Announcements from Governor Abbott

Governor Abbott Announces Initial COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan

Governor Abbott, TDEM Launch Bamlanivimab Infusion Wing At Alternate Care Site In El Paso

Governor Abbott Directs DPS Resources To Dallas To Combat Spike In Violent Crime

For more updates from the Governor’s office, visit https://gov.texas.gov/.

Comptroller Glenn Hegar Gives Update to LBB

The 87th Texas Legislative Session does not begin until January 12th, 2021, but Texas Law Makers are approaching a session that will be unlike any other, following an ongoing global pandemic and economic downturn.

The Legislative Budget Board met virtually with Comptroller Glenn Hegar to receive an updated report on the State’s financial condition. Hegar stated, “In short, despite continuing to show year-over-year declines most months, revenue collections have exceeded our July expectations.” The biggest declines continue to be hotel occupancy taxes and alcohol beverage taxes and oil and gas as a result of lower prices.

“The biggest bright spot that has been so far, has [been] sales tax collections, by far our largest source of tax revenue. Sales tax revenues are outpacing expectations. It’s something we’ve seen in most other states as well. Consumer spending has helped keep sales tax collections from dropping even more than they have,” Hegar said.

He also said that He said the Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision and the passing of House Bill 1525 last session allowed Texas to start collecting sales tax from remote sellers based outside of Texas.

Texas House Leader Gives Glimpse of COVID Session

In the most detailed public glimpse yet at how the 2021 legislative session might play out during a pandemic, the chair of the committee that handles administrative operations in the Texas House told a group of lobbyists Tuesday that masks may be required in all public parts of the Texas Capitol and that a limit could be placed on the number of people allowed inside the building.

Pfizer Selects Texas for COVID-19 Vaccine Pilot Delivery Program

The Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has launched a pilot delivery program in four U.S. states. New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas were reportedly picked due to their size, population diversity, immunization infrastructure and need to reach people in both rural and urban settings.

According to Reuters, Pfizer’s vaccine, which was shown to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data, must be shipped and stored at -70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46°F).).

Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech SE 22UAy.F, have a $1.95 billion deal to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine to the U.S. government, which has an option to acquire up to an additional 500 million doses.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is going to send Texas as many as 1.4 million doses of forthcoming vaccines in the month of December.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise to Move Headquarters to Texas

According to AP, Tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise said it is moving its global headquarters to the Houston area from California, where the company’s roots go back to the founding of Silicon Valley decades ago.“ As we look to the future, our business needs, opportunities for cost savings, and team members’ preferences about the future of work, we are excited to relocate HPE’s headquarters to the Houston region,” said CEO Antonio Neri. The company is currently constructing a new campus. The coronavirus pandemic has given a number of tech companies, and prominent Silicon Valley figures, an excuse to exit California.