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GOOD MORNING, UM, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.
HE, SO WE ARE HAVING CONVERSATIONS AT THE COUNTY RIGHT NOW ABOUT A REPLACEMENT FOR COMMISSIONER WOLF.
SO COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, I'LL TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT LATER.
I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH THE COUNTY MANAGER'S OFFICE, SO WE WILL, WE WILL HAVE A REPLACEMENT, BUT WE'VE GOTTA DISCUSS THAT.
AND CHAIR,
[2. 21-1093 State Update on: • 87th Session Protocol • Issues/Bills of Interest]
GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY.UM, WE ARE, UH, GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT, UM, IS PROBABLY MORE IMPORTANT NOW, UH, AND HAS REQUIRED JEFF COYLE AND MELISSA SHANNON AND EVERYBODY ELSE TO, UH, TO HAVE TO ADJUST VERY QUICKLY BECAUSE OF, UH, ALL THE UNEXPECTED WINS IN GEORGIA, THE UPSET AND THE SENATE, UH, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, A, A NEW DAY IN THE WHITE HOUSE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND, UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, JEFF AND STAFF, UH, AND, UH, NANCY, UM, NO, I'M SORRY.
AND, AND MELISSA AND SALLY VATO, AND, AND EVERYBODY OUT THERE IS WORKING DOUBLE TIME BECAUSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN AUSTIN TODAY.
AND SO, UM, LE LET'S ALL START BY, UH, CONVEYING OUR CON, OUR, UH, OUR CONDOLENCES TO JEFF FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO LOSE MORE HAIR, UH, YOU KNOW, THAN HE'S ALREADY LOST.
UH, THERE'S NOT MUCH HAIR LEFT, JEFF, BUT, UH, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE WORK, UH, THAT YOU, YOU'RE, THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE DOING.
I THINK THAT'S, UH, I THINK IT'S, I, I THINK IT'S ADMIRABLE AND EVERY, EVERY YEAR, I KNOW YOU LEAVE IT ALL OUT ON THE FIELD, AND I KNOW YOU GOT SCARS ON YOUR BODY FROM ALL THE, ALL THE FIGHTING THAT YOU GUYS DO UP THERE.
AND SO WHY DON'T WE JUMP INTO THAT FIRST, JEFF, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT A, A, UM, A, A PRESENTATION BY THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, BUT THEY'RE RUNNING LATE, AND SO WE'RE GONNA BUMP THAT TO THE BACK.
AND SO I THINK WE'RE GONNA TAKE, UH, THE FEDERAL FIRST.
IS THAT RIGHT? UH, EITHER ONE STATE IS WHAT'S ON THERE.
UH, WELL, MR. CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU.
GOOD MORNING, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UH, THIS IS AN EXTREMELY BUSY TIME NOW THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO ENTER OR HAVE OFFICIALLY ENTERED WITH BOTH THE LEGISLATURE CONVENING AND A NEW CONGRESS.
AND WITHIN A COUPLE OF, OF A WEEK OR SO HERE, A NEW ADMINISTRATION, UM, UH, WHY DON'T YOU POP UP THE SLIDES, IF YOU WOULD, EDUARDO, UM, THE, IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, WHICH I'M SURE YOU DIDN'T, THE, UH, TEXAS LEGISLATURE, UM, UH, CONVENE FOR THE 87TH SESSION YESTERDAY.
UH, WE NORMALLY ARE UP THERE FOR OPENING DAY, UH, BUT WE WERE NOT, UH, MOST PEOPLE WERE NOT, UH, EVERYBODY WHO WAS IN THE BUILDING WAS REQUIRED TO TAKE A COVID TEST, UH, BEFORE ENTERING.
UH, AND IT WAS VERY, VERY LIMITED.
ALL THE CEREMONIALS AND THE FAMILY ATTENDANCE AND CELEBRATIONS FOR THE SWEARING IN WERE, WERE MUCH SCALED BACK.
UH, THE BIG NEWS ON THE OPENING DAY, OF COURSE, IS THE SWEARING IN OF THE HOUSE.
SPEAKER, UH, REPRESENTATIVE DAVE PHELAN, UH, WAS SWORN IN, UH, WAS ELECTED YESTERDAY AND SWORN IN AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE BY A VOTE OF 1 42 TO TWO.
THE TWO NO VOTES WERE, UM, FROM CONSERVATIVE MEMBERS WHO HAD, UH, DEMANDED A COMMITMENT FROM THE SPEAKER THAT HE NOT APPOINT ANY DEMOCRATS TO CHAIR COMMITTEES, AND HE WAS NOT WILLING TO MAKE THAT COMMITMENT.
HE SAID THAT PUBLICLY TO THE TEXAS TRIBUNE THE DAY BEFORE.
AND SO, UH, THERE WERE TWO VOTES AGAINST HIS SPEAKERSHIP.
UM, YOU SEE IN THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT, SOME OF THE PLEXIGLASS AROUND THE ADMINISTRATIVE DESKS IN THE SENATE OFFICE, DEMONSTRATING A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO, UM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA EXPERIENCE NEXT SESSION.
THERE WAS ACTUALLY QUITE A BIT OF, UH, VARIATION BETWEEN THE TWO CHAMBERS AND THE HOUSE.
EVERY MEMBER WAS REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK IN THE SENATE.
ABOUT HALF DID, UH, I THINK ONLY ONE, UH, FROM, UM, UH, CHRISTINE TELLS ME ONLY ONE OF THE SENATOR'S DESKS HAD PLEXIGLASS AROUND IT.
I THINK THE ENTIRE HOUSE CHAMBER HAS THAT AROUND EACH SEAT.
SO, UH, WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME, SOME VARIATION BETWEEN THE TWO.
AND THAT LEADS US INTO, UH, THE NEXT STEPS HERE.
SO, UH, UH, TODAY, TOMORROW, UH, THE NEXT STEPS HERE ARE BASICALLY FOR BOTH CHAMBERS TO DISCUSS AND VOTE ON RULES, UH, FOR HOW THEY'RE GONNA OPERATE.
AND SO THIS SESSION, OF COURSE, INVOLVES, UH, THE OPERATING PROCEDURES RELATED TO COVID.
UH, SO WE'RE GONNA SEE AND HAVE SOME FORMAL INFORMATION FINALLY, IN THE, IN
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THE NEXT DAY OR SO ABOUT HOW THIS IS GONNA WORK.UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S THE USUAL RULES AROUND HOW THE BODIES CONDUCT THEIR BUSINESS.
UH, THE BIG, UH, DRAMA, I GUESS, WILL BE IN THE SENATE.
UM, THERE IS A, A LONGSTANDING, UM, LET'S SEE.
IT'S GONE FROM A TWO THIRDS TO A THREE FIFTHS, AND PERHAPS NOW TO A SIMPLE MAJORITY, UH, BACKING UP TWO SESSIONS.
UH, THERE USED, THERE WAS A LONG STANDING TWO-THIRDS RULE WHERE, UH, YOU HAD TO HAVE TWO-THIRDS OF THE MEMBERS AGREE BEFORE A BILL COULD EVEN BE BROUGHT TO THE SENATE FLOOR.
UH, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR DAN PATRICK, UH, LOWERED THAT THRESHOLD, UH, TO THREE FIFTHS LAST SESSION, UH, TO ALLOW AND ENSURE THAT, UH, THE REPUBLICAN MAJORITY COULD APPROVE ALL BILLS, AND THAT, UH, THE DEMOCRAT MINORITY WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO REACH THAT THRESHOLD.
NOW, WITH THE TURNOVER OF SENATOR PETE FLORES'S SEAT, UH, TO, UH, SENATOR ELECT, OR SENATOR, I SHOULD SAY, ROLAND GUTIERREZ, UH, THAT THRESHOLD IS NOW BELOW THREE FIFTHS.
AND SO IT'S WIDELY BELIEVED THAT THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR WILL AGAIN, LOWER THE THRESHOLD, PERHAPS TO A SIMPLE MAJORITY, UH, TO ALLOW, UH, THE REPUBLICAN MAJORITY TO, UH, CONTROL WHAT BILLS MAKE IT TO THE FLOOR.
A BASIC TIMELINE FOR YOU FOR THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UH, AS YOU ALREADY KNOW, BILL FILING BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 9TH, AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ONES THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN FILED THAT WE'RE WATCHING.
THERE IS A FILING DEADLINE OF MARCH 21ST, SO ANOTHER TWO PLUS MONTHS OF, UH, POTENTIAL BILL FILINGS.
THERE'S ALSO A 60 DAY, UM, I'M NOT SURE OF THE WORD, UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ WILL KNOW BETTER, BUT THERE'S 60 DAYS WHERE BILLS CANNOT BE HEARD BY COMMITTEE, UH, UNLESS THEY ARE DESIGNATED AS EMERGENCY ITEMS BY THE GOVERNOR.
SO, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, THE REAL BUSINESS OF THE SESSION ISN'T GONNA START, UH, FOR ANOTHER 60 DAYS, IN FACT, UH, UNRELATED, BUT, BUT PART OF THAT SORT OF, UH, UH, SLOW, SLOW PERIOD THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW.
UH, THE, THE SPEAKER ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY THAT AFTER THEY SET THE RULES TOMORROW, THEY WILL, UM, ADJOURN, UH, AND NOT MEET NEXT WEEK, UH, OUT OF CONCERNS AROUND, UH, PROTESTS NATIONWIDE RELATED TO THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION.
SO THERE WILL BE NO LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS OCCURRING NEXT WEEK, AND THEY WILL RECONVENE ON JANUARY 26TH.
THE LAST DAY OF THE SESSION, UH, IS MAY 31ST, AND THEN THERE'S A THREE WEEK PERIOD FOR THE GOVERNOR TO SIGN, UH, OR VETO, UH, BILLS THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE.
AND SO, UH, ANOTHER BIT OF BIG NEWS THIS WEEK WAS THE COMPTROLLER'S, UH, BIANNUAL REVENUE ESTIMATE.
HE ESSENTIALLY, UH, PROJECTS WHAT THE REVENUE PICTURE'S GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR THE LEGISLATURE, UH, AND, AND ESSENTIALLY SETS THE PARAMETERS FOR WHAT THE LEGISLATURE HAS TO WORK WITH IN, IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET.
UH, THE, THE NUMBER WAS AN ESTIMATED $112.5 BILLION.
UH, THAT'S BARELY DOWN FROM $112.9 BILLION.
UH, SO THAT'S ACTUALLY A REALLY SURPRISING BIT OF POSITIVE NEWS.
THERE WAS A PROJECTION, UH, OVER THE SUMMER OF A $4.6 BILLION SHORTFALL IN THIS CURRENT TWO YEAR BUDGET THAT HAS BEEN REDUCED TO A $1 BILLION DEFICIT THAT THE LEGISLATURE WILL HAVE TO MAKE UP.
SO THE PICTURE IS MUCH ROSIER, UH, THAN ESTIMATED WITH THE CAVEAT FROM THE COMPTROLLER THAT, UH, THERE'S A GREAT AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THINGS COULD OBVIOUSLY TAKE A TURN FOR THE WORST ECONOMICALLY, BUT THEY'RE STARTING OUT WITH A BETTER PICTURE THAN EXPECTED.
UH, THERE'S 11 AND A HALF BILLION IN THE, UH, WHAT'S CALLED THE RAINY DAY FUND, THE ECONOMIC STABILIZATION FUND.
THEY, UH, TAP INTO THAT PERIODICALLY, UH, BUT IT'S, IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT, UH, THRESHOLD TO MEET, TO BE ABLE TO SPEND THOSE DOLLARS.
AND I'LL SAY, FOLLOWING THE REVENUE ESTIMATE, THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR PUT OUT A STATEMENT OFFICIALLY YESTERDAY, UH, COMMITTING THAT WITH THIS, UH, BETTER FINANCIAL PICTURE, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE EDUCATION FUNDING GAINS MADE LAST SESSION.
THEY'LL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN TRANSPORTATION FUNDING.
IF, AS YOU ALL KNOW, OUR AGENDA, UH, EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR PROTECTING THE PROPS ONE AND SIX FUNDING.
SO, EFFECTIVELY, THAT'S A STATEMENT THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA, UH, THEY MAY NOT TRY TO RAID THAT FUND, UM, AND IN GENERAL HAS COMMITTED TO A, UH, A, A BETTER, UM, PICTURE TO BE ABLE TO INVEST IN THE PRIORITIES OF THE STATE.
AND SO, I'M GONNA TOUCH FIRST ON OUR FOUR BIG FOUR ITEMS AND SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES OUR STAFF AND OUR LEGISLATIVE CONSULTANT TEAM, UH, HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN SINCE, UH, YOU APPROVE THIS AGENDA.
