03-08-21 Regular Meeting of the La Porte CIty Council

Browse Search

signal of the participant is heard live at the meeting; (5) provide that a member of a governmental body who participates in a meeting by conference call shall: (a) be counted as present at the meeting for all purposes; and (b) be considered absent from any portion of the meeting during which audio communication with the member is lost or disconnected, but allow the governmental body to continue the meeting if a quorum of the body continues to participate in the meeting; (6) provide that a governmental body may allow a member of the public to testify at a meeting by conference call; (7) provide that a meeting held by conference call is subject to the notice requirements applicable to other meetings and also must include certain instructions to the public; (8) require that a meeting held by conference call be recorded, and that the recording be made available to the public; and (9) require the Department of Information Resources by rule to specify minimum standards for the recording of a meeting held by conference call. League staff summarizes each city-related bill in the Legislative Update Newsletter, which is included in your Friday “TML Exchange” email. The bills are categorized by subject matter. For the current legislative session, we’ve added the new subject heading of “Emergency Management.” Many pandemic-related bills will show up in that section, with some falling under other headings, such as Open Government, Public Safety, etc. Also, a complete list of bills filed to date by subject matter is updated each week. To view it, go to www.tml.org, hover over “policy” at the top of the page, and click on “legislative information.” Further Updates Does a city have liability to a person who contracts the virus at a city facility if the city doesn’t adopt pandemic mitigation measures, such as distancing or face covering requirements? While hypothetical liability questions are notoriously difficult to answer, most city attorneys agree that the chance of a successful claim against a city is slim. Cities generally have immunity under state law, and it’s difficult to imagine many possible COVID-19 scenarios in which that immunity would be waived. The same goes for federal claims, which typically require an action by a city employee for liability to attach. Regardless, both state and federal officials have shown interest in adopting liability protections (presumably including protections for governmental entities). For instance, in Governor Abbott’s recent “State of the State” speech, he laid out several priority items. The key pandemic-related items were expanded broadband and liability protections for business. Whether any state or federal liability protections will ultimately be adopted is not yet known. What’s the latest regarding future stimulus legislation? Last Saturday (February 27), the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The 594-page bill includes $350 billion in emergency relief for states and local governments, and funding for housing,