GovWin SLED Weekly Coronavirus Recon

General

• (Texas) Outdated State Computer System Caused Late COVID-19 Case Reports
  • A state computer system that was overdue for an upgrade when the pandemic struck is the cause of a delay in data being reported late. Hundreds of thousands of Texas COVID-19 cases have been reported weeks or months late.
• Governor preparing report on COVID-19 effects within South Dakota’s state government
  • The South Dakota Legislature’s Appropriations Committee has called for Scott Bollinger, the governor’s commissioner of administration, to present a report on state government’s building needs.
  • Governor Kristi Noem now plans to use that platform to show lawmakers how COVID-19 has affected the physical space and, going forward, the schedules of many in state government’s workforce.
• COVID-19 response largely has fallen to state and local officials, who ‘have taken a significant leading role’
  • With limited federal action, state and local governments have had to step up to issue executive orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Officials have been put in “unique” positions to regulate a public health crisis, said Peter Federman, assistant professor at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
• (Minnesota) Gov. Tim Walz To Extend COVID-19 Emergency Powers
  • Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday that he is planning on extending the "COVID-19 peacetime emergency" by 30 days. Walz's office says the extension will ensure the state government can quickly respond to the "evolving threats" from the coronavirus pandemic.
• (Texas) Statewide COVID-19 disaster declaration extended by Gov. Greg Abbott
  • Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday again extended the statewide COVID-19 disaster declaration. The declaration was originally issued on March 13 and covers all Texas counties. It was put in place to provide the state with a variety of resources to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
• (California) LA's use of Citizen for contact tracing has some privacy advocates worried
  • Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the city will debut a new contact-tracing app developed by Citizen, a developer accused by some privacy advocates of “breeding paranoia.”
• How state technology chiefs showed flexibility during the pandemic
  • State technology leaders have taken on new responsibilities during the coronavirus pandemic, including guiding government employees through the process of working remotely and ensuring that their states’ health data is accurate and available to the right agencies.
• Virginia datathon to tackle communities' COVID-19 challenges
  • Virginia’s annual datathon event, which challenges students, technologists and state-government employees to solve various social problems using data, will include some new twists.
  • In addition to being held virtually for the first time Oct. 1-2, the competition’s theme of “Communities and COVID-19” is designed to be broader than in past years so teams can address a wide range of social problems exacerbated by the pandemic, organizers said.