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REFORM FRONT, UH, REPRESENTATIVE GERVIN HAWKINS HAS COMMITTED TO FILING FOUR SEPARATE BILLS ON THE FOUR ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ITEMS, UH, THAT YOU'VE APPROVED.UH, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN HER IN THE MEDIA TALKING ABOUT IT.
SHE'S WORKING WITH ANOTHER, A NUMBER OF OTHER MEMBERS, UH, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED, UH, ABOUT HER LEADERSHIP ON IT.
UM, WE ARE DOING A JOINT MEETING WITH HER ON FEBRUARY 3RD WITH THE ACTIVIST, UH, COMMUNITY GROUPS, UH, TO EDUCATE THEM ON WHAT WE ARE SEEKING.
LEGISLATIVELY, THEIR FOCUS, OF COURSE, HAS BEEN ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, BUT, UH, AS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'RE PURSUING A DUAL TRACK.
AND I'LL, AND I'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN A SECOND.
UM, WE'VE ALSO DONE BRIEFINGS FOR COPS METRO.
AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE MET TWICE WITH THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, THE UNION, UH, WE'VE MET WITH THE TEXAS POLICE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION, AND WE'VE BRIEFED ALL THE OTHER MAJOR, UH, CITIES THROUGH T M L ON WHAT WE'RE PURSUING, AND HAVE GOTTEN, UH, EXPRESSED SUPPORT FROM HOUSTON, GALVESTON, AND, AND SEVERAL OTHER CITIES WHO, WHO, LIKE WHAT WE'RE PURSUING.
THERE WILL BE MANY, MANY OTHER POLICE REFORM BILLS RELATED TO ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
UH, A LOT OF THE PROTOCOLS THAT, UH, THAT WE'VE ALREADY ADOPTED INTO OUR MANUAL RELATED TO, FOR EXAMPLE, CHOKE HOLDS.
UM, WE, WE COMMIT TO KEEPING YOU INFORMED ON ALL OF THOSE VARIOUS THINGS.
AND SO YOU CAN GIVE US DIRECTION, UH, AS WE GO FORWARD.
BUT WE'RE FOCUSED, UH, IN TERMS OF PASSAGE ON THOSE FOUR ACCOUNTABILITY ITEMS I MENTIONED, UM, THE ACTIVIST GROUP, AS YOU KNOW, THE, UM, FIXED SS A P D GROUP SUBMITTED PETITIONS THIS WEEK, UH, TO POTENTIALLY PENDING A CITY CLERK VERIFICATION OF THE SIGNATURES, UH, TO PLACE ON THE BALLOT, UH, CHAPTER 1 74, WHICH IF SUCCESSFUL, IF VOTERS APPROVE, WOULD UNDO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, UH, IN SAN ANTONIO.
THEY DID NOT, AT LEAST TO DATE SUBMIT PETITIONS FOR CHAPTER 1 43, WHICH ARE THE CIVIL SERVICE PROTECTIONS THAT WE'RE SEEKING TO AMEND THROUGH THOSE FOUR SEPARATE BILLS.
THE TAKEAWAY AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS IS IF, UH, VOTERS DID APPROVE TO TAKE AWAY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, THAT MEANS THAT OUR POLICE OFFICERS REVERT BACK TO THE PROTECTIONS IN CHAPTER 1 43, WHEREAS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHT NOW ALLOWS, UH, FOR NEGOTIATIONS THAT VARY FROM STATE LAW.
SO IT HAS REINFORCED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS, NOT KNOWING HOW THAT VOTE WILL GO IN MAY.
UH, IT'S, IT'S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE THE FIXES IN STATE LAW THAT ADDRESS ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY, BECAUSE THAT COULD BE WHAT ULTIMATELY, UH, WE ARE, ARE FACED WITH IN TERMS OF HIRING, FIRING, AND DISCIPLINE.
UM, ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH FRONT, UH, BASED ON THAT FOUR INITIAL $4.6 BILLION PROJECTED SHORTFALL, THAT'S, THAT'S NOW JUST 1 BILLION.
BUT PRIOR, UH, TO THE, TO THIS WEEK'S ANNOUNCEMENT, THERE HAD BEEN A DIRECTIVE FOR ALL STATE AGENCIES TO REDUCE THEIR BUDGETS BY 5% FOR THE NEXT BIENNIUM.
WE HAVE THROUGH OUR CONSULTANT TEAM, GOTTEN A LIST OF THE PROPOSED CUTS FROM, UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE BROAD CATEGORIES, UH, AND WE HAVE METRO HEALTH AND OUR PARTNERS THROUGH THE HEALTHCARE, THE BAYER HEALTH COALITION, REVIEWING THOSE TO UNDERSTAND THE LOCAL IMPACTS.
UH, BUT WE, UH, WE ARE OF COURSE ASKING THAT D S H SS BE EXEMPTED FROM THE 5% CUT, THAT, THAT BE THE STATE AGENCY THAT DOES NOT FACE MAJOR CUTS IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC.
UH, AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO DETERMINE SPECIFICALLY WHAT THOSE CUTS WOULD MEAN, UH, TO US LOCALLY.
UH, THE REVENUE ESTIMATE OBVIOUSLY CHANGES THINGS.
AND OUR HOPE IS THAT THAT HELPS REINFORCE THE ARGUMENT THAT D S H S SHOULD NOT, UM, FACE A 5% REDUCTION ON THE, UH, MEDICAID EXPANDING HEALTHCARE COVERAGE FRONT.
UH, WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH THE BEAR COALITION, I'M GOING OUT OF ORDER HERE, BUT THEY'RE HOSTING A, A WEBINAR IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
WE'LL LET YOU KNOW, UH, WHEN THAT'S SCHEDULED TO PRESENT THE BUSINESS CASE FOR, UM, CLOSING THE COVERAGE GAP AND DRAWING DOWN ALL THOSE FEDERAL MEDICAID FUNDS.
WE ALSO, BERTA RODRIGUEZ AND I MET WITH, UH, SENATOR NATHAN JOHNSON FROM THE DALLAS AREA, UH, LAST WEEK, WHO HAS FILED SSB, UH, ONE 17, WHICH IS ONE OF, WE EXPECT MULTIPLE BILLS THAT WILL DIRECT THE STATE TO, UH, ADOPT MEDICAID EXPANSION.
AND, UH, THROUGH OUR CONVERSATION, HE REALIZED THE SIGNIFICANT, IN FACT, HE MENTIONED THAT NO OTHER CITIES HAD TALKED TO HIM ABOUT IT.
AND WE SAID THIS WAS REALLY A PRIORITY FOR US.
THE PANDEMIC HAD REINFORCED THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS, AND SO HE REQUESTED THAT HE BRIEF ALL OF OUR, UH, CITY COUNTERPARTS.
AND SO WE'VE WORKED THROUGH T M L AND SCHEDULED A MEETING NEXT WEEK FOR HIM TO TALK TO THE OTHER CITIES, AND, AND, UH, I'M SURE HE'LL URGE THEM TO
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GET ON BOARD WITH THE EFFORT.UH, ON THE BROADBAND FRONT, TWO, TWO MAIN BILLS WE'RE LOOKING AT AT THIS POINT.
UM, FIRST ONE REALLY DOESN'T RELATE TO US.
IT'S, UH, FROM REPRESENTATIVE KING, UH, AND IT ESSENTIALLY, UH, DIRECTS THE STATE TO EXPAND BROADBAND TO RURAL AREAS, CREATES A RURAL BROADBAND PROGRAM.
AS YOU KNOW, OUR FOCUS IS MAKING SURE THAT THE URBAN GAPS AREN'T OVERLOOKED.
UM, SENATE BILL 1 54 BY SENATOR CHARLES PERRY WOULD CREATE A STATE BROADBAND OFFICE TO FOCUS ON DRAWING DOWN FEDERAL FUNDS AND TO WORK WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS TO ADDRESS THE COVERAGE GAPS ACROSS THE STATE.
UM, IT'S WORTH NOTING, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN OUR NEXT PRESENTATION, THERE IS FEDERAL FUNDING IN THE RELIEF ACT THAT IS FLOWING TO THE STATES FOR THE EXPANSION OF BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO, UH, OUR TEAM IS REACHING OUT TO SENATOR PERRY'S OFFICE TO SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH HIM TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN PLUG INTO THIS EFFORT.
AND WE'VE ALREADY GOT A MEETING SCHEDULED THIS FRIDAY WITH THE GOVERNOR'S LEAD ADVISOR ON BROADBAND ISSUES.
CRAIG HOPKINS AND I WILL DO THAT MEETING, UH, TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT WE'VE DONE LOCALLY AND, AND WHERE OUR NEEDS ARE ON THE BROADBAND FRONT.
AND THEN FINALLY, ON THE, UH, PR PROTECTING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY CONTROL, UH, ON THE, ON THE LOBBY, UH, UH, BAN FRONT, UH, NUMBER ONE, I THINK I'VE ALREADY REPORTED THAT THE WAY THE BILL WAS FILED, IT AFFECTS NOT JUST THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, BUT SCHOOL DISTRICTS, HOSPITAL DISTRICT RIVER AUTHORITIES, SAWS, C P S VIA, UM, ON AND ON.
UH, WE ARE, UH, WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS LOCALLY TO POTENTIALLY DRAFT A, A LETTER, UH, TO COME FROM OUR FULL COMMUNITY ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF THIS.
THERE'S ALSO A COALITION THAT'S BEEN FORMED CALLED THE COMMUNITY ADVOCATES OF TEXAS, THAT INVOLVES A NUMBER OF CHAMBERS.
UM, THE, UH, COUNCIL OF URBAN COUNTIES, THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, BASICALLY GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, UH, THAT HAVE AN INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE ARE, ARE FORMING A COALITION ACROSS THE STATE.
THE SPEAKER WAS ASKED ABOUT THIS DURING HIS INTERVIEW WITH EVAN SMITH THIS WEEK.
HE ASKED WHETHER HE WAS ON THE SIDE OF CITIES AND COUNTIES OR NOT, AND HE SAID, I'M NOT ON ANY SIDES.
AND THEN HE WAS PRESSED ON, ON HIS POSITION ON THIS ANTI LOBBYING ISSUE, AND HE SAID THAT A HOUSE MEMBER IS GONNA HAVE TO SECURE ENOUGH VOTES TO PASS IT.
SO HE WAS ESSENTIALLY NON-COMMITTAL.
AND THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT'S NOT A, IT'S DEMONSTRATING NOT A HEAVY HANDED SPEAKERSHIP THAT SAYS, WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS, BUT RATHER, IF THE WILL OF THE BODY WANTS IT, WE WILL.
AND AS YOU HEARD FROM OUR DELEGATION A FEW WEEKS AGO, THEY BELIEVE THAT NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN THE HOUSE.
UH, THAT WENT DOWN, IT WENT DOWN IN A VOTE LAST SESSION, AND, AND THEY BELIEVE IT WILL AGAIN.
WE'LL, WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
WE'RE EXPECTING A NUMBER OF BILLS RELATED TO, UH, DEBT.
THE MOST CONCERNING PERHAPS, IS HB 35, WHICH REQUIRES A MINIMUM OF A 25% TURNOUT OF THE ELECTORATE IN ORDER TO APPROVE A BOND PROGRAM.
UH, AND IT ALSO REQUIRES A NOVEMBER, UH, ELECTION.
UM, BUT THAT THRESHOLD HAS NEVER BEEN ESTABLISHED BEFORE.
IT'S SIMPLY A VOTE OF WHETHER THE VOTERS WANT IT OR NOT.
UH, DEPENDING ON WHO TURNS OUT FOR THE ELECTION, HAVING A MINIMUM THRESHOLD FOR TURNOUT, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT COULD HAVE IMPACTS ON US LOCALLY.
AND THEN HERE'S JUST QUICKLY SOME OTHER BILLS, UH, NOT WITHIN OUR MAJOR PRIORITIES, BUT THAT, THAT DO RELATE TO US.
SB 180 2, UH, WOULD OPEN UP CONSUMER CHOICE FOR MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES LIKE C P SS.
UH, IT'S A CONCERN TO ALL OF THE MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES ACROSS THE STATE.
THE BILL WAS FILED BY THE SENATOR, UH, FROM GEORGETOWN, UH, CHARLES SHORTENER, AND IT WAS IN RESPONSE TO, UH, SOME ISSUES WITH THE GEORGETOWN UTILITY.
UH, OUR UNDERSTANDING FROM OUR PARTNERS WITH C P S THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME REALLY GOOD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE SENATOR, UH, AND, AND THEY FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE DIRECTION IT'S GOING AND HAVE PLEDGED TO KEEP US IN THE LOOP.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT.
