Government
BY KATY MCAFEE & BEN THOMPSON
Court orders extend public testimony at Austin City Council Austinites now have more time to speak on regular agenda items at City Council meetings under court orders that have expanded public testimony. What happened Under the current council, those wishing to testify on the consent agenda were typically given 2 minutes total. A lawsuit over that 2-minute limit was filed this spring by attorney Bill Bunch, Save Our Springs Alliance executive director. Two local judges have since agreed to require more public input, ordering council to offer three minutes per agenda item. That practice continues to be in effect. The issue will return to court in July. Know the signs Austin-Travis County health authority Desmar Walkes urged the community to recognize the signs of an overdose and be prepared to intervene. Signs include: • Small pupils • Confusion or loss of consciousness • Slow breathing • Cool and pale skin • Low response level to stimulus
Council limits Austin’s role in state gender health care bans Austin City Council members voted to limit the local impacts of a statewide law that has banned gender-affirming health care for minors. What happened Council formally deprioritized Austin’s enforce- ment of any laws targeting transgender or nonbi- nary people seeking medical care, and individuals or health care groups providing such treatment, on May 2. It follows last year’s passage of Senate Bill 14, which prevents children from accessing transi- tion-related treatment in Texas. The city resolution came from council member Chito Vela, who also drafted a 2022 measure to limit Austin’s enforcement of Texas abortion laws. “Generally speaking, I trust Texans to make their own medical decisions,” Vela said.
Curbing enforcement A City Council resolution approved in May keeps city resources from being used on investigations into trans and nonbinary people seeking medical care. It also calls to: Limit civic responses to any laws aimed at health care for trans and nonbinary individuals Enforce hate crime and anti-discrimination laws Withhold information for other jurisdictions’ gender care investigations
Establish a new program for trans or nonbinary people facing penalties for seeking care
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
A closer look Vela said he doesn’t intend for the measure to overstep the city’s authority and land it in court, saying it was the “most defensible and effective step” Austin could take on the issue. “This is not an appropriate area for us to be using public safety dollars,” he said.
Police, medics respond to ‘deadly’ overdose wave A total of 79 overdoses were recorded April 29-30 in Austin due to a “deadly batch” of narcotics being dealt in the community, which officials believe led to nine deaths caused by fentanyl. What happened individuals in their mid-20s to mid-50s and across all ethnicities, genders and socioeconomic statuses, officials said. The April 29 tally of 51 calls marked a 1,000% surge in overdose-related calls for Austin. Austin Police Department Assistant Chief Eric
Fitzgerald credited EMS, fire personnel and civilians who administered Narcan, an overdose reversal drug, with saving dozens of lives.
Overdose calls began around 9 a.m. April 29 in downtown and eventually spread to North, South and East Austin. The overdoses occurred in
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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