On Monday, April 27, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order allowing businesses like retail stores, malls, restaurants and theaters to reopen Friday, May 1, 2020 with occupancy limited to 25%. The stay-at-home order previously implemented by the governor expires on April 30, 2020. The order supersedes local orders closing Texas businesses. Occupancy limitations are up to individual businesses to implement. This is phase one of the plan to reopen Texas businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During phase two, occupancy would increase to 50% and outdoor sporting events would expand to more than four (4) participants at a time. It is anticipated that phase two will begin around May 18, 2020. In unveiling his new order, Abbott established a different standard aimed at rural counties with little coronavirus presence, saying counties with five or fewer cases can effectively skip to the second phase and reopen businesses at 50% capacity.

The governor's announcement allows for the reopening of restaurants, malls, and bars with limited capacity to encourage the resurgence of local businesses and prevent a softening of the Texas economy.

For more information on this topic, please check out these articles:

Reopening in general: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/27/texas-reopening-coronavirus-greg-abbott/

Long Term Rental assistance: https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-tdhca-secure-financial-housing-assistance

Residential Electricity Assistance: https://www.txu.com/help-center/covid-19.aspx

Assistance for Texas College/University Students: https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-waives-certain-restrictions-on-financial-assistance-from-texas-college-work-study-program

If you're in need of legal advice, feel free to contact us to schedule a consultation by phone or in the office while safely practicing social distancing guidelines. We look forward to hearing from you. Call us at  (713) 574-8626