UH, RELATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDING, SPECIFICALLY THE DEFUNDING OF POLICE, UH, HP 6 38 IS, UH, FROM, UH, MATT, UM, OH, GOSH, HIS NAME'S ESCAPING ME RIGHT NOW.
UM, UH, THE, AND IT BASICALLY SAYS THAT A CITY MAY NOT ADOPT A BUDGET THAT REDUCES THE PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET FROM THE PRIOR YEAR.
UH, MATT SCHAFER REPRESENTED MATT SCHAFER, EXCUSE ME.
UH, AND SO THAT'S, UH, THAT OBVIOUSLY TAKES AWAY THE CONTROL OF THE, UH, OF THE CITY COUNCIL IN MAKING BUDGETARY DECISIONS, UM, AND IS REALLY A WHITE, A BLACK AND WHITE, UH, PRESCRIPTION.
THERE'S NO DISCUSSION OF WHETHER, UH, THINGS THAT ARE TYPICALLY HANDLED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ARE HANDLED BY ANOTHER, UH, MORE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT AND THAT SORT OF THING.
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WE EXPECT THAT TO BE A CONCERN.HB 7 41, UH, IS A SIMILAR BILL, BUT REALLY NOT NEARLY AS, UM, AS, UH, LIMITING.
IT'S FILED BY OUR OWN REPRESENTATIVE, STEVE ALLISON.
AND IT SAYS, IF THE PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET IS MORE THAN 5% LOWER THAN THE, THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, SO IT DOES ALLOW FOR SOME REDUCTION IF NECESSARY, THEN IT MUST GO TO A VOTE OF THE PUBLIC.
SO, IN OTHER WORDS, WE WOULD'VE TO GET VOTER APPROVAL IF WE WERE TO REDUCE PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGETS, UH, MORE THAN 5% FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
HB EIGHT NINETY ONE IS THE BIRTH CERTIFICATES FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS.
REPRESENTATIVE BERNAL HAS FILED THAT BILL FOR US.
UM, AND, UH, REPRESENTATIVE, UH, BERNAL HAS ALSO FILED HB 8 72, WHICH IS THE BILL THAT SAS IS WORKING ON THAT WOULD PROTECT THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEIR UTILITIES CUTOFF OR ARE FACING A, A PENDING CUTOFF.
WE BRIEFED THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE YESTERDAY ON VISION ZERO BILLS, THE MAIN ONE BEING THE PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMIT, UH, BILL THAT WOULD, UH, LOWER RESIDENTIAL SPEED LIMITS STATEWIDE FROM 30 TO 25 MILES PER HOUR.
WE'RE PART OF A PARTNERSHIP WITH HOUSTON, UH, OURSELVES, DALLAS, AND AUSTIN ON A BRACKETED BILL THAT SENATOR ZINI HAS FILED.
AGAIN, THAT WOULD JUST APPLY TO THOSE FOUR LARGEST CITIES AND POTENTIALLY ELIMINATE SOME OF THE OPPOSITION FROM SMALL CITIES ACROSS THE STATE.
WE EXPECT A NUMBER OF APPRAISAL CAP BILLS TO BE FILED, AND OF COURSE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO WATCH REDISTRICTING.
THERE HAVE BEEN BILLS FILED YET, BUT THE DATA FROM THE, FROM THE CENSUS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS STILL SEVERAL MONTHS OFF.
IN FACT, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION DID NOT MEET THE DECEMBER 31ST DEADLINE TO GET CENSUS DATA TO CONGRESS.
UH, AND WE'RE EXPECTING THAT TO NOW HAPPEN SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY, WHICH LIKELY PUSHES BACK THE APRIL ONE DATE THAT STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS GET DATA TO BE ABLE TO BEGIN THINKING ABOUT, UH, REDRAWING LINES.
SO JUST A PLACEHOLDER FOR THAT ITEM.
AND THAT, UH, CONCLUDES MY REPORT, UH, ONE OF MANY THAT WE'LL DO WITH THIS COMMITTEE OVER THE COMING MONTHS.
AND, UH, UH, WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS AND THANK YOU.
UM, CO-CHAIR JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ, WHAT DO YOU THINK? I THINK IT'S LOOKS LIKE, UH, THE BEGINNING OF ANY OTHER SESSION WHERE THERE IS A, A BUNCH OF, UH, AMBITION AND QUESTION MARKS, AND WE WON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, UNTIL THINGS GET GOING, HOW, UH, HOW IT'S GONNA SHAPE UP.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DID SERVE WITH, WITH, UH, SPEAKER PHELAN FOR TWO SESSIONS, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK HE'S A PRETTY REASONABLE PERSON, AND HOPEFULLY, I THINK WILL GOVERN PRETTY EVEN HANDEDLY, AT LEAST HE'S SAYING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS CURRENTLY, AND I DON'T HAVE ANY REASON TO, TO NOT BELIEVE THAT.
UM, BUT, UH, JEFF, ANY, UH, IDEAS? I MEAN, REALLY AS, AS YOU MENTIONED, NOTHING, UH, OF SUBSTANCE IS HAPPENING OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, UM, PROBABLY UNTIL THEY DO COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS.
ANY, ANY CHATTER ON, UH, WHEN THAT MIGHT HAPPEN? IF IT'S GONNA MAYBE HAPPEN, UH, A LITTLE FASTER? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, ANOINTING OF OF SPEAKER FEELINGS KIND OF BEEN IN THE WORKS.
UH, SO I'M SURE THEY'VE GIVEN THAT SOME THOUGHT.
ANY, ANY WORD, UH, JEFF OR MELISSA, WHAT YOU'RE HEARING ABOUT THAT I HAVE NOT HEARD SPECIFICALLY? I WOULD ASSUME JUST BASED ON THE CALENDAR, THAT IT WOULD START TO TAKE PLACE THAT WEEK OF THE 26TH WHEN THEY RETURN.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF MELISSA DOES.
THEY DID, UM, UH, ANNOUNCE IT YESTERDAY TO SUBMIT THEIR COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, ASSIGNMENT REQUEST.
I THINK AFTER THEY COME BACK AFTER THE 26TH, THEY'LL GET INTO IT.
WELL, THANKS FOR THE, THE UPDATE AND, AND LOOK FORWARD TO, I KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING PLENTY OF THESE UPDATES OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK.
AND, UM, I KNOW MELISSA WAS OUT THERE YESTERDAY, UM, AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU SURVIVED ALYSSA DAY ONE, SO HANG IN THERE.
UH, COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN, ADRIANA GARCIA ROCHA, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS? JUST, UH, JUST, JEFF, DO YOU HAVE ANY, UM, I GUESS KNOWLEDGE OF, UM, WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN OR HOW FAST? YOU KNOW, I GUESS IT WORRIED ME.
WELL, IT, IT WORRIES ME THAT THERE, THERE'S GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A BREAK NEXT WEEK.
WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF VACCINES AND TRYING TO GET VACCINES.
I, I'D ASSUME THAT THAT WORK KEEPS GOING.
UM, IS THERE A PLAN TO CONTINUE ACTIVELY ENGAGING OUR, UH, REPRESENTATIVES TO KEEP PUSHING FOR VACCINES? THAT'S MY MAIN, MAIN CONCERN RIGHT NOW.
I THINK YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEW, UH, AND THE PRESENTATION.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR COMMITTING TO KEEPING US UPDATED SPECIFICALLY ON THE POLICE REFORM ISSUES.
BUT THAT'S THE MAJOR ONE THAT, THAT I AM, UH, WONDERING ABOUT RIGHT NOW.
[00:25:01]
YES.UM, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE THE, THE, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE BODIES WORK IS IMPORTANT IN THIS.
I THINK THE, THE STATE AGENCY OBVIOUSLY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK.
THEY'RE NOT TAKING, UH, A WEEK OFF, AND WE ARE PUSHING VERY HARD FOR MORE VACCINES OR OUR, OUR, OUR MESSAGE HAS BEEN THAT THE OVERWHELMING DEMAND THAT HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED BOTH THROUGH THE ALMA DOME EVENT AND THE, UH, WELLMED EVENTS THAT YOU HELPED COORDINATE, UH, SHOWS HOW GREAT THE DEMAND IS HERE AND HOW EFFECTIVELY AND CAPABLY WE CAN DELIVER.
UH, AND ACTUALLY, I SHOULDN'T LEAVE OUT UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM EITHER, MY APOLOGIES.
UM, SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE THAT CASE.
I BELIEVE THE MAYOR AND JUDGE HAVE SENT A LETTER TO THE STATE.
I KNOW YOU'RE TALKING TO MEMBERS LEGISLATIVELY.
THERE'S NOT REALLY A WHOLE LOT THEY CAN DO WITHIN THE SESSION ENVIRONMENT, BECAUSE TYPICALLY BILLS THAT BECOME LAWS, UH, BECOME EFFECTIVE AT SOME LATER DATE ANYWAY.
UM, SO I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ENOUGH, UH, SORT OF IMMEDIACY IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS TO REALLY AFFECT THAT.
UH, WE HAVE TO FOCUS MORE ON THE AGENCY AND OUR, AND OUR LEGISLATORS CAN HELP BY TWISTING ARMS AT, AT THE STATE AGENCIES AND SO FORTH.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING, JEFF, AND I'M, UM, I'M PARTICULARLY THANKFUL THAT THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING ON HOW TO NOT CUT, UH, THE, THE, THE HEALTH SERVICES, UM, DEPARTMENT.
THAT'S ALL MY QUE THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
UM, COUNCILMAN OR CHAIR? THANK YOU.
COUNCILWOMAN, GERRAN, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS.
I CAN'T WAIT TO GET THESE CONTINUAL UPDATES MORE FREQUENTLY.
UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY, QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? YEAH.
AND, UH, JEFF, I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA HAVE YOUR HANDS FULL, AS EVERYBODY SAID.
UM, I AGREE WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ.
THEY HAVE THEIR, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THEIR HANDS FULL UP THERE, AND IF THEY GET TO A SMIDGEN OF WHAT WE SENT UP THERE, UH, WE'LL BE LUCKY.
UH, YOU KNOW, BUDGET IS OBVIOUSLY THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE, AND WHERE ARE THEY GONNA, UH, FILL THE GAPS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO, UH, I'M, I'M, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THOSE UPDATES TO SEE WHICH DIRECTION THEY'RE GONNA BE GOING IN.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE UPDATE.
LOOK FORWARD TO THE FUTURE ONES ALSO.
UM, I, I, THAT CONCLUDES OUR BRIEFING ON THE STATE AGENDA.
[1. 21-1092 Federal Update on: • Coronavirus Response & Relief Bill • San Antonio Restaurant Association Priorities]
LET'S, UH, LET'S DO OUR FEDERAL WORK NOW, JEFF.WE, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING AT THIS SESSION TODAY.
WE'RE, FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE GONNA BE PRESENTING THE FULL FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT YOU, YOU ALL HAVE ALREADY REVIEWED.
GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE ON, UH, WHAT WE KNOW AT THIS POINT ABOUT THE, UM, UH, CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE AND RELIEF SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, WHICH, UH, WE'LL CALL THE RELIEF ACT.
THAT'S THE STIMULUS BILL THAT WAS PASSED IN LATE DECEMBER.
SO WE WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU HERE FIRST.
WE'VE PROVIDED SEVERAL UPDATES BY EMAIL, BUT THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH TALKING THROUGH, UH, OUR UNDERSTANDING OF VARIOUS ELEMENTS.
SO, UH, GERARDO, IF YOU'D BRING UP THAT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, THIS WAS PASSED DECEMBER 27TH BY CONGRESS, UH, HOUSE RESOLUTION 1 33 WAS THE OFFICIAL TITLE.
IT WAS A PACKAGE OF TWO THINGS.
IT WAS THE, UH, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET FOR F Y 21.
THEY ESSENTIALLY ALL THE APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR THAT WE'RE NOW THREE PLUS MONTHS INTO A FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR, UH, AS WELL AS A $900 BILLION, UH, COVID RELIEF BILL.
THE MAIN TAKEAWAY FOR US THAT I THINK YOU'RE ALL VERY FAMILIAR WITH IS WE DID NOT GET ANY STATE AND LOCAL FUNDING, UH, AS WE DID IN THE CARESS ACT.
THERE ARE SEVERAL STREAMS THAT WILL FLOW TO THE CITY, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MINUTE.
BUT THE LARGE BENEFITS AROUND THIS BILL WERE, WERE DIRECTED TOWARDS INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS, UH, WHO MAY BE HURTING AND, AND BUSINESSES.
