The proclamation drew statewide attention, to the point that Gov. Greg Abbott addressed it at a press conference April 21.
"[Abbott's staff] read our documents, ... and they felt like we were very deferential to the governor's order," Newton said at an April 21 Colleyville City Council meeting.
Newton added that he is coordinating with the deputy attorney general to ensure the city's proclamation is truly parallel with the governor's. Newton said he expects to have a call with him April 22.
"If the attorney general wants to talk to us about any nuances of [the proclamation]—happy to talk to them," Newton said. "If governor Abbott asked us to make some slight changes, then we would do that no problem."
Abbott said the proclamation appeared to be in line with a statewide executive order he issued April 17.
"He seemed like he was writing his policies in a way to try to parallel or be in agreement with what was in my executive order," Abbott said at the April 21 press conference. "Look at what he says in regards to additional types of medical practices."
The mayor's proclamation allowed elective surgeries, religious gatherings and gatherings of 10 people or fewer to resume, providing that residents still abide by social distancing guidelines and still limit gatherings when possible. That went into effect April 20.
Additionally, the proclamation would allow on April 24 the opening of restaurant patios and one-on-one operations of hands-on businesses, such as gyms and salons. It will also allow for retail establishments to offer pickup and delivery services and in-store appointments.
Newton said the intention behind his proclamation was to align the city's shelter-in-place order with the governor's.
"The governor made some adjustments to his orders recently. ... And so all we did was actually modify ours slightly to be in complete and total conformance with his," Newton said.