Funding & Economic Impact

• (Michigan) Oakland County spending CARES Act dollars at faster rate than other regional counties
  • The states, territories and 154 large cities and counties that received Coronavirus Relief Fund money reported spending only 25% of the $150 billion through June 30. Reporting by The Associated Press and KHN found that many places struggling to control the coronavirus pandemic hadn’t received money from their state as of June 30.
  • In Oakland County, however, the federal funds are starting to flow a little faster.
• States plan for cuts as Congress deadlocks on more virus aid
  • States across the country are faced with huge decisions amid a sharp drop in tax revenue caused by the pandemic. It is causing major cuts to school aid, new taxes on cigarettes and legalized marijuana, as well as reducing pay for government workers.
• (Maryland) STATE ROUNDUP: WITH STATE BUDGET IN BLACK, FRANCHOT URGES IMMEDIATE AID FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
  • Despite the job losses and business restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, Maryland’s state government finished its most recent budget year in the black. The state announced Wednesday that for the budget year ended June 30, it took in less money in taxes than it had planned on before the pandemic. But the tax revenue still came in above the amount collected the year before, Pamela Wood of the Sun reports.
• Iowa has received billions in federal COVID-19 funds: Here’s where it's going, and who's crying foul
  • Iowa has received billions of dollars from the federal government over the past several months to assist with its battle against the coronavirus, helping pay for needs ranging from COVID-19 testing to grants for temporarily closed businesses to hand sanitizer for poll workers.
• (Maine) Mills administration proposes hiring freeze, spending cuts to offset revenue lost to pandemic
  • A state government hiring freeze and delayed upgrades to technology are among the proposals for curbing state spending in a plan released Wednesday by the Mills administration.
  • Gov. Janet Mills’ three-part plan would reduce spending by about $256 million but avoid deep program cuts and laying off state workers.
• Economic downturn caused by pandemic might cause budget problems for local governments
  • The COVID-19 pandemic could have an effect on local government operations for years to come. That’s the prediction from an online forum on city, township, and county governments held by the Lansing Economic Club.
  • Representatives of local government associations agreed that the economic downturn caused by the pandemic would not hit local governments this year, but would in following years.
• (Florida) State approves $45 million in COVID-19 relief funds
  • Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last week that the Board of Directors for the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) approved the remaining $45 million of the $120 million to local governments to assist Floridians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with rental and mortgage assistance.
• (Florida) Local governments avoid layoffs as COVID-19 bleeds reserves
  • Emotions ran high at Miami-Dade County’s annual preliminary budget hearing last week as speaker after speaker begged for more funding from a $9.048 billion spending plan that’s bulging at the seams.
• White House Rejects Nevada’s Request for Full Federal Funding of National Guard COVID-19 Response; Sisolak Says ‘No Rational Justification’
  • Nevada’s request to have the federal government fully fund state National Guard COVID-19 response efforts through the rest of the year has been rejected, a move that Gov. Steve Sisolak panned as potentially putting “more American lives at risk.”
• (Pennsylvania) Governor calls for nearly $300 million in additional CARES funding for small businesses impacted by COVID-19
  • Governor Tom Wolf has called on the General Assembly to provide more than $300 million more in CARES act funding to provide help for businesses across the state.
•  (Missouri) CARES Act funds going towards wide range of projects
  • More than $35 million can be spent on coronavirus related costs in Southwest Missouri.
  • A wide range of projects are being seen, from testing and personal protective equipment to cleaning supplies and technology.
• Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker doubling funding for Shared Streets and Spaces to $10 million; Program helps businesses adapt outside spaces amid coronavirus
  • Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced that the state is nearly doubling funding from its Shared Streets and Spaces grant program, which aims to help businesses with public safety and logistical improvements during the coronavirus pandemic.
• (North Carolina) Disaster, Parks Funding In COVID-19 Relief Bill
  • The North Carolina General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a new coronavirus relief package that also includes hurricane, tornado and earthquake assistance.
  • The bill includes $335 checks for families with children, a $50 per week boost in unemployment benefits and more funds for broadband expansion, health care supplies, food banks, schools and universities
• Here's how South Dakota is spending federal COVID-19 relief dollars
  • A comprehensive breakdown of where about $114 million of South Dakota’s CARES Act funds have been spent.
• (Vermont) House approves $7.15 billion state budget
  • The spending bill includes funding for the state colleges, a program to provide COVID-19 stimulus checks to immigrants, and more than $30 million to help schools cover the costs of reopening.
• Noem To Give $400M In COVID-19 Relief Funds To South Dakota Businesses
  •  Governor Kristi Noem is allocating $400 million, roughly a third of the $1.25 billion relief dund, for a small business grant program. Under this program, businesses that grossed at least $50,000 and saw a $25% decline in revenues during the pandemic will qualify for grant funding.

Higher Education

• Vermont House Approves Budget With Bridge Funding for State Colleges
  • By a nearly unanimous vote, the Vermont House advanced a $7.2 billion state budget covering the fiscal year that began just over two months ago.
  • The bill also provides another major tranche of funding to the embattled Vermont State Colleges System, which proposed closing three campuses — in Lyndon, Johnson and Randolph — earlier this year as it reckoned with a structural deficit worsened by the pandemic
• (Colorado) New $32M fund to help Colorado schools, colleges address COVID-19 impacts
  • Colorado public schools and universities can apply for financial help from a newly launched $32 million fund created by Gov. Jared Polis that’s intended to support learning institutions and students hit hardest by COVID-19.
• California State University campuses will largely hold virtual classes for spring 2021
  • All 23 campuses in the California State University system will primarily deliver courses virtually in the spring semester, according to an announcement from university officials.
• ‘Clinical judgments’ key in college football contact tracing
  • A planned scrimmage at Tennessee last weekend turned into a scaled-down practice when the Volunteers were without about 35 players due to COVID-19. Coach Jeremy Pruitt said seven or eight players were in isolation after being infected and another 28 or so had been quarantined after it was determined through contact tracing they had been exposed to the coronavirus.
• CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Latest News (Last Updated 9/9/2020)
  • The Department of Education reopened the application period to allow eligible institutions additional time to apply for the following HEERF programs including both the Student Aid and Institutional Aid programs.
• Inside University of Illinois' massive COVID-19 testing operation
  • The University of Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus has one of the most aggressive COVID-19 testing protocols among institutions of higher education in the country, as it aims to keep students on campus during the pandemic this fall.
  • Twice a week, the university tests all students residing on or off campus and employees who report to university facilities using a noninvasive saliva test created by the research institution. That has amounted to as many as 15,000 or 17,000 tests administered in one day
• Readout from the Vice President’s Briefing with Higher Education Leaders and State and Local Officials on Campus COVID-19 Considerations
  • Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos provided remarks on the importance of keeping schools open, with the safety of students being the utmost priority.
  • CDC Director Redfield reaffirmed the Federal government’s recommendations for preventing the spread of the virus, including social distancing, frequent handwashing, and avoiding crowded indoor gatherings.