AND SO, UM, THESE NEXT SLIDES ARE ESSENTIALLY TO, TO TRY TO SIMPLIFY A COMPLICATED PACKAGE.
WE'VE BROKEN THESE UP INTO WHO THE RECIPIENT IS, INDIVIDUALS, BUSINESS, STATE, CITY, OR OTHER LOCAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'LL GO THROUGH.
SO, UH, LET'S START ON THE INDIVIDUALS.
THE BIGGEST, UH, UH, MOST VISIBLE THING I THINK IS, OF COURSE, IS THE DIRECT PAYMENTS TO TAX PAYMENTS TO TAXPAYERS, UH, $600 FOR EVERY TAXPAYER WHO'S EARNING LESS THAN $75,000, 1200 FOR, UH, COUPLES UNDER ONE 50.
AND THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL, I BELIEVE, 300 PER CHILD.
MOST OF THOSE PAYMENTS HAVE, HAVE ALREADY BEEN RECEIVED NOW ARE
[00:30:01]
OUT, UH, TO E EITHER BY CHECK OR BY DIRECT DEPOSIT, IF THAT'S HOW ONE FILES ON THEIR TAXES.UH, BUT I'VE BEEN READING SOME THIS WEEK THAT THEY'RE, THAT THOSE WHO HAVEN'T RECEIVED THEM MAY NEED TO, UH, CLAIM IT ON THEIR TAX RETURNS THAT THEY SUBMIT LATER THIS YEAR.
SO THE, SO THERE MAY, UH, BE SOME DELAY FOR THOSE IN THAT SITUATION.
UM, THE, THE, UH, THE SECOND ITEM THERE, UH, THE ENHANCED UNEMPLOYMENT, THEY DID ADD AN ADDITIONAL $300 PER WEEK IN UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ON TOP OF THE CURRENT STATE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
UH, THAT RUNS THROUGH MIDDLE OF MARCH, MARCH 14TH, I BELIEVE.
AND OF COURSE, IT'S THE SAME, UH, PROCESS FOR APPLYING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT THAT EXISTS TODAY.
THIS IS JUST AN ENHANCEMENT, UH, THROUGH FEDERAL FUNDING.
UH, THERE, WE WILL GET TO THIS IN A SECOND.
THERE IS, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THIS WAS NOT IN THE CARESS ACT, THERE IS A RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UH, UH, POT OF MONEY WE'LL TALK ABOUT.
UH, BUT AS PART OF THAT, UH, THEY EXTENDED THE EVICTION MORATORIUM TO JANUARY 31ST, 2021, SO ANOTHER MONTH.
AND THEN THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT IN TURN EXTENDED THAT, UH, MORATORIUM UNTIL MARCH.
SO THERE'S A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM BETWEEN LANDLORDS AND TENANTS, UH, TO, UM, TO OFFSET TO DELAY EVICTIONS AND FUNDING COME FROM THE STATE, UH, UH, TO SUPPLEMENT IT OR, OR, UH, SUBSIDIZE IT, I SHOULD SAY.
IN TERMS OF BUSINESSES, UM, THERE WAS A TOTAL OF $325 BILLION FOR SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE, THE BIGGEST PART OF WHICH IS THE NEW ROUND OF PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM LOANS.
P P P, THIS IS ACTUALLY THE THIRD ROUND, UH, FORMALLY, UH, AND A LOT WAS DONE TO ADDRESS CRITICISMS OF THE, OF THE ROUND OVER THE SUMMER THAT, UH, MANY CLAIMED, UH, WAS, UH, PUT SMALL BUSINESSES AT A DISADVANTAGE AND WENT TO LARGE BUSINESSES.
SO, ONE SMALL EXAMPLE IS THAT, UH, THE PORTAL OPENED FOR APPLICATIONS FOR P P P LOANS, UH, THIS, UH, MONDAY, TWO DAYS AGO, IT OPENED INITIALLY FOR COMMUNITY, UH, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS GROUP, LIKE GROUPS LIKE LYFT FUND THAT'S TYPICALLY SERVE SMALL BUSINESSES, MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES.
THE INTENT WAS TO GIVE THOSE, UM, LENDERS LIKE LIFTFUND AND ADVANTAGE, OR A HEADSTART, I SHOULD SAY, BEFORE ALL THE OTHER BANKS CAN APPLY.
AND SO THE PORTAL IS NOW OPEN TO EVERYBODY ELSE EFFECTIVE TODAY.
UH, AND SO, UH, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UM, AND THEY'LL BE ON THE B SESSION CALL TODAY AND, AND CAN TALK ABOUT IT MORE AT LENGTH, BUT THEY ARE WORKING TO HELP EDUCATE BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES, HELP DIRECT THEM TO PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP WITH APPLICATIONS, UH, RESTAURANTS IN PARTICULAR.
UH, OUR PARTNERS AT THE TEXAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION ARE ON THIS CALL, AND WE'LL TALK WITH THEM NEXT, BUT THEY HAVE DESIGNATED, UH, THE TRANS PECOS BANK BASED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AS THE EXCLUSIVE BANK FOR RESTAURANTS TO APPLY, UH, AND ARE ASKING FOR HELP TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT.
SO THIS IS NOT MONEY, OBVIOUSLY, THAT WILL COME TO THE CITY, UH, BUT WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING WITHIN OUR POWER TO MAKE SURE THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN SAN ANTONIO IS AWARE OF THE OPPORTUNITY IN APPLYING.
THERE'S ALSO A, A $20 BILLION, UM, ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER LOAN, UH, FUNDING STREAM.
THOSE ARE TRUE, UH, LOANS WITH A, AN INTEREST RATE AND A PAYBACK.
UH, FOR BUSINESSES THAT HAVE SUFFERED A TREMENDOUS LOSS OF REVENUE, THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY FORGIVABLE LOANS.
SO THAT'S GENERALLY PROVIDED THEY MEET ALL THE REQUIREMENTS, THOSE ARE FUNDING THAT THEY DON'T NEED TO PAY BACK.
THE E I D L ON THE OTHER HAND, IS A, IS A TRUE LOAN FOR BUSINESSES THAT NEED IT TO, TO GET THEM THROUGH A ROUGH SPOT.
UH, THE EMPLOYEE RETENTION TAX CREDIT WAS EXTENDED AND INCREASED.
SO BASICALLY, EMPLOYERS WHO KEEP AN EMPLOYEE ON THE PAYROLL, UH, AND PAY WHATEVER PORTION OF THEIR WAGES IS NOT WITH THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM, UH, THEY CAN CLAIM A TAX CREDIT FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL.
AND SIMILARLY, THE WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT, WHICH REWARDS EMPLOYERS FOR HIRING, UH, PEOPLE FROM TARGETED AREAS AND SO FORTH, UH, WAS ALSO EXTENDED.
SO THOSE ARE BENEFITS TO HELP BUSINESSES KEEP EMPLOYEES EMPLOYED THROUGH THIS CHALLENGING TIME.
UH, IN TERMS OF FUNDING, THAT WILL GO TO THE STATE, UH, THERE WAS A $1.5 BILLION TESTING TRACING, UH, VACCINE FUNDING.
I'LL, I'LL GET TO THE VACCINE PART IN A MINUTE, 'CAUSE THAT IS COMING TO US DIRECTLY, BUT THE 1.5 BILLION, UH, IN TESTING TRACING, WILL GO TO STATES.
AND THAT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THE STATE OF TEXAS
[00:35:01]
HAS PICKED UP ALMOST ALL OF THE COST OF TESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY.UH, AND SO THIS GIVES ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO THE STATE TO KEEP DOING THAT.
AND FOR ALL, AS FAR AS WE KNOW, THEY WILL CONTINUE, UH, TO MANAGE THE TESTING.
UH, FOR US, UH, THERE'S 5.5 BILLION FOR SCHOOLS, BOTH FOR K THROUGH 12 AND FOR UNIVERSITIES, UH, TO HELP THEM WITH REOPENING BY, BY RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENT AND SO FORTH.
WE HAVE NOT HEARD LOCALLY YET FROM OUR DISTRICTS WHAT THEY EXPECT THAT TO MEAN FROM THEM.
WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS NOW, BUT BIG PICTURE, THAT MONEY IS GOING TO THE STATE.
SIMILARLY, FUNDING FOR STATE HIGHWAYS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT TO CONTINUE, AND THEN 7 BILLION FOR BROADBAND, UH, IN A COUPLE OF MAJOR CATEGORIES.
THERE'S ABOUT 300 MILLION GOING TO STATES TO EXPAND BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, TO UN UNDERSERVED AREAS.
SO THAT'S PART OF THAT FUNDING THAT WE WANNA, YOU KNOW, LINE OURSELVES UP WITH AT THE STATE LEVEL, UH, TO BE ABLE TO SECURE AND HELP, HELP GROW THE INFRASTRUCTURE HERE.
UH, THE BIGGEST PIECE OF IT, THOUGH, IS THIS $3.5 BILLION TO GET LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS CONNECTED.
AND THE WAY IT'S GONNA WORK IS THAT FUNDING IS GOING TO FLOW TO INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS WHO VOLUNTARILY PARTICIPATE.
AND WHAT IT WILL DO IS ALLOW THEM TO OFFER A $50 PER MONTH DISCOUNT ON INTERNET SERVICE TO QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.
AND IF THAT INDIVIDUAL IS PROVIDED A DEVICE BY THE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER, A LAPTOP OR TABLET OR WHAT HAVE YOU, UH, IT'S, IT CREATES A HUNDRED DOLLARS, UH, BENEFIT TO THE COMPANY.
SO $50 FOR SERVICE AND UP TO A HUNDRED DOLLARS PER DEVICE IF THE ISPS PARTICIPATE.
WE'VE REACHED OUT TO TIME, UH, CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS TO AT AND T HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM CHARTER YET, AND AT AND T HAS TOLD US THEY ARE STILL ASSESSING WHETHER OR NOT TO PARTICIPATE, UM, AND, AND POINTED TO THEIR CURRENT PROGRAM THAT OFFERS $10 A MONTH, UH, INTERNET SERVICE FOR QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.
SO WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS NOW.
LOCALLY, AND ACTUALLY, THIS IS SPECIFIC TO THE CITY.
UM, WE, WE KNOW ALREADY, AND, AND I BELIEVE THE CITY MANAGER HAS COMMUNICATED TO YOU THAT WE ARE, UH, TO RECEIVE $13.9 MILLION FOR VACCINATION ACTIVITIES THAT WILL GO TO METRO HEALTH.
UH, THAT IS DIRECT MONEY FROM THE FEDS TO SAN ANTONIO.
IN FACT, WE WERE ONE OF ONLY FIVE CITIES THAT GOT THAT MONEY DIRECTLY.
EVERYBODY ELSE IS GETTING IT THROUGH THEIR STATE.
UM, THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT I MENTIONED FIRST TIME, THIS IS IN THE FEDERAL RELIEF ACT.
IT ALLOWS CITIES OVER 200,000 IN POPULATION TO APPLY FOR DIRECT FUNDING.
AND WE SUBMITTED THAT APPLICATION THROUGH OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT ON FRIDAY.
SO WE EXPECT THAT MONEY TO COME DIRECTLY TO THE CITY AND NOT THROUGH THE STATE.
UH, LOOKING AT THE FORMULAS THAT THE NATIONWIDE, UH, THAT THE NATIONAL TRADE ASSOCIATIONS HAVE, UH, PUT OUT, AND, AND WE EXPECT THIS IS AN ESTIMATED, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT WE HAVE ESTIMATED THAT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT TO BE ROUGHLY $6 MILLION, UH, THAT WOULD COME TO THE CITY POTENTIALLY, UH, TO BE USED FOR RENTAL AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
THE AIRPORT, UH, IS ALSO, UH, GONNA RECEIVE DIRECT FUNDING.
UM, IT'S NOWHERE NEAR WHAT THEY GOT IN THE, THE CARES ACT, WHICH WAS $40 MILLION.
BUT OUR ESTIMATES AND ESTIMATES FROM SOME OF THE NATIONAL GROUPS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT AROUND THE EIGHT TO $10 MILLION MARK.
UH, SO THAT'S ADDITIONAL RELIEF TO HELP COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS GET THROUGH.
UH, WHAT IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY CHALLENGING TIME AT THAT TO, AT THIS POINT, THAT'S THE EXTENT OF THE REVENUE THAT WOULD COME TO THE CITY, UH, FROM THIS ACT.
AND, AND LAST PIECE OF THIS, UH, ACT ARE OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WATCHING AND COMMUNICATING WITH.
