On March 14, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott announced that he is waiving certain regulations related to commercial trucking in the state of Texas. The suspensions will expedite commercial vehicle delivery of more supplies in each truckload as Texas works to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) across the state.
These waivers were requested by and will be coordinated through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and are part of the actions Governor Abbott is taking under the State of Disaster he declared yesterday.
"As the State of Texas works to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus, we are taking precautionary measures to ensure that Texans have access to the goods and supplies they need," said Governor Abbott. "Suspending these state trucking regulations will improve our ability to deliver the necessary supplies throughout the state so that grocers and retailers are able to continually stock their shelves. I want to remind Texans that stockpiling resources is neither necessary nor productive. The State of Texas is prepared and will continue to take action to support our communities."
Three sets of statutes are suspended, subject to federal law and DMV safety limitations...
Coronavirus Update
On March 17,2020, President Trump and the White House Coronavirus Task Force issued new guidelines to help protect Americans during the global Coronavirus outbreak.
The new recommendations are simple to follow and could have a resounding impact on public health. More information can be found in the attached document and the President’s and Vice President’s remarks can be found here.
Call to Action to the Tech Community on New Machine Readable COVID-19 Dataset (HERE)
- Today, researchers and leaders from the Allen Institute for AI, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Microsoft, and the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health released the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset of scholarly literature about COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and the Coronavirus group.
DOT Issues National Emergency Declaration for Commercial Vehicles Delivering Relief in Response to the Coronavirus Outbreak (HERE)
- The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a national emergency declaration to provide hours-of-service regulatory relief to commercial vehicle drivers transporting emergency relief in response to the nationwide coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This declaration is the first time FMCSA has issued nation-wide relief and follows President Trump issuing of a national emergency declaration in response to the virus.
U.S. Exporters
- EXIM recently announced relief measures for its U.S. exporters, especially U.S. small business exporters, as well as financial institutions related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Here is a link to EXIM’s press release and related fact sheet summarizing these relief measures.
For the most up-to-date information, please see the CDC’s website: www.coronavirus.gov.
Texas Retailers Association 2020 Advocacy Summit Picture Gallery
TRA’s Advocacy Summit took place on March 6-8, 2020. Check out our picture gallery!
FDA's New Tobacco 21 Resource Page
"This is Our Watch” launched nationally in November 2017. A full toolkit of resources is available to retailers—including posters, stickers, age verification tools, and more—to help retailers better comply with federal tobacco regulations. Click here to check out the printable materials.
USMCA Is done. Here's what's in it.
Trump’s victory: Canada opens up its milk market to U.S. farmers. Trump tweeted often about how unfair he thought it was that Canada charged such high tariffs on U.S. dairy products. Canada has a complex milk and dairy system. To ensure Canadian dairy farmers don’t go bankrupt, the Canadian government restricts how much dairy can be produced in the country and how much foreign dairy can enter to keep milk prices high.
Under the USMCA, Canada is keeping most of its complex system in place, but U.S. farmers will be able to sell more “Class 7” dairy products to Canada, everything from milk powder to ice cream. The USMCA also allows more sales of U.S. eggs and turkeys to Canada.
USDA Issues Final Regulation on ABAWD SNAP Recipients
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a final rule that would make it more difficult for states to gain waivers for work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) who are beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Current SNAP statute limits adults to three months of benefits within a three-year period unless the individuals work or participate in work training for 20+ hours per week. States have had the ability to apply for waivers that would shield able-bodied adults without dependents from the time limit included in these federal work requirements. States can currently receive waivers for work requirements if their unemployment rates are at least 20 percent higher than the national rate. The final rule will retain states’ statutory flexibility to waive the time limit in high unemployment areas but will impose stricter standards for the waivers.
Judge STOPS San Antonio Paid Sick Leave Ordinance From Going Into Effect
San Antonio City Council votes 9-2 for an ordinance mandating a paid sick leave during their meeting August 16, 2018. The law had been scheduled to go into effect Dec 1, but state District Judge Peter Sakai issued a ruling Friday, November 22, 2019 that stops it, at least temporarily.
This is a controversial law that aims to require retailers to provide paid sick leave to an estimated 354,000 workers.
The retail industry is among the best in providing benefits to its thousands of employees. In fact, many retailers have benefits that are more generous than those being mandated by blanket ordinances like the ones being passed in San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. In this instance, one size definitely does not fit all.
The Toy Association Urges Families to Follow Important Tips for Safe Play
With the holiday shopping season just around the corner, it can be easy to get wrapped up in the frenzy of buying gifts and overlook safety. But before you start checking off your list, be sure to follow these toy shopping tips from PlaySafe.org, The Toy Association’s reliable resource for parents and caregivers. Click here for tips on how to buy safe toys this holiday season. Be sure to share with these tips with grandparents and gift-givers to help ensure safe play all year long. And it’s important to always supervise children at play. More toy safety tips can be found at www.PlaySafe.org.
Federal Update
TARIFFS: Over the past few weeks, there have been some positive developments and rhetoric surrounding the trade war with China. First, a “Phase 1” mini trade deal was announced by the US and China, which would stall the trade war essentially as where we sit at the moment. Not a full ending of it, but essentially a truce to allow for progress to =be made on a larger deal. There is more information on the developments surrounding "Phase 1"
here. Additionally, in the run up to having the "Phase 1” deal signed by Presidents Trump and Xi, there has been talk of actually rolling back some of the current tariffs. Although this has not been confirmed by either country, neither country is pouring cold water on the idea either, so we are hopeful that any tariff rollbacks are included in the ultimate "Phase 1" deal that is signed soon.
