawmakers are expected to consider a proposal to make it easier for some workers to receive benefits for COVID-19 contracted on the job. 1,400 Colorado workers have already filed compensation claims for being infected by or exposed to the virus on the job.
• New York near top of states with depleted unemployment trust funds
  • As COVID-19 rages on, New York has burned through its unemployment benefits trust fund at a faster rate than most other states across the U.S, according to a recent analysis.

Justice/Public Safety

• Massachusetts Courts to Continue Virtual Hearings Until July
  • Massachusetts courthouses will remain closed until at least July 1, but judges in the state will start hearing more non-emergency cases by telephone, videoconference or a number of other virtual means

Transportation

• Coronavirus Presents Obstacles for Autonomous Vehicles
  • With the demand for ridesharing diminishing sharply in the age of social distancing, companies are shifting their focus to using driverless vehicles to deliver goods before they ferry passengers.
• (Florida) FL: Coronavirus derails SunRail plans for local control
  • For the first time since early this year, SunRail’s commission of mayors and commissioners will meet Thursday to consider a changed landscape. The commission is preparing for the takeover of SunRail, but also has an advisory role for the Department of Transportation’s current operation of the system.
• (Wyoming) WY: Casper Area Transportation Coalition secures funding for entire next year through CARES Act
  • The Casper Area Transportation Coalition, which provides door-to-door and fixed-route transit around the city, is fully funded for the next fiscal year thanks to money from the CARES Act.
• (Colorado) CO: RTD faces serious headwinds as transit agency begins long crawl out of coronavirus' grip
  • For the first time since RTD dramatically curtailed service in the face of the coronavirus pandemic more than a month ago, the transit agency is restoring service on several popular bus lines in the metro area.

Public Utilities

• Virginia Clean Economy Act may help get state’s economy back on track post COVID-19
  • Virginia’s new legislative status as one of a handful of states targeting 100% clean power could resuscitate growth for state renewable energy industries hit hard with job losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.