THERE IS TRANSIT MONEY, UH, VIA EXPECTS BASED ON THE FORMULAS THAT WERE USED OVER THE SUMMER TO RECEIVE ABOUT 61 MILLION IN OPERATIONAL SUPPORT.
UM, THERE'S ABOUT 400 MILLION FOR FOOD BANKS NATIONWIDE, AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO MARIO BLATO AND OUR PARTNERS AT THE SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK.
AGAIN, DON'T HAVE A SOLID NUMBER YET, BUT, UH, THEY ARE LOOKING AT THAT AND, AND, UH, KEEP US POSTED.
THERE'S ALSO MONEY THAT WENT TO SUPPLEMENT THE SNAP PROGRAM, WHICH IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO MANY, MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN FINALLY, THERE'S A, A, A REVENUE STREAM FOR LIVE VENUES, MU MOVIE THEATERS, ET CETERA, THAT, UM, THAT HAVE, HAVE SUFFERED IN THIS TIME AND HAD TO SHUT DOWN IN MANY CASES.
WE'RE, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT IT CLOSELY, BUT WE DON'T BELIEVE, UH, THE CITY'S VENUES WILL QUALIFY LIKE THE CONVENTION CENTER OR ALAMO DOME, FOR EXAMPLE.
[00:40:01]
IT'S DIRECTED MORE TOWARDS SMALL AND INDEPENDENT VENUES.BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT, UH, GIVEN THE MASSIVE, UH, REDUCTIONS IN REVENUES THAT WE'VE ALSO EXPERIENCED.
SO, UH, I'M HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
UM, MELISSA, SHANNON, DO, DO YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT? 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE YOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR OWN FEDERAL PRIORITIES.
SO ACTUALLY, I DON'T HAVE THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT DIRECTION YET ON THE, THE NEW, UH, CONGRESS, THE ONE 17TH.
SO ON THE 26TH COMMISSIONER'S COURT MEETING, UM, I WILL BE PROPOSING, UH, THE COUNTY'S AGENDA.
UM, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ? YEAH.
UH, THANKS, UH, MR. CO-CHAIR? YEAH, THE, THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD, UH, TO THAT IS I KNOW THAT OUR COUNTY STAFF DID ALSO, UM, PUT IN THE, UH, APPLICATION FOR THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE DOLLARS.
I THINK THEY COMPLETED THAT ON MONDAY.
UM, AS, AS YOU STATED, JEFF, IT'S NOT COMING DIRECTLY TO COMMUNITIES, WE'VE GOTTA, UH, APPLY FOR IT.
SO I KNOW WE'VE ALSO PUT IN, UM, FOR THAT, UH, A QUESTION ON THE, UM, THE VACCINATION ACTIVITIES.
JEFF, UM, IS THERE ANYTHING MORE DEFINED ON THAT, ON THE DOLLARS YOU'RE GETTING TO METRO HEALTH? IS IT, IS IT FOR, UH, ADDITIONAL CAPACITY FOR VACCINATIONS? IS IT, IS IT, IS IT SPECIFIED WHAT THAT MONEY CAN BE USED FOR OTHER THAN VACCINATION ACTIVITIES?
I, I, OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT FOR THE PURCHASE OF VACCINES ITSELF.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S MORE FOR THE SUPPORT FOR HOSTING THE DISTRIBUTION AND, AND DELIVERY OF VACCINES.
BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE SPECIFICS THAN THAT.
UH, MELISSA, CAN YOU CHECK WITH, WITH U H S AND, AND SEE IF THEY, UH, RECEIVED ANY OF THAT FUNDING DIRECTLY AND, AND LET US KNOW.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE CHAIR HAPPY TO SHARE.
WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE THE EMAIL NOTICE THAT WE GOT THAT MAY HELP HELP YOU TRACE YOU BACK TO THE SOURCE ON SOME OF THIS.
SO, UM, I'LL SEND THAT TO MELISSA AND, AND IF THAT'S HELPFUL FOR YOU.
THANK YOU, JEFF, IN, UH, REVERSE ORDER.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS ALL, UH, TO BE PLAYED, EXCUSE ME, TO BE PLAYED OUT YET.
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WE CAN ACTUALLY GARNER THROUGH THIS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AND, AND THE COUNTY.
AND WE'LL JUST, UH, UH, WAIT TO HEAR MORE UPDATES FROM YOU, JEFF, ON, ON WHERE THIS IS GOING AND HOW WE CAN BE OUT IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY ELSE TO GET A, GET A, EITHER MORE OR AT LEAST OUR FAIR SHARE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION.
UM, THANKS JEFF FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR BRINGING SOME CLARITY ON THIS.
UM, FIRST QUESTION I HAVE, CAN YOU GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL OF WHAT WAS MEANT WITH THE $10 BILLION FOR STATE HIGHWAYS? WHAT IS THAT? LET ME, UH, LET ME CALL MY LIFELINE.
I, I, I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY.
SALLY, DO YOU HAVE MORE DETAILS ON THAT? COUNCILWOMAN? WE HAVE NOT SEEN THE SPECIFIC DETAILS, UH, RELATED TO THE GUIDANCE.
WE KNOW THE FUNDING OBVIOUSLY IS GOING DIRECTLY, UH, TO THE STATE.
UM, I DID READ THAT THERE'S A SMALL PORTION THAT THE STATE, UM, IN OUR CASE,
IF WE'RE WAITING TO SEE MORE DETAILS ON THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF THE CONSULTANTS HAVE MORE INFORMATION THEY CAN SHARE.
SO WE, WE WERE DEFINITELY TRACKING THE INFORMATION CLOSELY COMING OUT OF A D O T.
'CAUSE I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE ALREADY HAD, YOU KNOW, THE BUILD GRANT APPLICATION, THE BUILD GRANT THAT WE WERE TRYING TO PUSH FORWARD, AND IT WAS CONNECTING WITH OUR HIGHWAY AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE ALREADY HAVE THINGS PREPARED THAT WE CAN PUSH FORWARD, UH, COLLECTIVELY AS A COMMUNITY.
SO ONCE YOU GET THE GUIDANCE, IF YOU COULD, UM, I KNOW YOU ALREADY HAVE THAT ON YOUR RADAR, SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO PULL THAT FORWARD.
AND THEN, UM, ANOTHER QUESTION, WHEN IT COMES TO THE, THE 15 BILLION WITH LIVE VENUES, ARE WE IN COMMUNICATION WITH OUR LOCAL, UM, OUTLETS, OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY VENUES WHO ARE LOOKING AT THAT AND MAYBE LOOKING TO US TO, TO SUPPORT OR TO HELP THEM
[00:45:01]
IN SOME WAY? UM, HAVE WE HAD ANY CONVERSATIONS? WE, WE HAVE, NOT FROM OUR OFFICE, BUT I WILL ASK OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM PARTNERS AND BE PREPARED TO ANSWER THAT THIS AFTERNOON AT THE B SESSION.I KNOW THEY'RE WORKING ALSO, AND, AND ALSO WITH DEBBIE ROCK SITTER, MAYBE IF SOMEBODY HAS REACHED UP TO HER AS WELL.
YEAH, JEFF, AND ON THAT NOTE, UM, I, I, I KNOW THAT, I'M SORRY, COUNCILMAN, JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, UM, BLAINE TUCKER, WHO'S A LOCAL, UM, ACTIVIST OWNER OF SOME OF THESE SMALL VENUES, WAS PRETTY INSTRUMENTAL IN, UM, PUSHING FOR THAT LEGISLATION.
SO, UH, THERE IS A COALITION LOCALLY AND, AND, UH, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT INFO, WE CAN PASS IT ON TO YOU.
SO IT'D BE GOOD TO, TO REACH OUT TO YOU.
AND THEN, UM, WITH THE 13.9, UH, BILLION DIRECT TO SAN ANTONIO, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT BECAUSE OF OUR STANDUP ON THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT KNOWING THAT THAT IS JUST ONE, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF AREA TO COVER, SO, UM, HAVE WE GOT, SO IT'S VERY BROAD, AND WE'RE PROBABLY TRYING TO FINE TUNE THE GUIDANCE WITH THAT 13.9, BECAUSE I KNOW WE WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO STAND UP ANOTHER MASS DISTRIBUTION SITE, UH, OF, FOR THE FARTHER SOUTHWEST SIDE, AND THEN FOR THE FARTHER SOUTHERN, UM, UH, EVEN OF THE COUNTY, I KNOW SOUTH SIDE, I S V HAS ALREADY REACHED OUT TO US BECAUSE THAT AREA, UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HAVE SOME MORE.
AND IT'S BEEN EXTREMELY, UH, IMPACTED.
I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES AND HOPE COMING FORWARD.
AND, UH, I UNDERSTAND COUNCILWOMAN GARCIA HAS NO QUESTIONS.
UM, SO, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, REMIND YOU, JEFF, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND REMIND EVERYBODY THAT THE OUTLOOK IN DC AND THE ALGEBRA THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR LOBBYISTS AND THAT JEFF'S TEAM AND MELISSA'S TEAM ARE DOING IS, UM, HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY.
UH, AND IT'S PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE.
AND SO, YOU'RE RIGHT, UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A GOOD START, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FLUIDITY OF, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO, UH, GET COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
AND, UM, YOU'VE GOT SOME FRIENDS FROM THE RESTAURANT, UH, INDUSTRY, UH, THAT WE'VE INVITED TODAY TO GIVE US AN IDEA OF, UH, HOW DC AND AUSTIN LOOK TO THEM.
UH, COUNCILMAN, IF I COULD FOR JUST ONE SECOND, UH, BEFORE WE GO TO THAT, SIR, BECAUSE IT RELATES DIRECTLY TO WHAT, UH, WAS JUST REVIEWED.
UH, WE, WE, UH, WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE ABOUT THE PROSPECTS FOR, UH, THE, THEIR, THE PROSPECTS ARE MUCH BETTER ACTUALLY NOW WITH THE NEW LAYOUT IN THE CONGRESS FOR, UH, BILLS, LIKE ANOTHER STIMULUS BILL FOR, UH, AN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AND SO FORTH.
AND I'M GONNA, IF JUST FOR A, A COUPLE OF MINUTES, ALLOW, UH, RON ANO AND OUR FIRM TO GO OVER THAT.
BUT I DID WANNA ANNOUNCE THAT, UH, JUST ABOUT HALF AN HOUR AGO, TONY GONZALEZ CALLED TO SAY, LET ME, EXCUSE ME, TO LET ME KNOW THAT HE'S ON APPROPRIATIONS.
HE DOESN'T HAVE HIS, UH, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS YET.
AND, UH, I, I GO WAY BACK WITH HIM.
I TOLD HIM, UH, ABOUT A MONTH AGO THAT HE NEEDED TO GET WITH HENRY QUAR, A GOOD DEAR FRIEND WHO, UH, IS A SENIOR APPROPRIATOR.
WE'RE TRYING TO WORK HAND IN HAND FOR THE CITY.
AND TONY IS ALL FIRED UP ABOUT, UH, HIS NEW COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT.
UH, I, I KNOW THERE ARE OTHER COMMITTEES IN THE HOUSE, BUT A LOT OF, I SERVED ON THAT COMMITTEE FOR 14 YEARS, AND WE GOT A LOT DONE.
AND, UH, THAT, THAT IS, WE, WE ALWAYS FELT, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THE OTHERS, THAT THERE'S THAT COMMITTEE AND THEN THERE'S EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND NOT TO DIMINISH WHAT, UH, WAYS AND MEANS IN COMMERCE DO AND ALL THAT, BUT THAT'S MONEY IN THE HANDS OF CONSTITUENTS.
AND NOW WE HAVE A, A VERY AGGRESSIVE, HARDWORKING BULLDOG THAT IS, UH, IS ALREADY, WE HAD HIM AT THE AIRPORT MONDAY, AND HE'S ALREADY FIRED UP ABOUT, UH, ABOUT, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING ALL HE CAN FOR THE CITY.
SO I JUST WANNA LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT AND RUN JUST A MINUTE OR TWO, WE DON'T WANNA DELAY TO TALK ABOUT THE PROSPECTS FOR, UH, MORE INFRASTRUCTURE AND STIMULUS IN SPITE OF THE ALL THE UGLY BSS THAT'S GOING ON IN DC NOW.
THAT ACTUALLY DOES LOOK BRIGHTER, YOU KNOW.
AND I WILL BE QUICK COUNCILMAN, JUST TO KIND OF ECHO YOU, YOU MENTIONED THE ALGEBRA CHANGING SIGNIFICANTLY HERE IN THE PAST WEEK, AND IT CERTAINLY HAS, AND IT HAS, I THINK, CREATED A, UH, YOU KNOW, AND SS AND JEFF KNOW THIS WELL, A MUCH BETTER ENVIRONMENT FOR POTENTIAL, UM, LARGE PIECES OF LEGISLATION, THE TWO THAT HENRY MENTIONED MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, AND I, AND I THINK FOR A ANOTHER POTENTIAL LARGE COVID BILL.
