Idaho governor signs bills trimming emergency powers

 Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed four watered-down versions of previous bills that he vetoed on limiting a governor’s powers during declared emergencies such as the coronavirus pandemic.

The Republican governor signed all four bills Monday and took the rare step of sending transmittal letters to the Legislature explaining his reasoning.

Little wrote that the bills he signed, unlike the bills he vetoed, do not impair a governor’s ability to protect Idaho residents.

Lawmakers are angry at actions Little took last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, including a temporary stay-at-home order as COVID-19 patients threatened to overwhelm hospitals.

Lawmakers were incensed that the order prevented church gatherings and that some workers, were declared “nonessential,” a term lawmakers found objectionable.

Lawmakers also said they should have played a role in spending the $1.25 billion that the state received early last year from the federal government in coronavirus relief money.

Three of the bills signed by Little originated in the House and one in the Senate.

The Senate bill dealt with “extreme” emergencies that, if involving 12 or more counties and lasting longer than 90 days, would require the involvement of the Legislature.

The Senate bill “preserves the ability of future Governors to take timely and necessary action to protect Idahoans in future extreme emergencies, such as destructive earthquakes and cyberattacks, while also creating a responsible process to ensure the legislature is involved and able to assist with the state’s response efforts,” Little wrote.

The three House bills focused on more localized emergencies such as wildfires and floods.

The first bill sought to prohibit a governor from creating or amending laws. The second required that restrictions on people going to work “be narrowly tailored to not place restrictions based on job type or classification.” The third ordered that constitutional rights, such as the freedom to assemble and the freedom of religion, cannot be suspended because of a declared emergency.

“I also fully support the addition of language emphasizing that our constitutional rights as citizens of this state continue to exist during declared emergencies and that any restrictions on those rights must be both narrow and necessary,” Little wrote to lawmakers.

The signed bills, particularly the House bills, do not require the involvement of the Legislature during emergencies anywhere near the extent of the vetoed bills.

The vetoed bills would have allowed a governor to declare an emergency and extend it beyond 60 days, but only to ensure federal funding.

They also would have required any restrictions accompanying a governor’s order to expire after 60 days unless renewed by the Legislature — meaning the Legislature would have to be called back into session if it had adjourned for the year.

Little in one of his veto messages wrote that the Legislature had attempted to take work that is exclusively assigned to the executive branch, a violation of the separation of powers defined in the state constitution.

Little in his letters about the bills he signed thanked lawmakers for helping to improve and modernize statutes that some lawmakers have called relics from the era of the Cold War, the post-World War II rivalry between the United States and the former Soviet Union.

https://apnews.com/article/id-state-wire-idaho-bills-coronavirus-pandemic-health-f53c5527ff816d19b5fb6ab7a5544241

Missouri to drop extra federal pandemic unemployment aid

 Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday announced the state is cutting off all federal pandemic unemployment benefits in an attempt to push people back to work.

Parson said those extra federal benefits will end for Missourians June 12.

Roughly 53,500 Missourians received extra weeks of unemployment aid thanks to federal aid in the last week of April, the latest available data.

Another 37,000 people who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for regular unemployment help also claimed aid, according to a state labor department spokeswoman. That includes independent contractors, farm workers and people who are self-employed.

Parson said business owners in Missouri are struggling to fill jobs as the economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Parson said he hopes cutting the federal aid will push people back to work and address labor shortages.

“Continuing these programs only worsens the workforce issues we’re currently facing,” the Republican governor told reporters Tuesday. “It’s time that we end these programs that have incentivized people to stay out of the workforce.”

Missouri’s unemployment rate hit 4.2% in March, down from 4.3% in February.

Missouri is t he latest of several states — Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana and South Carolina — ending the $300 federal benefit that is on top of state benefits.

Labor experts say the shortage is not just about the $300 payment. Some unemployed people also have been reluctant to look for work because they fear catching the virus. Others have found new occupations rather than return to their old jobs. And many women, especially working mothers, have had to leave the workforce to care for children.

Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature has also considered cutting how long people can receive state unemployment help as a means to force people back to work, but those proposals have stalled.

