Nevada Slashes Health, School Budgets; States Ponder More Shutdowns

AP: Nevada Passes Cuts To Health Care, Education Amid Pandemic
The Nevada Legislature approved immense cuts to the state’s health and education budgets on Sunday in an effort to rebalance the state budget amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and plummeting revenue projections. The revised budget passed through both the state Senate and Assembly after days and nights of deliberation in the part-time Legislature, which Gov. Steve Sisolak convened for an unscheduled special legislative session on July 8 to address a projected $1.2 billion revenue shortfall. (Metz, 7/20)

In news from Florida —

Politico: Rep. Donna Shalala Calls For Florida To Shut Down Again 
Rep. Donna Shalala slammed President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday for reopening too soon. "The lack of leadership in the White House and in our governor's office, they simply have not hit this with a hammer, which is what we needed to do, and starve the virus," Shalala (D-Fla.) said on ABC’s “This Week.” "They opened too soon. And they misunderstand what you need to do — or they understand it and they're not willing to do it." (Carrasco, 7/19)

AP: Carefree Florida Summers A Thing Of Past; 5K Die From Virus
As coronavirus cases skyrocket, daily life is looking very different in the Sunshine State, where many popular beaches are shuttered, residents and tourists can be fined for not wearing masks, and bars across the state aren’t allowed to pour liquor to toast the carefree days of summer. The state Department of Health on Sunday reported 12,478 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 87 more deaths. Overall, there have been nearly 350,047 cases, resulting in more than 5,000 deaths. (Kennedy, 7/19)

In news from California —

Los Angeles Times: Garcetti Says L.A. On The Verge Of New Stay-At-Home Order 
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Sunday said L.A. opened too quickly and again warned that the city was close to imposing some type of new stay-at-home order as coronavirus cases continued to spike. Speaking on CNN, Garcetti was asked about a Los Angeles Times editorial that criticized the rapid reopening of California, which was followed by a major surge in both new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (Wigglesworth, 7/19)

San Jose Mercury News: California Nursing Home Workers Confirm COVID-19 Infections
An overwhelming number of nursing assistants and other employees at skilling nursing facilities across the state say their workplaces have had known or suspected COVID-19 cases among staff, particularly at facilities with high populations of Black or Latino residents, a new statewide survey found. The survey, conducted by the California Health Care Foundation, found that 76 percent of certified nurse assistants reported knowing about positive or suspected positive cases among staff at their facilities. That number increased to 81 percent among staff who said they work in facilities with a large proportion of Black and Latino residents. (Sciacca, 7/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: Malls And Offices To Close In SF As The City Lands On California’s Coronavirus Watch List 
San Francisco’s malls and nonessential offices have until Monday to shut down after the city joined the state’s watch list of troubled counties Friday because of a jump in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Neighboring San Mateo is the only Bay Area county not on the watch list. But even that is expected to change by Tuesday, said county Supervisor David Canepa, as coronavirus surges and other worrying trends connected to the virus have hit all nine counties in the region. (Ravani and Fracassa, 7/17)

In news from Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina and Washington —

State House News Service: Pandemic Spending Bill Reaches Gov. Baker 
The approximately $1.1 billion COVID-19 spending bill sent to [Massachusetts] Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday directs money toward a wide slate of programs and organizations, including the health care system, homelessness prevention, child care providers, elections, food banks, addiction treatment services and more. The bill includes hundreds of millions of dollars for some of the more obvious COVID-19 costs, like $350 million for personal protective equipment, $85 million spent on field hospitals and shelters, $44 million for the state's contact tracing collaborative, and more than $111 million in supplemental payments to hospitals and providers. (Young, 7/17)

The Wall Street Journal: New Mexico’s Governor, A Possible Biden Running Mate, Stands Firm On Coronavirus Restrictions 
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the state’s former health secretary, has imposed tougher restrictions than those in other states, including fines for not wearing face masks in public. Out-of-state visitors are required to quarantine for 14 days, and only New Mexico residents are allowed in state parks. Last week, she closed indoor seating at restaurants and breweries, which had been allowed to reopen in a limited capacity at the end of May after being shut for over two months. Supporters say the moves have so far kept the virus manageable: Coronavirus cases have spread in New Mexico, but it so far hasn’t seen the surge experienced in neighboring Arizona and Texas. Republicans, however, are funding a lawsuit to prevent Ms. Lujan Grisham from fining businesses that don’t follow her coronavirus orders. (Collins, 7/19)

The New York Times: New York City Eases Into Phase 4 Of Reopening, But Indoor Limits Remain 
Amid concerns about a coronavirus resurgence, New York City will enter a limited fourth phase of reopening on Monday, allowing some art and entertainment venues, like zoos and botanical gardens, to open for outdoor activities at a limited capacity, officials announced on Friday. But stringent restrictions will remain on indoor activities: Gyms, malls, movie theaters and museums will remain shuttered, and indoor dining will still not be allowed. (Ferre-Sadurni and Mays, 7/17)

AP: Judge Weighs N.C. Voting Rule Change Demand With COVID-19
A judge is listening to arguments this week about whether the COVID-19 pandemic demands wholesale changes to North Carolina’s voting systems this fall. U.S. District Judge William Osteen scheduled three days of hearings starting Monday involving a lawsuit by two voting advocacy groups and several citizens who fear current rules threaten their health if they want to vote. There’s already been a spike in mail-in absentee ballot applications, presumably by voters who prefer not to venture out to in-person voting centers and precincts. (7/20)

The Hill: Washington State Sues Trump Administration Over New LGBT Health Care Rule 
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Friday sued the Trump administration for its recent rollback of health protections given to the LGBTQ community under the Affordable Care Act. ObamaCare prohibits discrimination against a patient because of their sex, race, national origin, age or disability. However, if Trump's new restrictions are allowed to move forward, gender identity and sex stereotyping are removed from the law's definition of "sex discrimination," effectively allowing health care providers to refuse care to LGBTQ patients if they please. (Johnson, 7/17)