I WAS ON A CALL LAST NIGHT WITH SOME FOLKS THAT WERE TALKING MAYBE TWO TO THREE TIMES AS BIG
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AS THE ONE THAT JUST PASSED SOMETHING LATER THIS SPRING.UM, AND JUST FOR TIMING, PERSPECTIVES, UNEMPLOYMENT, UH, BENEFITS HERE RUN THROUGH ABOUT MID TO LATE MARCH.
AND SO THAT'S WHEN PEOPLE WILL REALLY START FOCUSING AGAIN ON THAT NEXT BILL.
SO JUST, JUST KEEP THAT IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES COMING DOWN THE PIPE, UM, FOR A LOT OF THE COMMENTS HERE TODAY, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT LONGER TERM, BUT ALSO EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT, I THINK RELATES A LOT TO HAVING SOMEONE LIKE TONY GONZALEZ PAIRED WITH A DEMOCRAT LIKE HENRY QUA ON APPROPRIATIONS IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A, A LARGER INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
UM, REMEMBER, WHILE THE DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY IS SLIM IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE, THE ABILITY TO PASS SOMETHING THROUGH THE RECONCILIATION PROCESS IS, IS ALREADY BEING BANDAIDED ABOUT.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE UTILIZED TO PASS SOME OF THESE LARGER BILLS.
UM, THEY'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT DOING SO AS IT RELATES TO THE NEXT COVID BILL AND THEN LATER THIS YEAR AS IT RELATES TO AN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
SO A LOT OF POTENTIAL OP FUNDING STREAM OPPORTUNITIES COMING DOWN THE PIKE.
AND I JUST, UH, WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE FLAG THAT FOR YOU ALL AND DO KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO THE WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE AIRPORT, BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO CHIME IN AS THE TEAM KNOWS ON WHATEVER ELSE IS NECESSARY.
UH, CHAIRMAN, JUST FOR THE COMMITTEE'S BENEFIT, A LITTLE BACKGROUND.
YOU, UH, CHAIRMAN HAD REACHED OUT GOING ON A MONTH OR SO AGO NOW AND, AND ASKED THAT WE CONNECT WITH THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY AND MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP HELP THEM ADVOCATE, UH, AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL.
UM, THEY DID, UH, PROVIDE US A, A MO GOOD MONTH OR SO AGO, A LIST OF THINGS THEY WERE SEEKING IN THE FEDERAL RELIEF ACT, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT A LOT OF THOSE THINGS WERE ACHIEVED.
UH, AND I'LL LET THE TEAM GET INTO THAT.
BUT JUST AS QUICK INTRODUCTIONS, UM, KELLY, UH, KELSEY, ERICS REFEER AS THE, UH, WITH THE TEXAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, I'VE KNOWN HER FOR MANY YEARS.
SHE, UH, WAS THE GENERAL COUNSEL TO STATE SENATOR KIRK WATSON, AND PRIOR TO THAT, WORKED FOR, UH, STATE SENATOR, UH, JOHN CORONA.
SHE'S BEEN A WONDERFUL PARTNER TO US.
AND, AND, UH, OUR, OUR WORK TOGETHER GOES BACK MANY YEARS.
ALL OF YOU KNOW, DON LARIOS, UH, FORMERLY WORKED FOR MAYOR HARDBERGER AND REPRESENTATIVE, UH, GUTIERREZ, AMONG OTHERS.
SHE'S WITH THE SAN ANTONIO RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION.
AND, UH, AND HER TEAMMATE, CINDY, UH, ANTES IS ALSO IN THE CALL TOO.
SO I WILL, UM, PAUSE HERE AND, AND HAND IT OFF TO DAWN, I BELIEVE.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, JEFF.
THANK YOU TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ AND CONGRESSMAN BONIA.
UM, YES, WE, OUR TEXAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION TEAM HAS WORKED VERY HARD ON THIS BILL, WHICH THANKFULLY WAS, UH, EXECUTED, SIGNED ON THE 27TH OF DECEMBER.
AND SO THERE'S SOME KEY POINTS THAT I'D LIKE TO GO OVER.
UH, AND KELSEY, IF YOU'D LIKE TO JUMP IN AT ANY TIME, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO.
SHE'S, UH, BEEN SO INSTRUMENTAL.
SHE'S OUR VICE PRESIDENT'S, UH, VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS AND ADVOCACY, AND SO SHE WILL BE THE POINT PERSON WHEN IT COMES TO THESE FEDERAL ISSUES, OUR WORKING WITH THE STATE LEGISLATURE.
SO, UM, YOU'LL HEAR A LOT MORE FROM KELSEY IN THE MONTHS TO COME.
SO THIS 5,000 PAGE BILL, UH, GOING THROUGH IT, OUR TEAM PULLED OUT THE KEY POINTS THAT BENEFITS OUR RESTAURANTS AND SOME OF THE MAIN ISSUES.
UM, IT, THE LOAN THAT IT PRESENTS TO OUR RESTAURANTS, IT GIVES THEM THREE AND A HALF TIMES THE MONTHLY PAYROLL FOR, FOR BUSINESSES.
NOW YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS LOAN IF YOU CAN PROVE THAT YOUR BUSINESS HAS SUFFERED 25% IN REVENUE LOSS IN GROSS RECEIPTS.
SO THAT NUMBER, UH, HAD BEEN, IT, IT WAS DECREASED.
THEY HAD WANTED TO START WITH 50%, THEN IT WENT DOWN TO 35%.
SO THE FACT THAT RESTAURANTS CAN NOW SHOW THAT THEY'VE, UH, YOU KNOW, HAD A LOSS OF 25%, THAT THAT IS MUCH HELPFUL, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE SMALL MOM AND POP RESTAURANTS.
SO WE WERE VERY PLEASED ABOUT THAT.
NOW, WHAT THIS MEANS, UH, 60% CAN GO TOWARDS PAYROLL, UH, WHICH INCLUDES RETIREMENT.
UM, ALL THOSE OTHER EXPENSIVE 40% CAN GO TOWARDS NON-PAYROLL, UH, ITEMS SUCH AS MORTGAGE.
UH, AND ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES, ONE OF THE KEY ISSUES THAT WE REALLY FOUGHT FOR WAS TECHNOLOGY.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, A LOT OF THESE RESTAURANTS HAVE TO CREATE, UH, A ENTIRELY NEW BUSINESS MODEL, WHICH INCLUDES TECHNOLOGY.
WE'RE TALKING CONTACTLESS PAYMENT.
UH, WHEN IT COMES TO CURBSIDE TAKEOUT, WHICH,
[00:55:01]
YOU KNOW, DUE TO THE SHUTDOWN, IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE MEANS FOR TAKEOUT, UH, AND, AND FOOD TO GO AND CURBSIDE, YOU WERE PRETTY MUCH OUTTA LUCK.YOU HAD TO SHUT YOUR DOORS DOWN.
SO THIS WAS, UH, VERY HELPFUL TO OUR RESTAURANTS AND WILL BE FOR, FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT IT WILL, THEY CAN USE THAT FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY, UM, BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD TO, YOU KNOW, THEIR NEW P O S SYSTEMS HAVE HAD TO CHANGE.
UM, SO ANYTHING, WHEN YOU THINK OF THE TECHNOLOGY, ALL OF THAT CAN BE, UH, FORGIVEN.
NOW, UH, THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT, IT'S 2 MILLION, UH, UP TO 2 MILLION.
AND, UH, ANOTHER KEY ISSUE IS THAT THIS, THIS WILL PERTAIN TO RESTAURANTS THAT HAVE UP TO 300 EMPLOYEES NOW, BEFORE IT WAS 500, BUT, UH, THEY'VE CHANGED IT TO UP TO 300 EMPLOYEES.
AND THIS IS PER LOCATION, PER PHYSICAL LOCATION, WHICH AGAIN, IS VERY HELPFUL TO A LOT OF THESE RESTAURANTS THAT HAVE MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.
UH, IT ALSO HELPS THE FRANCHISEES, YOU, YOU ALL KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT A LOT HERE LOCALLY.
UM, SO THAT'S, UH, THAT WAS, UH, VERY HELPFUL.
UM, AGAIN, ON THAT 40%, THE NON-PAYROLL PORTION OF THIS LOAN.
SO NOT ONLY DOES IT GO TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY, BUT IT CAN ALSO GO TOWARDS P P E AND CLEANING PRODUCTS.
AND, AND I HAVE TO THANK THE, I HAVE TO JUST THROW THIS IN, BUT I HAVE TO THANK THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO FOR, UH, MOST RECENTLY DONATING OVER A THOUSAND GALLONS OF SANITIZER, MASKS AND THERMOMETERS TO OUR ASSOCIATION FOR OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS.
AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN DISTRIBUTING THAT BECAUSE THE P P E HAS BEEN SO EXPENSIVE.
AGAIN, OUR RESTAURANTS HAVE HAD TO COMPLETELY CHANGE THEIR BUSINESS MODEL, UH, SANITIZER, THE MASKS, AND, AND OF COURSE, THEY'RE HAPPY TO DO THIS, TO KEEP THEIR COMMUNITY SAFE, UH, AND OF COURSE, THE EMPLOYEES SAFE.
UH, AND IT'S ALL ABOUT KEEPING EMPLOYEES ON, ON THE PAYROLL.
UM, NEXT ITEM, TAX DEDUCTIBILITY.
SO FOR REALMS, ONE OF THE P P P AND THIS SECOND ROUND, UH, YOU CAN DEDUCT, UH, EXPENSES ON, ON PAYROLL, RENT, MORTGAGE, UH, UTILITIES, AND OTHER EXPENSES.
THIS IS VERY HELPFUL BE BECAUSE RESTAURANTS WERE SO WORRIED THAT, YOU KNOW, HERE THEY'VE SUFFERED FOR THE LAST 10 MONTHS.
UH, AND OF COURSE, THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE TO PREPARE FOR APRIL 15TH, UH, AND, AND HAVE TO PAY ALL THESE ADDED TAXES.
AND, AND NOW THEY, THEY CAN DEFINITELY DEDUCT ALL THESE ADDED EXPENSES THAT, THAT THEY'VE HAD TO, TO, UM, THAT THEY'VE HAD DURING THIS PANDEMIC.
SO, SO THAT'S BEEN A BIG HELP.
UH, EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR MORE GUIDANCE ON THIS ISSUE, BUT BASICALLY YOU CAN, THESE ARE TAX CREDITS THAT YOU CAN NOW ADD, UM, ALSO WITH THE P P P, SO YOU CAN APPLY FOR P P P, UH, FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES, UH, AS WELL AS THIS, UH, TAX CREDIT, UM, WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT.
IT'S, UM, A GRANT SUPPORTING RESTAURANTS THAT HIRE, TRAIN, AND RETAIN EMPLOYEES.
UM, THE EXPANDED BUSINESS MEAL DEDUCTION, TH THIS IS ANOTHER ITEM.
IT, IT WAS OF COURSE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE P P P, BUT, UH, WE WANT TO BRING PEOPLE BACK TO OUR RESTAURANTS.
AND SO WE, UH, THEY HAVE GRANTED THAT ANY BUSINESS MEETING BUSINESS EXPENSES THAT ARE OCCURRING IN RESTAURANTS, THOSE CAN NOW BE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
AND, AND HOPEFULLY IT'LL, IT'LL BRING ALL OF YOU BACK TO OUR RESTAURANTS.
UM, LET'S SEE, TEMPORARY ENHAN ENHANCEMENTS TO S B A NON P P LENDING PROGRAMS. THIS, OF COURSE, WILL HELP PRESERVE, UH, HELP OUR RESTAURANTS PRESERVE AS MUCH CASH ON HAND AS POSSIBLE.
SO THIS IS, UM, THIS, THIS WAS VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY TO OUR, OUR SMALLER BUSINESSES.
UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? NOT, NOT YET.
UH, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU COMPLETE YOUR PRESENTATION BEFORE WE, UM, TAKE QUESTIONS.
WELL, UM, SO LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, KEY DETAILS.
SO THIS P P P LOAN, IT'S THREE AND A HALF TIMES THE MONTHLY PAYROLL FOR BUSINESSES.
UM, AND ANY BUSINESSES, ANY RESTAURANTS WHO HAVE SUFFERED THROUGHOUT THIS PANDEMIC, UM, AND, AND WHO HAD A
[01:00:01]
RESTAURANT PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 15TH CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS P P P LOAN.I WENT OVER THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT.