Lawmakers have until Friday to send bills to Parson.

https://apnews.com/article/michael-brown-health-coronavirus-pandemic-5b3af7a07493a5b6c79b6ea8d8be0c60

Indiana restoring work-search rule for jobless benefits

 Indiana residents receiving unemployment benefits will again have to show they are actively searching for work as the governor is reinstating a requirement that he lifted soon after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the state.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order Tuesday that puts the job search requirement back in place starting June 1.

Indiana is joining several other states creating more requirements for people to stay on unemployment, with many businesses blaming the ease of obtaining the weekly jobless benefits with making it more difficult to fill job openings.

Holcomb said last week he was directing the state Department of Workforce Development for a demographic analysis of unemployed residents while he considered whether to withdraw Indiana from a $300-a-week supplemental federal payment on top of state benefits. The maximum state payment is $390 a week.

“Our unemployment rate stands at 3.9 percent, which is near pre-pandemic levels, and our labor force mirrors pre-pandemic levels, when we also had worker shortages,” Holcomb said in a statement.

The governor’s new order means that those seeking unemployment benefits must submit a weekly report on their job-seeking efforts, which can include applying for work, attending job fairs or participating in state workshops.

Indiana had about 60,000 people receiving traditional unemployment benefits in mid-April — down some 195,000, or 75%, from a year ago, according to federal statistics. About 225,000 people received payments from other federal jobless programs started to assist those who lost income during the pandemic.

The state’s unemployment rate has plunged since peaking at 16.9% in April 2020. It was 3.9% for last month after being stable between 3.1% and 3.6% over a three-year span before the pandemic prompted widespread business closures.

Republican legislative leaders said they supported Holcomb’s actions.

“We’re back to the challenge that we had pre pandemic were trying to find bodies to fill jobs,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said.

Businesses might also need to become more aggressive to hire workers, such as many fast-food restaurants have done in paying more than minimum wage, Bray said.

“If you want to get people to work, you are going to have to start paying them a little more,” Bray said. “I think that employers are going to have to do that in order to compete.”

The Indiana Democratic Party said state officials need to help those in low-paying jobs, including the estimated nearly 900,000 people working for minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

“We cannot ignore the reality that it’s time for Indiana to increase its minimum wage and provide better opportunities for our workers.” Said Lauren Ganapini, the state Democratic Party’s executive director.

https://apnews.com/article/indiana-coronavirus-pandemic-health-business-government-and-politics-4697cea0b3bc63889c8ad87e4aaa4db8

Virginia Gov. Northam declares state of emergency over Colonial Pipeline outage

 Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday declared a state of emergency as the Colonial Pipeline, which transports a significant amount of gasoline to the East Coast, remained offline following a ransomware attack.

Northam said the decision was made to address any potential gasoline supply disruptions since the Colonial Pipeline is the primary fuel source for many Virginia retailers.

As previously reported by FOX Business, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper made a similar call in his state on Monday.

An emergency declaration has been issued by the Department of Transportation covering 17 states as a result of the situation.

The pipeline, which transports a large amount of gasoline from Texas to the Northeast, was offline as of Tuesday with the expectation that it could be back up and running later this week. 

It transports 100 million gallons of fuel each day, including 45% if all fuel consumed on the East Coast. Its products range from various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, jet fuel, and fuels for the U.S. military.

The FBI on Monday confirmed that it was a ransomware attack carried out by criminals belonging to the group known as DarkSide.

Upon learning that it had been targeted by ransomware, Colonial Pipeline said that it took certain systems offline to contain the threat.

On Monday night, Line 4, which runs from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Woodbine, Maryland, was temporarily operating under manual control while existing inventory is available, the company said.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/virginia-gov-ralph-northam-declares-state-of-emergency-over-colonial-pipeline-outage

Pharma Pfizer, Regeneron CEOs see extended need for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments

 Pharma companies with COVID-19 vaccines and drugs have reeled in big sales in recent months, but even as vaccines promise to eventually tackle the pandemic, eye-popping revenue figures will continue for quite some time, execs project.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has flagged the likely need for vaccine boosters as the pandemic continues to evolve. On a recent conference call with analysts, he said that "basically all governments of the world are now discussing with us about procurement agreements" for 2022, 2023 and 2024. In fact, Europe just signed a massive agreement for up to 1.8 billion doses from Pfizer and BioNTech through 2023.

