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The House Administration Committee met on March 29 to discuss HR 247 (Slaton) and HR 333 (Oliverson). The meeting notice can be found here, and an archive of the hearing can be found here.

 

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

 

HR 247 (Slaton), Deactivation of Rule 16 of the Texas House Rules of Procedure

  • Governor Abbot opened Texas 100%, this resolution opens the House 100%
  • Rule allows for repealing the special rules governing COVID restrictions
  • Let’s not give the appearance of or special treatment to our elected representatives

HR 247 left pending

 

HR 333 (Oliverson), Deactivating House Rule 16, Sections 8 and 14

  • Deactivates a portion of House rules concerning COVID, only removes the requirement for masks
  • Seeing favorable trends in case numbers and hospitalization rates, increasing vaccination rates and rollout of vaccines for members and staff
  • Pandemic Workgroup established by the Speaker has been advised by medical experts, hope we can have a good conversation about this change

 

Dr. David Lakey, Self – On

  • No manual for the decisions we have had to make this past year to deal with COVID; based on best judgment and best science
  • Significant progress being made; vaccinations increasing, hospitalizations decreasing, and positive tests declining
  • Some concerns; spring break activity, especially South Padre area, was very lacking in precautions, could see more spikes
  • Also, some concerns about the variant strains; UK strain is more contagious and more severe, need more information
  • While progress is being made in vaccinating vulnerable groups, many people have yet to have the chance to get a vaccine, which means they are reliant on masks
  • Committee rooms are conducive to the spread of COVID, masks protect not only the wearer but also others
  • Other businesses may be appropriate to have lesser restrictions, but in the Capitol, it is too early now to stop wearing masks
  • Urges delay of 6 weeks to consider this kind of rule
  • Oliverson – Thanks Lakey for his service as an advisor to the Pandemic Workgroup and the entire House on COVID.
  • Oliverson – When would we see the spikes as a result of spring break?
    • Many universities in Texas have different spring breaks; concerned about the transmission of COVID by college-age individuals
    • Expect around 2 weeks from now we will know a spike will occur
  • Oliverson – When does the first dose start reducing risk of infection, for the vaccine?
    • The Moderna vaccine of 2 doses (and Pfizer), within a few days of the first shot you see the beginning of antibody construction, but the full benefit only comes after the 2nd shot 28 days plus 2 weeks; about 6 weeks for full protection
  • Oliverson – What is the percent of 1A group vaccinations?
    • Around 65% of that group is vaccinated, 42% fully vaccinated
    • Providing about 1,000,000 doses per week
  • Oliverson – Generally speaking, the most people dying from COVID are from the 1A group?
    • 92% of deaths are occurring in individuals 50 and above
  • Oliverson – Thoughts on working close to other members without masks?
    • Committee hearings can be tight, plus raised voices lead to higher rate of transmission
    • You need to balance the risk in these situations – I feel safe eating in restaurants in open air, but I wouldn’t feel safe in a small room with 30 individuals all trying to get their amendment included in the budget – spread could be massive
  • Oliverson – Are the vaccines proving effective against the variants?
    • 3 main variants watching right now internationally, new variants might emerge
    • UK is most significant variant in Texas right now
    • 2 lines of evidence on the vaccines and the variants – lab tests and the immunization clinical trials
    • Lab tests suggest that the vaccines will be effective, but less so, against the variants than the major strain
    • Clinical trials showed the vaccines didn’t really perform very well in combating the South Africa variant
  • Anchia – Do you think we can hit 200 million vaccines by the Biden Admin’s deadline?
    • We are going at a good clip in Texas, the winter storm was a significant setback
    • About 1,000,000 doses per week now in Texas, up from 300,000 a few months ago
    • Many sites are vaccinating as quickly as they can – manufacturing is up, but more vaccines are needed
  • Anchia – When do you think we achieve herd immunity?
    • Its more complex than the news would make it out – its discussed as 70-80% of the population being immunized, but its not that simple
    • COVID is different – certain populations are prone to end up in the hospital or suffer more severely, and certain individuals are more likely to catch and spread the virus
    • Despite the vaccine rate being nowhere close to 70%, the amount of people who have immunity from the virus itself means we are seeing a little bit of that immunity effect already
    • COVID will likely become something like the seasonal flu
  • Anchia – And spread depends on how many hosts we give it right?
    • Right, we are in a race to vaccinate before the variants can take hold
    • Mutations make it harder to control the spread
  • Zwiener – What are the current CDC guidelines for vaccinated folks, relating to mask wearing?
    • CDC recommends continuing to wear masks after immunizations, unless with other fully immunized individuals
    • Still learning about post-vaccine asymptomatic carriers
  • Zwiener – Concerned about safety of individuals who visit the Capitol to testify, should the seating arrangement present in committee rooms still require masks?
    • Main spread is through droplets on the breath, exacerbated by talking/yelling
    • Seating looks closer than 6 feet, unsure about safety
  • Zwiener – Can you explain the COVID quick test available at the Capitol?
    • Good test with high degree of accuracy
    • However, not as good as a PCR test, in a clinical situation you wouldn’t use this test to confirm diagnoses
    • On a large scale, these tests are good – quick application, but not perfect
    • The test will miss some positives
  • Zwiener – Can you explain how the masks and testing work together?
    • Its multi-layered protection – masks prevent spread of most droplets, distance prevents transmission, tests catch many cases of symptomatic individuals
    • The other big component is vaccinations
  • Klick – The variants seem to be impacting younger populations in other counties?
    • Yes
  • Klick – Could potentially see a spike in the younger population based on spring break?
    • Yes, would not be surprised, and few are immunized
  • Walle – Other states/regions use a 14-day average for hospitalizations, positives, etc. What’s the difference between Texas’ 7-day average and the 14-day, and which is better?
    • Prefer 7-day average because it provides a better depiction of rates – weekly gives you a more rapid analysis of changes in rates
  • Walle – Knowing what we know now, what should the threshold rate for positivity be for safe opening?
    • Besides the absolute number, its more the trend
    • Doubling of the rate would be bad, but its not just the number, it’s a trend of positivity that’s concerning
  • Walle – Spring break saw a lot of behavior that is concerning in terms of transmissions of cases, must continue to increase vaccinations of younger people.
    • Agree, we need to work hard to get as many staff and agency workers immunized, especially if they work in the Capitol or work with members/members staff closely
    • Not there yet, but will be in the next several weeks
  • Cole – Want to understand the UK variant, which is most likely to get transmitted in Texas?
    • UK variant is biggest in Texas right now – about 400 cases identified in Texas, others have 5 or less
    • We do need to do a better job of looking for variants arriving here, but also ensuring that there isn’t a Texas variant that emerges
  • Cole – So we are more likely to see the UK variant after spring break?
    • Good chance we see the variant become more prominent, whether because of Spring Break or other factors
  • Cole – Do we know anything about the timeframe of vaccinating the state agency officials that visit the capitol?
    • Not offhand, but there are a substantial number, must be a priority to immunize those individuals as well
  • Cole – It takes 2 weeks after 2nd dose of the 2shot vaccines to get immunity?
    • It takes around 2 weeks to see those really high antibody rates after the vaccination, could look at 3 weeks to a month between first vaccination and high immunity
  • Cole – Timeline on the House immunization?
    • Coming up on the middle of May should see a strong amount of immunization in the House and among staff