IT'S UP TO 2 MILLION PER LOCATION.
UH, AND, AND THAT WOULD BE, THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IN THE FUTURE WE WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE.
WE, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN INCREASE IN THAT AMOUNT, UH, IT WILL BE A CHALLENGE TO CHANGE THAT NUMBER, BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST HAPPY.
THE FACT THAT THIS PAST, AND, AND AT LEAST OUR, OUR RESTAURANTS ARE, ARE GETTING THAT, UM, AGAIN, THEY HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE A 25% REVENUE LOSS IN GROSS RECEIPTS.
UH, THE ORIGINAL THRESHOLD WAS PROPOSED AT 50%, UH, THEN WENT DOWN TO 35%.
UM, THE LOCATION ELIGIBILITY SIZE, UH, AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE AT LEAST, UH, UP TO TO 300 EMPLOYEES, YOU CAN APPLY FOR THIS P P P.
SO THAT, THAT PRETTY MUCH COVERS, UH, MY PRESENTATION.
UM, THERE, THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER ISSUES LIKE THE 5 0 1 C SIX.
I MEAN, THANK GOODNESS THAT THEY ARE NOW ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR P P P.
UM, AND I BELIEVE KELSEY WANTED TO, TO MENTION SOMETHING, KELSEY.
NICE TO, NICE TO SEE ALL OF Y'ALL.
AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR INVITING US TO, TO SPEAK TO Y'ALL TODAY.
UM, I WAS, DAWN DID A GREAT JOB LAYING OUT SOME OF THE SPECIFICS.
I WAS JUST GONNA PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF A BIG PICTURE, WHICH IS, UM, AS Y'ALL KNOW, THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY HAS JUST BEEN DECIMATED BY THIS PANDEMIC, UH, LOST MORE REVENUE AND MORE JOBS THAN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY.
UM, AND WE TRULY BELIEVE THAT OUR TEXAS ECONOMY AND OUR SAN ANTONIO ECONOMY NOT RECOVER WITHOUT THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY RECOVERING.
IT'S JUST SUCH A LARGE EMPLOYER, SUCH A LARGE GENERATOR OF TAX REVENUE, UM, AND SUCH A VITAL PART OF OUR FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BILL THAT GOT PASSED OVER THE HOLIDAYS IS A HUGE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UH, THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT WE WERE GONNA LOSE A LOT OF OUR RESTAURANTS, ESPECIALLY OUR SMALL RESTAURANTS, UM, THIS WINTER IF THEY HADN'T GOTTEN SOME KIND OF RELIEF.
UH, BUT WE VERY MUCH VIEW THIS AS A DOWN PAYMENT ON RELIEF.
UM, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, VERY MUCH OF THE OPINION THAT RESTAURANTS NEED INDIVIDUALIZED AND SORT OF SPECIFIC RELIEF GIVEN, UH, THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE.
SORRY, HOPEFULLY Y'ALL CAN'T HEAR MY HUSBAND DOING WHATEVER NOISY ACTIVITY HE'S DOING IN THE NEXT ROOM,
BUT, UH, LIKE I SAID, WE, WE VERY MUCH VIEW THIS AS A DOWN PAYMENT.
UM, WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK AT THE HILL THROUGH OUR, UH, NATIONAL PARTNERS, THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, UH, TO ADVOCATE FOR MORE AND, AND SPECIFICALLY TARGETED RELIEF FOR OUR TEXAS FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY.
AND THEN OF COURSE, AT THE CAPITOL WITH JEFF, UH, YOU KNOW, URGING OUR STATE LEADERS TO DO MORE TOO.
SO, JUST WANTED, WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT BIT OF CONTEXT.
UM, AND THANK Y'ALL AGAIN FOR, FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING TO HELP OUR RESTAURANTS AND FOR LOVING US, LETTING US TALK TO Y'ALL TODAY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, KELSEY, AND OUR BEST, YOUR HUSBAND.
UM, LET, LET'S, UM, LET'S GO AROUND THE HORN.
UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, UH, QUESTIONS? COMMENTS, SIR? HE DROPPED OFF.
UM, CINDY, GOOD TO SEE YOU AS WELL, AND, UH, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN A TOUGH TIME, UM, IN THE INDUSTRY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GLAD THAT HELPS ON THE WAY.
AND I KNOW THE COUNTY'S BEEN A PARTNER TOO IN TRYING TO GET, UH, FUNDING OUT ON, UM, SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS FOR OUR BAR RESTAURANT INDUSTRY.
SO, UM, ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO, LET US KNOW.
AND, AND THANK YOU DON AND TEAM FOR THE INFORMATION.
MY FIRST QUESTION IS, UM, THAT ONE PAGER THAT YOU HAVE, CAN YOU SHARE IT WITH US? I'D LOVE TO SHARE IT WITH SOME OF OUR RESTAURANTS SO THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
UM, AND THEN TWO, DO YOU ALL, HOW DO YOU REACH OUT TO, UM, RESTAURANTS THAT AREN'T MEMBERS OF THE SAN ANTONIO RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, AND, AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT THEY DON'T GET LEFT, UM, BEHIND? I DON'T KNOW IF, OR MAYBE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW YOUR ASSOCIATION WORKS, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, THAT EVERYBODY'S A PART OF A CHAMBER.
SO HOW DOES IT WORK WITH THE SAN ANTONIO RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION? ARE YOU ALL MAKING PHONE CALLS? WE'VE NOTICED THAT, FOR INSTANCE, IN THE P P P, UM, APPLICATIONS AND, AND, AND JUST IN GENERAL, THE, THE, THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE, WE ARE LEAVING BEHIND, FOR INSTANCE, A LOT OF RESTAURANTS IN DISTRICT FOUR, THEIR
[01:05:01]
MOM AND POP RESTAURANTS.THEY COULDN'T EVEN COME TO PICK UP P P E AT THE ALAMO DOME.
WE HAD TO CREATE A SEPARATE E EVENT FOR THEM SO THEY COULD COME SOMEWHERE CLOSER.
UM, SO HOW ARE YOU REACHING THAT AUDIENCE COUNCILWOMAN? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSING THAT.
UH, WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO MANY OF OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS, UH, EARLY ON DURING THIS PANDEMIC, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM DISCUSSED WAS, WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THOSE RESTAURANTS WHO AREN'T MEMBERS? SO NUMBER ONE, IF YOU WERE A MEMBER, NON-MEMBER, WE MADE SURE YOU HAD ACCESS TO RESOURCES, TO OUR NIGHTLY TALK AND OUR PRESIDENT AND C E O, EMILY KNIGHT, SHE'S A DYNAMIC LADY.
AND EVERY NIGHT SHE WAS, UH, SHE WOULD HOST A WEBINAR AND ANYBODY COULD PARTICIPATE.
BUT SHE WAS GIVING SOME KEY POINTS AS TO WHAT WAS OCCURRING THROUGHOUT THE NATION, THROUGHOUT THE STATE, THE EXECUTIVE ORDERS, ANY MANDATES THROUGH LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES.
SO, SO THAT WAS ONE WAY WE REACHED OUT, UM, A A SECOND WAY.
WHAT WE DID LOCALLY IS MY TEAM, UH, I HAVE A GREAT TEAM IN CINDY, AND, AND I KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, UM, WORKED WITH CINDY AT, AT, AT ONE POINT.
BUT, UH, WE, WE WENT OUT TO OUR WEST SIDE, EAST SIDE, SOUTH SIDE, UH, AND EVEN OUR NORTH SIDE.
AND WE WENT TO RESTAURANTS KNOWING THAT THEY WEREN'T MEMBERS, JUST TO LET THEM KNOW, LOOK, HERE'S OUR CARD.
LET US KNOW IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.
AND BY THE WAY, HERE ARE A COUPLE OF BOXES OF MASKS.
IF YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE, LET US KNOW.
AND THOSE MASKS WERE PROVIDED BY BEX COUNTY VERY EARLY ON, UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, JUDGE WOLF, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, WOLF AND, AND THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, RODRIGUEZ AND CALVERT, THAT THEY WERE SO INCREDIBLE IN PROVIDING US CASES OF MASKS.
THEY KNEW THAT OUR RESTAURANTS COULD, COULD NOT WAIT IN A TWO HOUR LINE TO PICK UP TWO BOXES OF MASKS.
SO WE WERE ALLOWING PEOPLE TO EITHER COME PICK THEM UP, IF THEY COULD MAKE IT, IF THEY DID NOT HAVE THE STAFF, BECAUSE DURING THIS PANDEMIC, THEY'VE HAD TO LET SO MANY EMPLOYEES GO.
WE WERE HAPPY TO TAKE THEM TO THEM.
AND, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE WERE DOING.
UM, AND EVEN TODAY AT 2:30 PM PAPA JOHN'S IS DONATING 50,000, UH, MASKS, BOXES OF MASKS, AND THEY'RE GOING TO DONATE AN ADDITIONAL 50,000 BOXES.
AND SO I, I HOPE THAT YOU ALL, IN FACT, I'M OFFERING FOR YOU ALL TO PLEASE LET YOUR RESTAURANTS KNOW.
THEY CAN COME BY THE OFFICE TOMORROW AND PICK UP SOME MASKS, AND, AND I WILL GIVE THEM MORE THAN TWO BOXES BECAUSE I KNOW THE NEED IS THERE.
I KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE P P E IS.
UM, I, UH, I, I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
WOULD LOVE TO, UM, ME TO CONNECT WITH YOU OFFLINE, TO LOOK FOR STRATEGIES FOR, FOR SOME OF THESE HARD TO REACH RESTAURANTS.
I DO HAVE SEVERAL THAT, THAT HAVE, UM, HAD TO LET EMPLOYEES GO.
UM, AND ONE RESTAURANT IN MY DISTRICT IS ACTUALLY HIRING AND DID NOT HAVE TO APPLY FOR A P P P LOAN.
UM, THERE WAS OTHERS, UH, THAT, THAT DID APPLY.
AND SO, BUT YES, I'D LOVE TO CONNECT WITH YOU MORE ON, ON, ON STRATEGY, ON HOW WE PUSH OUT YOUR MESSAGE THAT YOU'RE AVAILABLE.
A LOT OF, UM, THE FOLKS THAT, THAT I REPRESENT, EVEN, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TO RESTAURANTS, THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO, UM, TO WEBINARS, OR THEY DON'T HAVE THE TIME.
THEY'RE CLOSING AT NIGHT, RIGHT? THEY'RE LITERALLY LEAVING THEIR RESTAURANTS AT, AT, YOU KNOW, MIDNIGHT 1:00 AM AND BACK AT IT AT 6:00 AM.
UH, THEY DON'T HAVE SOMEONE THAT COULD WATCH FOR THEM.
AND SO, UM, SO MAYBE WE TALK OFFLINE.
I'D LOVE TO HAVE THAT, UM, OR SOME IDEAS THAT I HAVE AS WELL DONE.
SO THANK YOU AND THANK YOU ALL, UH, FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, AND I CONTINUE TO GET CURBSIDE.
WELL, THANK, WELL, THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN.
AND WE, WE, UH, REALLY DO APPRECIATE THAT.
AND I, I FAILED TO MENTION THAT JUST RECENTLY WE SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH TRANSCOS BANK.
IT'S A LOCAL BANK HERE IN TOWN, AND THEY ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS, ANY RESTAURANTS THROUGHOUT TEXAS WHO NEED HELP WITH THAT P P P APPLICATION.
AND SO I WILL SEND YOU THAT INFORMATION AS WELL, SO YOU HAVE THE CONTACT INFORMATION AND YOU CAN SHARE THAT WITH YOUR RESTAURANTS.
UH, AND, AND COUNCILMAN, I'M GONNA THROW THIS OUT ALSO, IF YOU NEED TO SEND ANYBODY TO OUR OFFICE TO USE OUR COMPUTERS, WE, WE ARE HAPPY TO OPEN OUR DOORS FOR THAT.
OUR DOORS ARE ALWAYS OPEN FOR OUR RESTAURANTS, YOU KNOW, CALL MEDIUM SIZED, LARGE, WHOEVER YOU ARE, PLEASE, PLEASE SEEK OUR HELP BECAUSE WE'RE HERE TO HELP.
THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? YEAH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION,
[01:10:01]
UH, DON AND, AND KELSEY AND YOUR HUSBAND.UM, BUT THERE, THANK YOU CHAIR FOR BRINGING THIS AND HAVING THIS, UM, HERE AT OUR COMMITTEE.
UM, AND I'M VERY, UH, GLAD THAT THIS BILL MOVES FORWARD AND THAT HELP IS ON THE WAY AND THE PORTALS ARE ALREADY OPEN.