Patients are “likely” to need a third dose of Pfizer and BioNTech’s shot once the period of initial protection wanes, CEO Albert Bourla said in a recent interview with CVS Health Live. The comments came shortly after Pfizer posted data showing Comirnaty was 91.3% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 for up to six months in patients who'd received their second dose.

While protection remains high for those six months, it does “go down by time,” Bourla said, adding that the data stressed a “need” for re-vaccinations. He said it was currently unclear when and how frequently boosters might be required. “There will be likely a need for a third dose somewhere between six and 12 months, and then from there, there will be an annual re-vaccination.”

In a Monday note to clients, Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal wrote that his team is "not sure [Pfizer] will be right longer-term," but that the company is "making a killing now." The team projects $36 billion from the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this year, a revenue figure that would blow away all other records in pharma history.

Pfizer has not been shy about potentially raising prices as the pandemic evolves, either. After the crisis shifts from a pandemic response to endemic virus containment, Pfizer is "going to get more on price," CFO Frank D'Amelio has said.

Meanwhile, even as COVID-19 vaccines roll out swiftly, Regeneron CEO Len Schleifer recently told analysts he sees an "ongoing global need" for treatments such as Regen-Cov, Regeneron's antibody combo. Regeneron's antibody sales won't be able to match those collected by leading vaccine players, but Schleifer and others see a continued role for the medicines.

In the U.S., current estimates project that tens of millions of people will remain unvaccinated, Schleifer said. And among "those who are vaccinated, significant numbers will not mount a protective response, such as those who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed," he added. It's important to continue to administer COVID-19 treatments in order to save lives, he said on a recent conference call.

The comments come as Pfizer and its partner BioNTech aim to scale up production to make 3 billion doses of their vaccine this year, and more than 3 billion doses next year. Regeneron and its partner Roche are angling to make more than 2 million treatment doses of their cocktail available per year. 

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizer-s-covid-19-vaccine-could-reap-36b-2021-sales-analysts-predict

Lower COVID-19 cases seen this summer, Eli Lilly to welcome all employees back to Ind. HQ

 Eli Lilly will open its offices next month as it welcomes employees back to the workplace in a phased approach.

In downtown Indianapolis and joined by mayor Joe Hogsett, Lilly CEO David Ricks stepped out of corporate headquarters and took to the street on Monday to declare the company’s plan. Ricks also posted an open announcement on Linkedin.  

On June 1, Lilly will welcome 25% of its workforce back to offices with masking and distancing required along with proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

By July 12, offices at headquarters will be open to all employees. Those who return to work in July will not have to be vaccinated.  

“We will not require that but we do expect most employees of Lilly to be vaccinated. We’re encouraging that strongly,” Ricks said. “If they have a reason not to be, we’ll make an accommodation.”

In a state of 6.7 million people, the Indiana Department of Health reports that more than 4.5 million shots have been administered and more than 2.1 million people have been fully vaccinated.

The move was influenced by an expected drop in new coronavirus cases and is subject to change, Ricks said. It comes more than a year after the pandemic forced millions of Americans to begin working from home last spring.

“Most projections now have (new cases) falling between now and the 4th of July and being quite low across the U.S. this summer,” Ricks said. “We’ll be data-based. If CDC or other authorities change their projections, we’ll change.” 

Since the pandemic was declared in March of last year, about 7,000 office-based Lilly employees in the United States have been working from home. Going forward, some employees will be required on site full time, others most of the time, while some will be allowed more flexibility, Ricks said.

“We’re embracing a new workplace strategy,” Ricks told reporters. “If you want a little more flexibility, you can exercise that and work from home. But at the same time, we’ll have many people downtown.”

Lilly has taken an active role in responding to the pandemic. Early on, the drugmaker launched a drive-through testing facility at its headquarters and made its presence felt by establishing testing centers in the state. It also set out researching potential treatments for the novel coronavirus, and has scored two FDA emergency use authorizations. 

Now the company hopes to lead other businesses back to work in the city.

“Their return will accompany an increased weekday economy for our city and especially for our downtown,” Hogsett said. “I’m sure many other employers will be close behind.”

