Publications

Mitigating the Impacts of SB8

12/13/2021

In September 2021, legislation banning abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat (SB8) went into effect in Texas. This memo provides background on the legal status of abortions in Texas, an overview of the impact of SB8 in Harris County, and an overview of opportunities to support individuals impacted by the law or otherwise mitigate the law’s negative effects.

Update: COVID-19 Vaccination, December 2021

12/10/2021

This memo is the eleventh of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccination effort in Harris County. As of November 30, 2021, 54.4% (2,575,464) of individuals in Harris County were fully vaccinated – a 3.1% increase from October 26, 2021. 

Storm Surge Abatement

12/06/2021

This memo includes a discussion of the changing threats of both tropical cyclones and the resulting storm surge to the Gulf Coast region, along with a summary of the current understanding of key projects to mitigate the threat of storm surge to the Gulf Coast region, specifically, the Coastal Texas Study and the Galveston Bay Park Plan. These projects have been determined not to be in competition and may coexist to address storm surge if stakeholders decide to pursue both. 

Texas Prompt Payment Act Analysis

11/22/2021

The Analyst’s Office worked with the Harris County Auditor’s Office and Harris County Attorney's Office to assess Harris County compliance with the Prompt Payment Act and assess payments processing times to vendors over the last five years. Of the 1,224,688 vendor invoices paid in the period reviewed, Harris County issued payment to vendors on-time for 90.6% of all invoices (1,109,879). Harris County issued delayed payment to vendors for 9.4% of all invoices (114,809).

Update: COVID-19 Vaccination, November 2021

11/09/2021

This memo is the eleventh of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccination effort in Harris County. As of October 24, 2021, 54.4% (2,575,464) of individuals in Harris County were fully vaccinated – a 4.2% increase from September 26, 2021.

Update: COVID-19 Vaccination, October 2021

10/11/2021

This memo is the tenth of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccination effort in Harris County. As of September 26, 2021, 52.2% (2,471,866) of individuals in Harris County were fully vaccinated – an 8.8% increase from August 30. The demographic with the highest percentage of individuals vaccinated are individuals who identify as Hispanic aged 65-74 (74%). The demographic with the lowest percentage of individuals vaccinated are individuals who identify as Black aged 12-29 (24%)

Update: County Social Services-Public Safety-County Services Spending Comparison FY2010—FY2018

09/29/2021

This updated analysis expands upon a prior Analyst’s Office memo by comparing data from five jurisdictions outside of Texas—Cook County, IL; the City and County of Denver, CO; King County, WA; Maricopa County, AZ; and Miami-Dade County, FL; and four counties within Texas: Tarrant, Travis, Bexar, and Dallas counties—with data from Harris County. For six of the ten counties reviewed, annual spending related to Public Safety was higher than spending on County Services or Social Services. For the nine-year period analyzed, Harris County spent more on Public Safety (44%) than in any other category—three times the amount spent on Social Services (13%).

Update: COVID-19 Vaccination, September 2021

09/14/2021

This memo is the ninth of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccination effort in Harris County. As of August 30, 2021, 48.2% (2,270,241) of individuals in Harris County were fully vaccinated - a 6.6% increase from August 8.

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, August 2021

08/24/2021

This memo is the eighth of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Harris County. As of August 8, 2021, 45.2% (2,129,163) of individuals in Harris County residents were fully vaccinated - a 7.7% increase from July. 

Health Coordination Follow-Up

08/04/2021

The Analyst's Office previously identified four public health coordination systems as potential models for improving coordination among Harris County Public Health (HCPH), Harris Health System (HHS), and the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD (Harris Center). This memo outlines lessons learned and strengths and weaknesses of the four coordination systems, and provides an overview of each Harris County health-related agencies' support for implementing each system in Harris County.

Update: Annual Deaths in Harris County

07/28/2021

This memo provides an update to the December 2020 annual deaths report by extending the date of analysis from October 2020 to December 2020. This memo reports total annual deaths in Harris County, including the City of Houston, from January 2010 through December 2020 by age, and race and ethnicity. Note: This memo does not include reference to cause of death, and the memo does not include any conclusions from the data.

Metropolitan Planning Organizations

07/28/2021

MetropolitanPlanning Organizations (MPOs) are agencies created by federal law to provide local elected officials input into the planning and implementation of federal transportation funds. This memo compares five MPOs in Texas with regard to their: representation, decision-making process, and intergovernmental relationships and examines methods for increasing Harris County’s leverage within their local MPO, H-GAC.

