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TEXAS EXECUTIVE ORDERS
 

The Governor issued a new executive order on June 26, 2020. The new order, GA-28, supersedes GA-26. Relative to previous orders, the new order does the following of most significance to city residents: (1) closes bars; (2) reduces maximum restaurant occupancy from 75 percent to 50 percent; and (3) limits outdoor gatherings to 100 persons (other than those expressly allowed by the order – see below), unless the mayor authorizes more.
 
Getting into specifics, the new order retains the core features of the previous order:
 
-“Except as provided in this executive order or in the minimum standard health protocols recommended by DSHS, found at www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus, people should not be in groups larger than ten and should maintain six feet of social distancing from those not in their group.”
 
-“In providing or obtaining services, every person (including individuals, businesses, and other legal entities) should use good-faith efforts and available resources to follow the minimum standard health protocols recommended by DSHS.”
 
-“Nothing in this executive order or the DSHS minimum standards precludes requiring a customer to follow additional hygiene measures when obtaining services. Individuals are encouraged to wear appropriate face coverings, but no jurisdiction can impose a civil or criminal penalty for failure to wear a face covering.”
 
Beyond those, the order allows people to access various businesses and take part in various activities.  It adds the following new restriction: “Every business establishment in Texas shall operate at no more than 50 percent of the total listed occupancy of the establishment…” But it then exempts various businesses, activities, and outdoor events from the restriction. In fact, the exemptions are too voluminous to paste in here. 
 
The order also prohibits people from visiting bars, and an updated, city-related provision regarding outdoor gatherings bears repeating:
 
“For any outdoor gathering in excess of 100 people, other than those set forth above in paragraph numbers 1, 2, or 4, the gathering is prohibited unless the mayor of the city in which the gathering is held, or the county judge in the case of a gathering in an unincorporated area, approves of the gathering, and such approval can be made subject to certain conditions or restrictions not inconsistent with this executive order.” 
 
[Note: according to correspondence between the League and the governor’s office, an individual mask mandate would be allowed as a condition of approving a gathering in excess of 100 people, but no penalty of any type could be imposed on an individual who refuses to comply. What other conditions would be allowed remains to be seen.]
 
The exemptions in GA-28’s paragraph numbers 1, 2, or 4 are many. Pursuant to GA-28 #1, a county judge or mayor has no express authority over the following outdoor gatherings:
 
1. any services listed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, Version 3.1 or any subsequent version;
2. religious services, including those conducted in churches, congregations, and houses of worship;
3. child-care services;
4. youth camps, including but not limited to those defined as such under Chapter 141 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, and including all summer camps and other daytime and overnight camps for youths; and
5. recreational sports programs for youths and adults.
 
In other words, the above events can take place by right with no occupancy limits. 
 
Pursuant to GA-28 #4, amusement parks are subject to a 50 percent occupancy limit.
 
1. Any outdoor gathering in the city limits in excess of 100 people is prohibited by the order (GA-28 #5), unless a mayor allows it. 
2. A mayor may allow a gathering in excess of 100 people in the city limits, and may impose allowable conditions on the gathering (other than penalties for individuals who don’t wear a mask)(GA-28 #5). The best way to do that would probably be a written proclamation. 
3. The order’s 50 percent occupancy limit does not apply to outdoor events, except those expressly listed in number 4 below (GA-18 #2).
4. A mayor has no control over the following, which can operate at a maximum of 50 percent of the normal operating limits as determined by the owner: (a) professional, collegiate, or similar sporting events; (b) swimming pools; (c) water parks; (d) museums and libraries; (e) zoos, aquariums, natural caverns, and similar facilities; and (f) rodeos and equestrian events (GA-28 #2).