AND I WILL SAY I AM, UH, THE SAME CONCERNS THAT COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA MENTIONED ABOUT THE CONNECTION WITH OUR SMALL MOM AND POPS, UM, SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU WERE SHARING, DON.
UM, OUR TEAM WENT OUT DOOR TO DOOR REACHING OUT TO OUR, UM, RESTAURANTS, OUR BUSINESSES IN THE DISTRICT WHO DO NOT, UM, HAVE THE TIME TO, UH, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE EVERYONE'S, EVERYONE'S WORKING.
THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S SPREAD THIN AND EVERYONE'S WORKING, BUT THEY STILL NEED TO KNOW THAT THERE'S HELP AND, UH, DOING WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
SO, UM, IN THIS BILL THAT'S MOVING FORWARD, THAT'S, WELL, THAT HAS MOVED FORWARD ALREADY.
IS THERE SOMETHING THAT ALSO ADDRESSES KIND OF, UM, HELPING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES OR OUR RESTAURANTS WITH DIGITAL OR, UM, TOUCH-FREE, UH, YOU KNOW, PAYMENTS, DO YOU KNOW? YES, MA'AM.
AND, AND THAT'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT I DID MENTION.
SO THIS P P P LOAN, 60%, YOU CAN APPLY TOWARDS PAYROLL, 40%.
YOU CAN APPLY TOWARDS, UH, NON-PAYROLL ITEMS SUCH AS YOUR P P E, UM, CLEANING SUPPLIES, PERISHABLE FOOD, AND ALSO DIGITAL, UH, TECHNOLOGY.
UM, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT SO MANY RESTAURANTS HAVE HAD TO CHANGE THEIR BUSINESS MODEL AND, AND THEY'RE HAVING TO NOW BE, BECOME INNOVATIVE AND, AND ADD TECHNOLOGY TO THEIR, UM, BUSINESS PLAN.
AND, AND SO THIS IS VERY COSTLY.
SO, SO THAT IS PART OF THE P P P LOAN.
SO FOR THE TECHNOLOGY, SAY THEY WANT IT AND THEY GET IT, ARE, ARE YOU ALL A SOURCE THAT WE COULD CONNECT THEM WITH TO SHOW THEM THE, UM, THE INS AND OUTS OF HOW TO UTILIZE THAT OR SOME OF YOUR MEMBERS? ABSOLUTELY.
UH, WE, WE HAVE, UM, A RESOURCE PAGE OR THEY CAN CALL US DIRECTLY AND, AND I GIVE MY MOBILE OUT TO EVERYONE.
SO IF YOU NEED TO CALL ME DIRECTLY ON MY MOBILE, I AM ALWAYS AVAILABLE 24 7.
AND DAWN, DAWN, DAWN AND COUNCIL, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT IS, IS IT, IT'S ALSO CORRECT THAT BUSINESS EXPENSES RELATED TO, UH, MANAGING THE COVID PROTOCOLS, UH, ARE TAX EXEMPTED ALSO CORRECT, WHICH WASN'T CASE IN THE LAST VERSION? YES, THAT IS CORRECT.
THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE FOUGHT FOR VERY MUCH SO, AND THAT'S CRITICAL, JEFF, BECAUSE IF WE HADN'T GOTTEN THAT FIXED, ESSENTIALLY ABOUT 30% OF A P P P LOAN WOULD'VE BASICALLY BEEN CLAWED BACK IN THE FORM OF TAXES, RIGHT? SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A PROGRAM THAT WAS MEANT TO BE SPENT IMMEDIATELY TO KEEP FOLKS ON PAYROLL, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS GONNA BE THIS SURPRISE TAX BILL AFTERWARDS FOR MONEY THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN SPENT.
SO GETTING THAT, UH, FIXED, SENATOR CORNIN WAS REALLY INSTRUMENTAL ON THAT.
UM, THAT WAS A BIG, BIG WIN FOR OUR INDUSTRY.
AND, AND FRANKLY, ALL THE SMALL BUSINESSES OUT THERE THAT ARE RELYING ON P P P, WELL, I KNOW THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN, UM, WORKING AND OUR MICRO BUSINESS GRANTS THAT WE MOVED FORWARD WITH, AND THEN CARVING OUT ANOTHER $8 MILLION SPECIFICALLY FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGE.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK HARD, AND WE'RE GLAD THAT WE MADE THAT SHIFT ALREADY, UM, WITH THAT, AND WE'RE ABLE TO DESIGNATE THOSE DOLLARS, AND WE'RE GLAD TO SEE THIS.
AND E D D IS WORKING OUT AND READY TO HELP WHEN IT COMES TO THIS, UH, P P P, BUT THEN FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES AND OUR RESTAURANTS IN PARTICULAR.
SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, READY TO HELP ONE ANOTHER.
AND, UH, WE HAVE BEEN DOING THAT AND CONTINUING TO, TO STAY ON THE, THE SAME, UH, STEPS AND THE SAME PATH, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE DO, 'CAUSE LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA MENTIONED YESTERDAY, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND REACH OUT TO THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES, AND WE WILL BE DOING OUR PART TO CONNECT THEM TO YOU.
UM, DON KELSEY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ATTENDING AND, AND GIVING US THAT GREAT INFORMATION.
AS YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN A BIG SUPPORTER OF SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE, UH, ECONOMIC MESS THAT WE'RE IN WITH, WITH C OVID 19.
[01:15:01]
CONTINUE TO BE A BIG SUPPORTER OF, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES HERE IN TOWN, AND NOT ONLY SMALL BUSINESSES, BUT ALL BUSINESSES AND, AND, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S STILL MORE NEEDS OUT THERE.I, I WANT TO POINT TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THE COUNCIL DID, UM, HERE WITH THE INITIAL CARESS ACT FUNDING, YOU KNOW, WE PUT OUT THE REQUESTS SAYING WHO NEEDS HELP? AND THERE WAS OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF REQUIREMENTS PUT OUT THERE, BUT WE ONLY FUNDED ABOUT $25 MILLION OF THAT, JUST A SMALL PORTION.
AND THAT'S, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE TOTAL REQUIREMENT WAS BECAUSE WE CUT OFF, UH, THE APPLICATION PROCESS BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MANY REQUIREMENTS COMING IN.
WE, THERE WAS NO WAY THAT WITH WHAT WAS BEING ALLOCATED, WE COULD FIX OR HELP THOSE BUSINESSES.
SO, UM, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A PROPONENT TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE TO BUSINESSES.
IN FACT, I SIGNED ON TO A C C R THAT'S STILL WAITING IN THE QUEUE, AND I CALL ON THE MAYOR TO GET THAT ON OUT THROUGH THE GOVERNANCE PROCESS, UH, C C R TO, UM, DIRECT MORE FUNDS TOWARDS, UH, PARTICULARLY THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY.
AND, UM, THAT'S BEEN SITTING THERE FOR A WHILE NOW.
AND, UH, I HOPE THAT THAT COMES OUT HERE SOON SO THAT WE CAN, UH, DISCUSS THAT, DEBATE IT AND SEE IF WE CAN GET ADDITIONAL HELP TOWARDS Y'ALL'S INDUSTRY AND, UM, OFFER THAT HELP.
BUT, UM, YEAH, THERE'S, UM, A LOT OF NEED OUT THERE.
I, AND I KEEP SAYING THIS, AS OF SEPTEMBER, WE HAVE LOST OVER 34% OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
IT'S THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE IN THE ENTIRE STATE.
AND WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT AND GET THE HELP OUT THERE.
YES, WE HAVE DONE SOME, SOME HELP, BUT IN MY OPINION, NOT ENOUGH.
UM, THERE, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE FOR US TO FIND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES HERE WITHIN THE CITY.
AND I'M GONNA KEEP DOING THAT, UH, TO SAY, HEY, LET'S, LET'S, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT MONEY THAT WE HAVE STASHED AROUND IN THE CITY THAT'S BEEN STASHED FOR YEARS.
THIS IS, THIS IS TRYING TIMES THAT WE NEED TO REDIRECT THAT FUNDING, PULL IT OUT OF THE, THE BANKS AND OUT OF OUR POCKETS, AND LET'S GET IT TO THE PEOPLE THAT REALLY NEED THE HELP.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S, I'M GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
I'M, UH, HOPING THAT WE, AGAIN, THAT, THAT C C R CAN GET UNCLOGGED THEIR GOVERNANCE AND GET THAT OUT IN THE OPEN AND DISCUSS THIS.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY THERE'S, THERE'S MORE ASSISTANCE COMING THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THROUGH THE STATE, AND I WANNA SEE US HELP A LITTLE BIT MORE FROM THE CITY.
SO, WITH THAT, THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, AND, UH, I'LL CONTINUE TO WORK IN THAT DIRECTION.
UH, MY CO-CHAIR, UH, COUNCILMAN LIAS HAD TO JUMP OFF.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA TAKE OVER, DID WE HAVE ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WANTED TO CHIME IN, ASK QUESTIONS ON THIS? I THINK WE, I THINK HE COVERED EVERYBODY.
UM, JEFF, IS IT, IS THAT THE LAST ITEM ON, ON THE AGENDA TODAY? YES, SIR.
CAN I MENTION, SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
CAN I MENTION ONE THING REALLY BRIEFLY BEFORE WE SIGN OFF? SURE, GO AHEAD.
UM, JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH TRANS PECOS BANK THAT DAWN MENTIONED.
UH, WE PICKED THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE LOCAL AND THEIR AVERAGE LOAN SIZE WAS $19,000 IN P P P ROUND ONE.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON THOSE SMALL MOM AND POP, UH, BUSINESSES THAT ALL OF US ARE SO CONCERNED ABOUT.
UH, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A T R A MEMBER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING A WEBINAR TODAY AT 2:00 PM WITH THEM TO KIND OF HELP RESTAURANT OWNERS UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS.
UM, WE'LL RECORD THAT, AND I'M SURE DON WILL SHARE IT WITH Y'ALL AFTERWARDS.
SO PLEASE, YOU KNOW, SHARE THAT WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS AND HELP THEM TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR, UH, SHORTCOMINGS OF THE P P P INITIALLY WAS SORT OF REACHING THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT WE KNOW ARE UNDERSERVED AND THAT NEED THE HELP.
UM, SO I'M REALLY PROUD OF THAT PARTNERSHIP AND JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES KNOW ABOUT IT.
THE SECOND LITTLE BUG I'LL PUT IN YOUR EAR IS WE STILL HAVE OUR TEXAS RESTAURANT RELIEF FUND.
UH, WE WERE GR VERY GRATEFUL TO GET A $500,000 CONTRIBUTION FROM DOORDASH EARLIER THIS WEEK.
UM, AND SO WE'RE HOPEFUL WE CAN REOPEN OUR APPLICATION PORTAL.
AGAIN, THOSE GRANTS ARE GOING OUT TO INDEPENDENT RESTAURANTS REGARDLESS OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP WITH THE TEXAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION.
UM, SO WE'RE ALWAYS FUNDRAISING FOR THAT.
AND LIKE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, WE'VE HAD TO, YOU KNOW, SHUT THE APPLICATION PORTAL
[01:20:01]
AT TIMES 'CAUSE THE NEED IS JUST OVERWHELMING.UM, BUT AS WE GET MORE OF THESE DONATIONS AND WE CAN GET, GET MORE MONEY OUT THE DOOR.
SO I JUST WANTED TO PLUG THOSE TWO THINGS BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE ALL WORRIED ABOUT THOSE, THOSE SMALL MOM AND POPS THAT DON'T HAVE THE SAME ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND INFORMATION.
UM, AND DAWN AND HER TEAM ARE TRULY THE BEST I'VE EVER WORKED WITH IN TERMS OF ENGAGING OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY AT AND THEY'RE AT IN THEIR BUSINESS AND THEIR LIVES IN THE CITY.
UM, SO REALLY PROUD OF HER TEAM.
AND JUST THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR, FOR LISTENING TO US AND WORKING WITH US.
THANK YOU FOR, FOR HANGING IN.
COUNCILMAN, COUNCILMAN VIER? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
JUST ONE QUICK THING, UH, KELSEY, AS YOU, UM, SOME, THE, AND, AND JEFF ALREADY SENT IT, THAT ONE PAGER, CAN YOU ALSO SEND THAT LINK FOR THE TEXAS RELEASE, UH, FUND? THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
UNLESS THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE, UM, I THINK THAT COVERS THE AGENDA.
THANKS EVERYBODY FOR HANGING IN THERE THIS MORNING.
HAVE A GREAT DAY AND A GREAT WEEK.