Last week, in less public fashion, California-based Amgen laid out its plan going forward post-pandemic. It includes allowing most employees to work from home for the foreseeable future.

Lilly, apparently, will not be as open to that option.

“We have the ability to do a hybrid workforce so they can use platforms like zoom and teams to dial into meetings and our meetings here can enable that,” Ricks said. “But we know some activities, like learning, apprenticeship, team alignment are best done all in person.”

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pandemic-easing-up-lilly-will-welcome-employees-back-to-headquarters

'How to return to work — and keep getting $300 jobless benefit'

 

• Two programs — partial unemployment insurance and short-time compensation (also known as work sharing) — allow workers to keep getting unemployment benefits.
• They are only available to part-time workers and certain rules may restrict access. Eligible workers would also get a $300 weekly supplement, which some view as a quasi return-to-work bonus.
• The Biden administration highlighted the programs Monday amid speculation that enhanced unemployment benefits are causing a labor shortage.

• The April jobs report has ignited controversy over what some see as competing interests: unemployment benefits and returning to work.

  But there’s a way to get both — including the extra $300 a week.

  “The $300 is what will attract people back to work,” Susan Houseman, research director at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. “There are two programs that would allow them to do that.”

  The programs are partial unemployment insurance and short-time compensation (also known as work sharing). These options are available only to part-time workers.

  The American Rescue Plan offers the extra $300 a week through Labor Day to all recipients of unemployment benefits.

  ‘Overlooked’

  The programs are often “overlooked” as options by the public, the White House said Monday.

  The Biden administration highlighted them as a benefit for both employers and workers: Ailing businesses can rehire workers part-time, and employees don’t have to take a pay cut to return to work.

  “A lot of the jobs, they’re not bringing people back 40 hours a week,” according to Michele Evermore, a senior policy advisor for unemployment insurance at the U.S. Labor Department. “They’re bringing back people three nights a week.”

  The U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs in April — much weaker than the 1 million expected.

  Democrats and the White House say there’s no evidence unemployment benefits are causing a labor shortage. Other factors — like child-care duties and a still-prevalent virus — are to blame, they say.

  Businesses may find it easier to hire if they can offer the equivalent of a $300 weekly “bonus” on top of part-time pay, Houseman said.

  “This is a way to get that weekly bonus to workers and have the federal government pay for it,” she said.

  Caveats

  However, there are many caveats.

  Within the past week, four states said they will end their participation in federal unemployment programs in June instead of September.

  The states — Arkansas, Montana, Mississippi and South Carolina — are led by Republican governors. Others may join their ranks.

  Further, rules that apply to each program may limit availability to some workers.

  For example, just 27 states make short-time compensation programs available to workers. Even then, such programs are employer-driven: A business applies for the benefits on behalf of its workers.

  All states offer partial unemployment benefits and workers apply for the aid.

  Federal law requires workers’ hours to be cut at least 10% and not more than 60% for them to qualify for short-time compensation programs. States may enact narrower bands, though.

  A larger reduction would generally qualify someone for partial unemployment benefits, Houseman said.

  “You’d have to be brought back very part-time in order to qualify,” Houseman said.

  The Biden administration is pushing states to loosen their eligibility rules for partial unemployment benefits so more people qualify.

  “States can enhance the capacity of partial UI by raising the income threshold where workers can both work and receive some UI benefits, and the Department of Labor will be encouraging states to do so,” the White House said Monday.

  The federal government is also fully funding benefits paid via work-sharing programs through Sept. 6, a potential enticement for more states to offer them.

• In each case, workers would receive a paycheck plus a portion of their full unemployment benefits. They would also get the $300 supplement to jobless aid.

• Republicans and business groups have cited the miss as evidence that enhanced unemployment benefits are sidelining workers.

• Workers receiving unemployment benefits through a short-time compensation program or partial unemployment wouldn’t get the extra $300 in these states past June.
  

   

  But partial unemployment benefits generally require a more substantial reduction in work hours (relative to short-time compensation) for an individual to be eligible.

• But there’s not a hard-and-fast rule since eligibility varies by state, as it does with work-sharing programs, Houseman said.

• https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/11/unemployment-benefits-how-to-return-to-work-and-get-the-300-weekly-boost.html