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, July 2021

07/20/2021

This memo is the seventh of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Harris County. As of July 5, 2021, 41.9% (1,975,622) of individuals in Harris County residents were fully vaccinated.

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, June 2021

06/29/2021

This memo is the sixth of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Harris County. As of June 13, 2021, 8.6% (403,417) of eligible individuals in Harris County residents were partially vaccinated; and 38.0% (1,790,902) were fully vaccinated.

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, May 2021

06/08/2021

This memo is the fifth of a monthly series that provides anoverview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Harris County. As of May 23,2021, 12.8% (445,959) of eligible individuals in Harris County residents werepartially vaccinated; and 33.7% (1,588,752) were fully vaccinated.

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, April 2021

05/11/2021

This memo is the fourth of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Harris County. As of April 26, 2021, 17% (603,758) of eligible individuals in Harris County residents were partially vaccinated; and  31% (1,109,143) were fully vaccinated.

Juror Pay

05/11/2021

This memo identifies strategies that helped increase juror appearance rates, reviews the impact of pay increases in other jurisdictions, and examines whether an increase in pay in other jurisdictions resulted in greater turnout and/or greater diversity of juror participation.

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, March 2021

04/07/2021

This memo is the third of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Harris County. As of March 29, 2021, 1,020,644 Harris County residents were vaccinated with at least one vaccine dose (29% of Harris County’s eligible population) and 546,051 were fully vaccinated (15% of Harris County’s eligible population).

Catalog of Harris County Sustainability Practices

04/01/2021

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines sustainability as the creation of long-term sustainable conditions, under which humans and nature can exist. This memo provides a comprehensive catalogue of existing sustainability policies and practices maintained by Harris County departments and provides a starting point for the development of short and long-term sustainability goals and actionable policies.

County Health Coordination Memo

03/19/2021

There are three county health-related agencies in Harris County: Harris County Public Health, Harris Health System,and the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD. Over the course of the last four decades, there have been multiple efforts to improve coordination across these agencies, many of these efforts continue today. This memo provides an analysis of the collaborative arrangements practiced in health-related agencies in six jurisdictions (Bexar County, Dallas County, Galveston County, Travis County, Los Angeles County, and Miami-Dade County), highlights methods to improve cooperation, and provides a legal analysis of the potential consolidation of Harris County’s health-related agencies. 

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, February 2021

03/09/2021

This memo is the second of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Harris County. This memo expands on the previous publication (the January COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution memo) by including data relating to COVID-19 testing, cases, and deaths in Harris County, and Commissioner Precinct-level analysis where available.

Assessment of Climate Action Plans

02/12/2021

Climate Action Plans (CAPs) are strategic documents that outline a collection of measures and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and are often based on local priorities for reducing emissions. This memo outlines best practices for developing Climate Action Plans; features four jurisdictions that illustrate key components of the best practices; and proposes next steps for the development of a countywide Climate Action Plan in Harris County.

Analysis of Withdrawing from the Houston-Galveston Area Council

02/12/2021

Councils of Government (COGs) are coordinating bodies that seek to address the need for comprehensive, coordinated program planning at the regional level. This memo assesses the potential benefits and disadvantages of Harris County withdrawing from its regional COG, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). This analysis includes a summary of the composition of the governing body and representation, voting practices of the governing body, the general assembly and committees, and the annual membership fee of H-GAC and four other councils of government (COGs) in Texas.

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, January 2021

02/09/2021

This memo is the first of a monthly series that provides an overview of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Harris County. This memo includes data for vaccine doses distributed by all providers in Harris County with doses administered presented by recipient age, gender, race and ethnicity, and zip code, from the start of local distribution on December 14, 2020 through January 31, 2021.

Homicide-Related Deaths by Location, 2015-2020

01/15/2021

This memo includes data on homicide-related deaths in Harris County by location for five years, from 2015 through 2020. This memo was produced in collaboration with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences and the County Justice Administration Department and is a follow-up to the previously published memo on homicide charges and homicide-related deaths.

Percent for Art Comparative Analysis

01/08/2021

Jurisdictions participate in capital budgeting to fund long-term fixed assets, like buildings, equipment, and land. Percent for Art policies allow jurisdictions to set aside a specific percent of capital funds for public artwork with the intention of making public spaces more appealing, useful, or accessible. This memo provides both an overview of best practices for Percent for Art policies and an overview of several cities and counties across the United States with existing Percent for Art policies. 

Annual Rates for Homicide Charges and Homicide-Related Deaths

12/14/2020

This memo includes the rate of homicide deaths in Harris County, produced in collaboration with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, as well as reported rates of homicide charges in Harris County, produced in collaboration with the Harris County Justice Administration Department, for the five-year period between 2015 and 2020.

