Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a second round of federal Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) food benefits for families with children who have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to COVID-19 during the 2020-2021 school year.

P-EBT provides a benefit of up to $1,200 per child for the school year. The amount of the benefit is based on the school the child attends and is determined by the number of days that most students at that school received remote instruction during the 2020-2021 school year. P-EBT benefits can be used in the same way as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits to pay for groceries. The administration of P-EBT is a joint effort by HHSC, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and Texas Education Agency (TEA).

“Thank you to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approving this second round of pandemic food benefits for Texas families,” said Governor Abbott. “These additional benefits will continue to help Texans provide food for their families. I thank our state partners at HHSC, TEA, and TDA for working together to secure these benefits and administering them quickly to families across the state.”

“These additional food benefits are a lifeline and will go a long way to help many Texas families put nutritious food on the table,” said HHS Executive Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young. “We’ve worked closely with our many state and federal partners and we’re thankful to get this program off the ground so we can help people during this challenging time.”

In this second round of P-EBT, HHSC received federal approval to provide more than $2.5 billion in benefits to approximately 3.7 million eligible children in Texas. The first round of P-EBT was distributed last summer and provided more than $1 billion in food benefits to more than 3 million children. 

P-EBT is for families with children who are certified for free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program and families with children born after Aug. 1, 2014 who receive SNAP food benefits.

Most families who receive SNAP benefits do not need to apply and will automatically receive P-EBT benefits on their Lone Star Card by May 28. Families who received SNAP benefits for the first time during the 2020-2021 school year in May or June 2021 and have children born on or before Aug. 1, 2014 need to apply.

Families who have children certified for free or reduced-price meals, or attended a school defined as a Community Eligibility Provision or Provision II school and received meals at no cost, during the 2020-2021 school year but did not receive SNAP benefits will need to apply. Families that need to apply will receive a notification from their school district by June 2 which will include eligibility information and how to access the application. To ensure timely and accurate issuance of benefits, a Social Security number or School Identification Number must be submitted for each child in public school on the application. The application will be open from June 2 to August 13, and applications will be processed in the order they are received. After completing the application, families eligible for a benefit amount will receive benefits on a new P-EBT Card in the mail.

Crews will begin repairs on the FM 58/Chestnut Street bridge over SL 287 in Lufkin on Monday after a bridge beam was damaged earlier this month.

The damage was caused by a bridge strike when an oversized truck traveled beneath the bridge. The damage extends across both northbound lanes of SL 287 and will require alternating lane closures until repairs are completed. Estimated time of completion for the repairs is 10 days, weather permitting.

“We want the public to be prepared for at least 10 days of repair work at this location,” said Rhonda Oaks, public information officer. “The extent of the damage and necessary preparation for the repairs won’t be known until lanes are closed and the bridge beam fully inspected.”

Motorists should prepare for alternating northbound lane closures or choose alternate routes until work is completed. Work will begin on the northbound right shoulder and work toward the center barrier wall, one lane at a time. Once northbound repairs are complete, crews will move to the southbound left shoulder to complete the repairs.

SJ&J Construction LLC, Dallas TX, will serve as contractor for the work and traffic control, signage and lighted message boards will be in place to alert motorists of traffic changes during the construction. Motorists should obey all traffic control, reduce speed, prepare for delays and stay alert through this work zone.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is reminding motorists the department is continuing its enforcement efforts across Texas focusing specifically on violations of the state’s Move Over/Slow Down law. These periodic enforcement operations by DPS Troopers are planned throughout the year at various locations in Texas, with several operations planned in May. One of those operations will take place in the Lufkin area throughout the day on Wednesday, May 19.

The law, originally passed in 2003, requires motorists to move over or slow down when certain vehicles – including police, fire, EMS, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) vehicles and tow trucks – are stopped on the side of the road with emergency lights activated. As a result of the 86th Legislative Session, highway maintenance or construction vehicles under contract with TxDOT, utility service vehicles, and stationary solid waste or recycling vehicles were added to the list of vehicles that require motorists to move over or slow down.

Specifically, Texas law states that a driver must either:

· Vacate the lane closest to the applicable vehicles stopped on the side of the road (if the road has multiple lanes traveling in the same direction) or

· Slow down to 20 mph below the speed limit. (If the speed limit is below 25 mph, the driver must slow down to 5 mph)

Drivers should only move over if they can do so safely and legally; otherwise, they should slow down.

Violations of the law can result in a fine of up to $200; the fine increases to $500 if there is property damage. If violators cause bodily injury, they can be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, resulting in possible jail time and a maximum fine of $2,000.

Data collected from January 2021 shows that DPS Troopers issued more than 5,000 warnings and citations to motorists violating the Move Over/Slow Down law.

 Governor Greg Abbott today issued an Executive Order prohibiting governmental entities in Texas — including counties, cities, school districts, public health authorities, or government officials — from requiring or mandating mask wearing. Public schools may continue to follow current mask-wearing guidelines through June 4. After June 4, no student, teacher, parent, or other staff member or visitor can be required to wear a mask while on campus.

Beginning May 21, local governments or officials that attempt to impose a mask mandate or impose a limitation inconsistent or conflicting with the Executive Order can be subject to a fine of up to $1,000.

“The Lone Star State continues to defeat COVID-19 through the use of widely-available vaccines, antibody therapeutic drugs, and safe practices utilized by Texans in our communities,” said Governor Abbott. “Texans, not government, should decide their best health practices, which is why masks will not be mandated by public school districts or government entities. We can continue to mitigate COVID-19 while defending Texans’ liberty to choose whether or not they mask up.”

Exempt from the Executive Order are state-supported living centers, government-owned or operated hospitals, Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities, Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities, and county and municipal jails

Governor Greg Abbott today informed the U.S. Department of Labor that Texas will opt out of further federal unemployment compensation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, effective June 26, 2021. This includes the $300 weekly unemployment supplement from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program.

“The Texas economy is booming and employers are hiring in communities throughout the state,” said Governor Abbott. “According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the number of job openings in Texas is almost identical to the number of Texans who are receiving unemployment benefits. That assessment does not include the voluminous jobs that typically are not listed, like construction and restaurant jobs. In fact, there are nearly 60 percent more jobs open (and listed) in Texas today than there was in February 2020, the month before the Pandemic hit Texas.”

The current job openings are good paying jobs. According to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), nearly 45 percent of posted jobs offer wages greater than $15.50 per hour.  Approximately 76 percent pay more than $11.50 per hour. Only 2 percent of posted jobs pay around the minimum wage.

At this stage of opening the state 100 percent, the focus must be on helping unemployed Texans connect with the more than a million job openings, rather than paying unemployment benefits to remain off the employment rolls.

Another reason why today’s action is needed is the high level of fraudulent unemployment claims being filed. Fraudulent unemployment claims rob taxpayer money and do nothing to help the unemployed. TWC estimates that nearly 18 percent of all claims for unemployment benefits during the pandemic are confirmed or suspected to be fraudulent, which totals more than 800,000 claims, worth as much as $10.4 billion, if all claims had been paid.

Federal law requires the effective date of this change to be at least 30 days after notification is provided to the Secretary of Labor. As a result, the effective date will be June 26, 2021.