K-12 Education

• COVID-19 money to improve internet access for North Carolina students
  • North Carolina's state government is using federal COVID-19 relief dollars to purchase equipment so more public school students can access online classes and homework help.
• (Hawaii) $10M Federal COVID-19 Grant Focuses On Teacher Training
  • State education leaders plan to use a $10 million federal grant intended for emergency education assistance during the pandemic on professional development for teachers and “innovation grants” for schools to devise ways to close the digital equity gap, according to a preliminary report.
• (Oklahoma) Federal courts aligning against use of CARES Act funding for private school tuition
  • Gov. Kevin Stitt’s use of $10 million from the federal CARES Act for private school tuition is at odds with federal court interpretations, and he ought to change course.
• Spotty virus tracking in schools is leaving millions in the dark on infection rates
  • The data on how coronavirus is spreading at schools and colleges is inconsistent, erratic — and sometimes purposely kept out of the public’s reach. Federal rules don’t specifically require tracking or reporting the numbers by school or college, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to open schools and colleges for in-person classes. The result is a distorted picture of how and where the virus may be spreading, not just for parents, teachers, students and professors, but the cities and towns where campuses are located.
• Report: Schools Need 176 Million Tests Each Month to Safely Reopen
  • The warning is part of a larger report that estimates the country needs as many as 193 million monthly tests in order to safeguard schools, nursing homes and other aspects of American life.
• Student Assessment During COVID-19
  • Some state leaders are asking the U.S. Department of Education to waive the annual federal testing and accountability requirements for 2021, which are key to understanding and addressing gaps in education among students. This call follows the mass request and granting of waivers of the federal annual standardized test requirements in the spring of 2020, when schools physically closed, and tests could not be administered.
  • A reason cited for why to continue assessments is to better understand and address the extent of the gaps in education among students and student populations that have been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. Also, that assessments can be argued to bring equity to education.
• College reopening’s push K-12 schools online
  • Many educators and leaders are saying that grade school students won’t be able to build the same social and emotional skills virtually as they would in a classroom, with their peers and with a teacher. Experts worry those will be hard to get back if children fall behind. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said that getting those students back in a classroom should be the priority.
• (Georgia) Ga School Superintendent Slams U.S. Education Secretary of Testing Requirements During COVID-19
  • Chief State School Officers received a letter from Secretary Betsy DeVos this week stating that the U.S. Department of Education does not plan to grant federal testing waivers for the 2020-21 school year.
• (Colorado) Gov. Jared Polis Launches $32.7 Million Fund To Incubate Ideas To Improve Student Learning During The Pandemic
  • The $32.7 million grant program launched by the Colorado Governor seeks to create innovations that would help the state’s most disadvantaged students. The grant funding comes from the federal stimulus money provided by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. Gov. Polis is hoping the program will foster new models of learning, sustainable educational practices, and ways to strengthen the connections between high school, college, and careers.

Health Care

• (Michigan) Detroit gets $30 million in COVID-19 test funds from state
  • Detroit is set to receive just over $30 million from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to put toward COVID-19 testing.
• Hawaii’s Health Department Received Millions In COVID-19 Grants. Where Is It Going?
  • The Hawaii Department of Health received more than $60 million for COVID-19 related response and disease control costs.
• Maryland to spend $7.5M on new type of rapid coronavirus test, first purchase in 10-state compact
  • Governor Hogan said that Maryland would be the first in a 10-state compact to buy large batches of a new kind of rapid coronavirus test for use in nursing homes, prisons and possibly college dorms and other places prone to outbreaks.
• Telehealth is biggest threat to healthcare cybersecurity, says report
  • A new study from SecurityScorecard and DarkOwl sees increased risk across application and endpoint security, IP reputation, patching cadence and network security.

