Young Appointed to Texas Supreme Court

Evan Young, a former clerk to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, has been appointed to the Texas Supreme Court by Gov. Greg Abbott. He will replace Justice Eva Guzman, who resigned in June to run for Texas attorney general.

“Evan Young is a proven legal scholar and public servant, making him an ideal pick for the Supreme Court of Texas,” Abbott said. “Evan’s extensive background in private practice and public service will be a fantastic addition to the bench, and I am confident that he will faithfully defend the Constitution and uphold the rule of law for the people of Texas.”

Young is a partner at the Baker Botts law firm in Austin and previously served as counsel to the U.S. attorney general, where he spent a year on detail to the U.S. embassy in BaghDad, Iraq. He earned his law degree from Yale.

State Lost 616,600 Jobs During Pandemic The annual cash report from the state comp

The annual cash report from the state comptroller outlines the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. From August 2019 to

August 2020, the state’s economy lost 616,600 non-farm jobs, largely from the economic aftershocks of the pandemic and a drop in energy prices. However, sales tax collections, a major part of the state’s revenue, increased two-tenths of a percent in 2020 because of increases in retail spending that offset declines in oil and gas-related sectors.

Sales tax collections comprise nearly 60% of the state’s total revenues, according to the comptroller’s office.

Workplace Injuries Decline The incidence rate of nonfatal workplace in

The incidence rate of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported in Texas for 2020 dropped to its lowest rate in a decade, at 2.0 per 100 full time workers. That compares favorably to the national rate of 2.7 incidence rates per 100 workers.

The report was compiled by the Texas Department of Insurance. In 2020, a total of 178,600 cases of workplace injury or illness were reported by Texas employers. The highest incident rates were reported in the health-care sector, followed by agriculture and other outdoor-related occupations.