County Social Services-Public Safety-County Services Spending Comparison

12/14/2020

This analysis compares public spending in the areas of social services, public safety, and county services from FY2010 to FY2018 across five Texas jurisdictions: Bexar County, Dallas County, Harris County, Tarrant County, and Travis County. For most counties, Public Safety was the greatest category of spending. For the eight-year period analyzed, Harris County spent more on Public Safety (44%) than any other category—three times the amount spent on Social Services (13%). An analysis featuring jurisdictions outside of Texas is forthcoming.

Total Annual Deaths in Harris County and the City of Houston

12/11/2020

This analysis reports total annual deaths in the City of Houston and Harris County from January 2015 through October 2020 by age, race, and ethnicity.  The City of Houston and Harris County reported a greater number (29%) of overall deaths between April 2020 – July 2020 (11,731) than the same months in 2019 (9,088). Note: This memo does not include reference to cause of death, and the memo does not include any conclusions from the data. Age, race, and ethnicity data are only available for the City of Houston due to data limitations.

Assessment of Racial and Gender Equity Impact Assessments

08/21/2020

Equity impact assessments are tools policymakers use to identify risk areas where implicit biases may affect behaviors and judgments towards individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, or ability, and to create policies that are mindful of those risks. This memo includes four case studies of government jurisdictions across the United States which have utilized equity impact assessments, provides a summary of common practices for creating such assessments, and outlines four policy options the Commissioners Court may consider for utilizing equity impact assessments in the county.

Cost Estimate of Harris County Services for an Individual Experiencing Homelessness

08/12/2020

Costs for services provided to individuals experiencing homelessness vary widely depending upon the root cause of homelessness and the service response needed. Root causes such as job loss, natural disaster, mental illness, or substance or alcohol addiction often require individuals to draw upon multiple County services. This report estimates the total annual average costs per person incurred to Harris County for services provided to individuals experiencing homelessness.

Zero Based Budgeting Analysis

07/21/2020

This report provides an overview of Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB) - a method of budgeting that compels budgeting entities to create budgets starting from zero and provide justifications for each expenditure for consideration by decision-makers. This report highlights four case studies that demonstrate how local governments have applied variations of ZBB and includes three policy options for Harris County Commissioners Court to consider.

Law Enforcement and First Responder Response to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Calls for Service

07/09/2020

The Commissioners Court requested the Analyst's Office, in partnership with the Justice Administration Department, analyze the feasibility and cost of creating a new county-level program to route 9-1-1 calls for mental health and substance abuse to a non-law enforcement crisis response team. This abridged version of the study includes a background of the existing 9-1-1 responses, agencies, and programs involved with substance abuse and mental health response in Harris County. The final report, led by the Justice Administration Department, is forthcoming.

Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Low-Income and Minority Households

05/28/2020

Prior to outbreak of the novel coronavirus low-income and minority communities experienced disproportionate health outcomes such as reduced access to health insurance, reduced access to financial support, increased prevalence of illnesses like diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure—and the current outbreak is compounding existing disadvantages and the social statuses are not distinct. This memo outlines strategies policymakers can adopt to mitigate these impacts.

Inventory of Polling Location Changes in Harris County

05/19/2020

This analysis compiled an inventory of locations, addresses,voting precinct numbers, county commissioner precinct number, reasons, and dates, from 2011-2019, in response to poll location closures in Harris County. Starting in 2016, events, including polling location boundary changes and Hurricane Harvey, led to higher numbers of changes. The 2016 General Election saw the highest number of polling location changes, with 175 ( 23%) of all polling locations available that election, changed. 

Inventory of Active COVID-19 Relief Funds Across the US, Review of Best Practices for Relief Funds, and Estimate of the Impact of Proposed Harris County Fund

04/22/2020

The economic fallout related to COVID-19 impacts many Harris County residents and businesses. This memo provides an overview of then-emerging COVID-19 economic relief funds in jurisdictions across the country and offers best practices for establishing a local relief fund. This memo also provides a review of the economic outlook in Harris County as a result of the pandemic, current relief efforts underway, and estimates of the impact of a proposed $15 million Harris County Relief Fund.

Inventory of Policies Implemented in Jurisdictions Across the United States to Address the Developing Novel Coronavirus Outbreak

03/13/2020

The rapid spread of COVID-19 prompted many jurisdictions to enact local policies to prevent transmission of the disease. This memo provides a summary of CDC guidelines and a review of reported advisories, policies, and strategies implemented by other jurisdictions in response to COVID-19.