Social Services 

• California begins sending extra $900 to those unemployed due to COVID-19
  • As California’s economy continues to struggle amid the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials will mark the Labor Day holiday by sending a $900 supplemental unemployment benefit to jobless residents — but many will not get the assistance right away, and nearly 200,000 people are not expected to get it at all.
• (New York) Governor Cuomo Announces $88.6 Million in Cares Act Funding Available to Assist Child Care Providers During COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $88.6 million in federal CARES Act funding is available to assist child care providers through NY Forward grants as they adjust their programs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
• State of Connecticut announces new funding programs to help residents struggling with COVID-19-related financial issues
  • The office of Governor Ned Lamont announced three new programs to help people struggling with COVID-19-related finance issues. The new funding includes unemployment benefits, safe shelter reimbursement benefits, and food benefits.
• (West Virginia) Gov. Justice announces additional unemployment benefits to be distributed next week
  • Gov. Justice announced that WorkForce West Virginia will begin distributing an additional $400 per week in Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) payments to West Virginians who are unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.
• Unemployed New Yorkers Will Get $300 Per Week Boost — Until Funding Dries Up
  • As many as 2 million unemployed New Yorkers will start receiving their share of an extra $300-a-week assistance boost from a temporary federal fund that’s running out of money.
• Coronavirus unemployment: California jobless claims march higher
  • California unemployment claims have accounted for 27% of claims filed in the entire country.
• Mass. Unemployed Workers To Receive Additional $300 A Week, Baker Announces
  • FEMA approved the state’s request to take part in the emergency program, which is funded with federal dollars previously allocated by Congress.
• Texas proposes to cut millions from safety net programs as officials brace for COVID-19 budget impact
  • Health care and food assistance programs that benefit low-income Texans would be slashed under proposed budget cuts.
• (Minnesota) Providers tell Klobuchar pandemic has increased rural mental health needs
  • Social services are overtaxed, substance abuse centers are struggling to address a tide of addiction relapses and counties can't keep up with a surge in court cases.

Justice/Public Safety

• AI and automation vs. the COVID-19 pandemic: Trading liberty for safety
  • Reports on the use of AI to respond to COVID-19 may have been greatly exaggerated. But does the rush to pandemic-fighting solutions like thermal scanners, face recognition and immunity passports signal the normalization of surveillance technologies?

Transportation

• (Pennsylvania) SEPTA, facing 'devastating' financial losses from coronavirus, highlights customer service tweaks to woo back riders
  • SEPTA is touting greater accommodations for bike commuters and future signage improvements as it digs for ways to win back riders while bracing for hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• More than 100 agencies have signed on to APTA’s ‘Health and Safety Commitments’ Program
  • The program serves as the transit industry’s pledge to riders and employees it will adhere to best practices for safe transportation throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
• (New York) Staten Island Ferry ridership down 66% compared to last year, data shows
  • While more and more New Yorkers are returning to work each day, daily ridership on the Staten Island Ferry remains significantly below where it had been prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
• (Colorado) Denver RTD plans budget, staff reductions to face financial reality of COVID-19
  • The agency anticipates it may need to reduce the number of budgeted positions by 25-30 percent.
• (New York) LIRR unveils new technology that identifies least crowded trains before riders leave home
  • A planning tool has been unveiled by the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) that allows customers to choose trains based on recent crowding data.
• (New Jersey) NJ Transit begins pilot installation of personal protective equipment vending machines
  • The vending machines give customers easy access to PPE as an additional safety measure to slow the spread of COVID-19.
• Transit industry wants Congress to prioritize $32 billion in emergency funding when it returns to session
  • Cuts to both service and employee numbers are on the table for agencies of all sizes as the financial fall out of the pandemic continues to get worse.

Public Utilities

• US energy storage posts second-largest quarter, with more growth expected as COVID-19 recedes
  • Despite slight slowing in commercial and industrial installations due to COVID-19, the U.S. energy storage industry saw record-breaking deployments during the second quarter of 2020, and rapid expansion is expected to continue in the months to come.
• Strained Rural Water Utilities Buckle Under Pandemic Pressure
  • Rural water and wastewater systems have largely been left out of federal and state pandemic relief, and yet they play critical roles in local economies. Homes rely on them, of course, but so do small businesses such as eateries and large companies such as manufacturers and processing plants.

Community Development/Housing

• (Texas) Rep. Will Hurd announces another $16M in housing aid to San Antonio, Bexar County, El Paso
  • Grants will go to programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• Hawaii Gov. David Ige Unveils $100M Program To Help Renters Affected By Pandemic
  • Gov. Ige’s $100 million program to aid renters facing risk of eviction would be funded by the federal CARES Act funds. The new program would provide renters with monthly rent as well as financial counseling.