Texas bill to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employers stalls in the Senate as business groups rally against it

2 years ago 171

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Legislation intended to artifact immoderate Texas entity, including hospitals and backstage businesses, from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for employees has stalled retired successful the Senate with little than 2 days near successful the 3rd peculiar legislative league this year.

State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, said helium opposes the bill, which makes entities requiring the vaccines susceptible to favoritism lawsuits. Seliger said the authorities — added to the league docket arsenic a precocious precedence by Gov. Greg Abbott — does not person the votes to walk successful the precocious chamber.

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“At the infinitesimal it’s not excessively good developed,” Seliger said of Senate Bill 51, authored by authorities Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Tyler, calling it “anti-business.”

“I’ve got immoderate existent reservations due to the fact that I deliberation it’s different illustration of large government,” Seliger said. “And we don’t bash that.”

SB 51 has been connected the Senate’s calendar since Thursday, but the enclosure has not taken action, adjacent arsenic it passed different precedence legislation.

The peculiar league is scheduled to extremity Tuesday, and the vaccine authorities is 1 of lone a fewer outstanding Abbott priorities that appears improbable to get done the decorativeness line.

“It’s dead,” authorities Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said of SB 51.

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The offices of Hughes and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick did not instantly reply to requests for comment.

Patrick, a Republican who presides implicit the Senate, is besides the GOP majority’s de facto person successful the precocious chamber. During his two-term tenure, he’s exerted powerfulness by rewarding senators who enactment his priorities and punishing those who don’t by stripping them of almighty positions. This session, he’s been capable to propulsion done each 5 of his priorities.

Seliger said Republicans whitethorn sermon the measure during a gathering astir lunchtime.

More than 2 twelve aesculapian and concern advocacy groups rapidly criticized SB 51, pushing back against the authorities successful the days aft it was introduced past week. Hughes filed the measure aft Abbott asked lawmakers past week to instrumentality up this contented to guarantee Texans aren’t required to get vaccinated, saying that vaccines are “safe, effective, and our champion defence against the virus, but should stay voluntary and ne'er forced.”

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Abbott called for the authorities arsenic helium took enforcement enactment to prohibition backstage companies from requiring employees oregon customers to beryllium vaccinated against COVID-19. His bid came 4 weeks aft Democratic President Joe Biden announced that national contractors indispensable person each employees vaccinated against COVID-19 and that businesses with much than 100 employees indispensable mandate vaccination against the microorganism oregon necessitate regular testing.

The organizations opposing the bill, including respective chambers of commerce, the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Hospital Association, the Texas Association of Manufacturers, the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association and the Texas Trucking Association, person warned lawmakers of the legislation’s risks to tiny businesses, workplaces that trust connected national backing and immunocompromised Texans.

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The warnings were notable successful a authorities wherever concern interests enactment intimately with pro-business Republicans to power legislation.

“We’re getting tremendous magnitude of communications from the concern assemblage saying this is their job,” Seliger said. “They acceptable the rules and moving conditions successful their places of business.”

Abbott is successful several ineligible fights with cities, counties and schoolhouse districts implicit section disguise orders that defy his prohibition connected specified orders. Texas’ prohibition connected disguise mandates successful schools has drawn a national investigation for perchance violating the rights of students with disabilities.

Advocates from aesculapian facilities similar hospitals and nursing homes accidental they are disquieted astir losing Medicare and Medicaid funds if the authorities instrumentality goes into effect, preventing them from pursuing pending national rules that volition mandate vaccines.

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“The authorities shouldn’t beryllium mandating a one-size-fits-all attack to hospitals,” Steve Wohleb, elder vice president and wide counsel for the Texas Hospital Association, told a Senate sheet Thursday. “It should permission those decisions to the hospitals, who are successful the champion presumption to cognize what’s champion for their patients.”

While a prohibition connected vaccine requirements has been a apical contented for Abbott, the taxable ne'er roseate to the apical of Patrick’s list.

At the opening of this 30-day peculiar session, Patrick announced that his apical precedence was to usage national COVID-19 alleviation funds to assistance Texas homeowners reduce their spot taxation burden for the year.

Patrick’s different priorities included restoring wealth paid retired of the state’s unemployment security money during the pandemic, preventing transgender pupil athletes from playing connected sports teams based connected the sex they place with alternatively than the sex connected their archetypal commencement certificate, drafting new governmental maps, and authorities to protect dogs from being tethered during utmost weather.

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Patrick besides succeeded successful getting Abbott to adhd tuition gross bonds to the peculiar league and rapidly passed the measure retired of the Senate.

A prohibition connected vaccine mandates by authorities Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, has besides stalled successful the House.

Disclosure: The Texas Association of Business and the Texas Hospital Association person been fiscal supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan quality enactment that is funded successful portion by donations from members, foundations and firm sponsors. Financial supporters play nary relation successful the Tribunes journalism. Find a implicit list of them here.

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