 

John Zerwas, Self – On

  • Have been advising the governor and strike force since beginning of the pandemic
  • No greater accomplishment in the field of medicine than the vaccine response to COVID and mass rollout globally
  • Vaccine production is also ramping up, and we may get 2-3 new vaccines approved soon
  • Walle – We are still in relief and recovery mode, thank you for your guidance and advice
  • Walle – We’ve had exhaustive discussion, but until everyone is fully vaccinated its not safe to not wear a mask, right?
    • Vaccines are a key part of the arsenal to fight COVID, but the mask is an effective way to go about business of life
    • Mask is another layer of protection, and allows for closer collaboration
  • Walle – Need to be concerned about COVID and still take it seriously
  • Zwiener – We have been seeing disparate impacts of COVID on minority communities, is this being seen in vaccine rollout as well?
    • Major issue has been ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines to areas that are at risk or healthcare deserts
    • Beginning to see numbers of vaccinations come into line
    • Local areas and mega vaccination centers have been tasked with identifying areas at greater risk and ensure they have access to vaccines
  • Zwiener – We have heard concerns from advocates about coming to the Capitol even with restrictions in place, what are your thoughts?
    • If there is one thing that has been demonstrably consistent, is the importance of masks, social distancing, and washing hands
    • These are the efforts we know will help, and it’s up to people to make judgements for themselves about the risk of certain situations
  • We don’t think that more than 70% of individuals will get vaccinated despite best efforts, based on rates we’ve seen so far
  • Zwiener – What do you see the responsibility of the legislature is on COVID safety?
    • If a business or another body feels masking or other restrictions are appropriate to adopt, that’s up to them
    • I don’t think we are at a place where we should abandon masks
  • Zwiener – Do you think that legislators have an obligation to encourage masks and other safety measures?
    • I think its an individual decision, you all represent different constituencies and populations
  • Cole – If we were to keep the mask requirement in place in House rules, would the science support that?
    • The science would support effectiveness of masks
    • The Capitol is a distinct entity from other businesses and entities – legislature has a very important job to do in a short amount of time, so you need to make a decision about what’s safest for your work given the magnitude of the responsibility you have
  • Cole – I don’t believe it would be smart to remove mask rule right now
  • Metcalf – Is the Moderna efficacy rate similar to the J&J rate?
    • As a single injection, the J&J vaccine is about 70% effective, very good for a vaccine, similar to Moderna and Pfizer

 

Rep. Oliverson closes

  • Based on what the experts and dais members have said, I ask the chair leave the resolution pending and revisit it at a later date

HR 333 left pending