Unlike Dallas, Tarrant judge doesn’t think he has power to close businesses during crisis
Tarranty County’s response to the outbreak of the novel corornavirus has differed from Dallas County’s in part because of an interpretation of state and county laws.
The city and county of Dallas have come together to limit crowd sizes to 50 and close bars, restaurant dining rooms, gyms, theaters and related businesses. The response in Tarrant County has been staggered, first with public officials simply urging people to stay home, then with a crowd limit of 250 that was cut to 125, or half the occupancy limit. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said Tuesday that bars and restaurants would have to move to delivery or takeout within 24 hours and close dining rooms.
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley took a less aggressive approach and “strongly” recommended those establishments, along with gyms, close. If not, the county might explore taking action, he said.
The actions of the city and Tarrant County defy CDC recommendations for crowds to not grow larger than 50 people and President Donald Trump’s suggestion that groups not exceed 10.
Whitley told the Star-Telegram late Tuesday that he believed Dallas County had taken a more aggressive interpretation of the the powers allowed under an emergency declaration. Tarrant County, under the legal opinion of District Attorney Sharen Wilson, did not have wide-ranging power to force the closure of businesses in response the coronavirus, Whitley said.
“I don’t think we can mandate that and force them to do anything,” Whitley said.
But state law says decisions are up to county judges and mayors in times of emergencies. The law also allows to mayors and county judges to “control ingress to and egress” from a disaster area and control “the movement of persons and the occupancy of premises in that area.”
The county’s emergency management plan from 2015 makes it clear that the Tarrrant County judge’s authority supersedes mayors. The plan also says “the judge may issue orders or proclamations referencing that declaration to invoke certain emergency powers granted the Governor in the Texas Disaster Act on an appropriate local scale.”
Whitley and Price both declared states of emergency last week. Whitely did not return a call for comment Wednesday morning but is expected to hold a media briefing at noon with Gov. Greg Abbott in Arlington.
The Star-Telegram requested an updated version of the county’s emergency management plan, which spells out duties and powers when a disaster is declared, but was told a formal records request was needed before the county would share the public document.
Whitley, in the Tuesday interview, said he wanted to work the the mayors of the more than 40 cities in Tarrant County to address the spread of the coronavirus. He believed the county’s ramped up approach was appropriate given the volume of confirmed cases in Tarrant County and a desire to keep small businesses open.
“I just don’t think it’s right for me to go out there and say, I’m going to be the king and everybody bow down and follow me,” Whitley said of making an broad decision himself for the entire county.
States and local governments across the country are struggling to counter the health consequences of a potentially high amount of transmission with the economic and social consequences of limiting gatherings that enable that transmission, said Ellen Carlin, an assistant research professor and director of the microbiology and immunology department at Georgetown University.
Limiting crowds is one of the best physical measures to counter the spread of the virus, Carlin said in an email, because it is easily dispersed through coughing, sneezing or simply prolonged contact. Crowd limits can “flatten the curve” of the outbreak and lessen the spike in cases.
When people move easily and frequently cross city and county lines, crowd limits may be less effective, she said, so metros can benefit from common guidance, enforcement and messaging to people that move across the area.
“Human behavior is difficult to predict but yes, I think the contradictory guidance could be very hard on event organizers and others considering small to medium-sized gatherings that will pull from across the two jurisdictions,” she said.
Ben Neuman, head of Texas A&M at Texarkana’s biology department, recalled the nationwide endeavor Americans undertook to win World War II. Such a monumental undertaking may be what’s needed to eradicate this strain of coroanviurs.
“I would recommend taking the stronger action, even though it will hurt a little more right now,” he said.
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 10:53 AM.
