COVID-19 State Policy Update 05.06.20

Today, Wednesday May 6th, the California State Legislature released updated legislative calendars for both the Assembly and the Senate. 

Governor Newsom began his daily COVID-19 briefing by addressing the testing needs of Californians.  He noted the launch of a new website for Californians to find a testing center where they may obtain a COVID-19 test within 30 to 60 minutes of their location. The tool to locate testing locations is the result of a contract with OptumServe in partnership with Google. The Governor invited Californians to go to the www.COVID19.ca.gov link to find a testing center near them and make a reservation. He noted this expands the state’s testing capability with an effort to make sure testing is available in both rural and inner-city locations. He noted there is much more work to be done, acknowledging there are “testing deserts” in the state and promised continued transparency, as locations will open as soon as possible.  

Read about the launch of the testing centers here

Stage 2 of reopening the economy

The Governor went on to discuss the continuing efforts put into “moving judiciously” into Stage 2 and reopening sectors of the economy, as businesses prepare to make the necessary accommodations and modifications in order to comply with the Stage 2 guidelines, which includes securing the safety of employees and customers. 
 

New Executive Order expanding health coverage for large employers

Governor Newsom went on to note that today is National Nurses Day and thanked the state’s nursing professionals for their dedication, as they continue their work on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. The Governor did make note of the fact there are some counties that wish to go further than Stage 2 and stated there needs to be further clarification regarding the expectations of testing, tracing and their ability to build surge capacity, provide PPE, and many other prerequisites to opening the economy further. 

The Governor gave a nod to Newport Beach and thanked the leadership in Newport and also the Orange County Supervisors in reaching an agreement to open their beaches safely and provide active use of the beaches for peoples’ mental and physical wellbeing. He went further thanking the leadership in Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Dana Point, San Clemente and Ventura for coming to agreements that open the beaches appropriately.

On that note, the Governor reviewed the state and federal effort to provide sick leave for employees working in the state’s food supply chain and he noted the federal program expanded to include employers with fewer than 500 employees but noted that did not include larger firms or healthcare workers. Governor Newsom announced he has signed an Executive Order expanding California’s coverage for employees and healthcare workers who are on the front line of the crisis. The Governor explained the order extends sick leave and benefits to apply to all sectors of the economy, and he referred to a rebuttable presumption.

If a worker tests positive for COVID-19 with a test administered by a physician and the test is verified, the employee is assumed to have contracted the virus through their workplace and are eligible for these benefits (only after drawing down all federal benefits). The order provides certainty of relief for the next 60 days and is also retroactive back to March 19. The Governor stated this is foundational and critical, as the state moves into Stage 2 because we do not want an employee who tests positive for the virus to come to work because they cannot afford to miss work and their pay.

The Governor introduced Victoria Hassid, Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Industrial Relations. Ms. Hassid reiterated the details of the Executive Order, noting it is the result of hard work with industry and business leaders and labor groups to forge a framework of understanding and provide this necessary workers’ compensation benefit for front-line workers, including nurses, janitors, farm workers, and grocery workers, etc. 

Executive Order #2 today: Property tax penalty relief

Governor Newsom also announced a second Executive Order that provides relief from property tax penalties. The Governor explained this is the time of year property taxes are due and many people and small business owners are barely scraping by in the current economic conditions. He noted the late penalty of 10% for the May 7th business property tax statement is a significant amount of money, especially for those people required to pay “north of $100,000.” He said this work is the result of a collaborative effort with the counties, county associations and the Board of Equalization. His Executive Order extends the filing deadline to May 31st

He also noted that the Executive Order should provide clarity for people who are experiencing hardships and need the ability to pay their personal property taxes on a payment schedule. He stated it was important to note this order applies relief through May of 2021 for residential property taxes. 

You can find the language of the property tax Executive Order here.

Unemployment and EDD

The Governor reiterated the extraordinary effort being made by the Department of Employment Development to process the record number of unemployment insurance claims received since the crisis began in March. He noted as of now, EDD has processed more than 4.2 million claims for unemployment insurance and distributed more than $10.6 billion dollars to those who are unemployed. Additionally, 477,000 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims have been processed and the work continues to help Californians get the insurance payments they need to get through this crisis. He noted, once again, the unemployment numbers are “jaw dropping and depression era numbers.”

The Governor transitioned to discuss briefly the challenge of the state budget, reminding the audience the budget he presented in January reflected a healthy surplus and within a matter of weeks, the tide turned to a budget deficit totaling into the billions and reflects the need for deep cuts to programs. He noted he is accountable to present a balanced budget and California, like many states, is depending on the leadership in the federal government to provide support—not just to the state, but to cities and counties throughout the United States.

PPE

The Governor reflected on the remarkable effort to secure PPE for Californians. He thanked Californians, “we took off on a plane as we were building it.” The effort to procure enough PPE has been extraordinary. More than 15 million masks have been distributed and 19.9 million are in inventory and in the process of being distributed.

The Governor spoke briefly on the topic of purchasing scams and procurement challenges in obtaining masks and other necessary equipment and supplies. He acknowledged new partnership with the FBI and the Department of Justice, after a promised delivery of 39 million masks was identified as a scam.

Newsweek related story on this can be found here

The Governor spoke about the contracts the state has secured and addressed the media requests to release the contracts under the Public Records Act. He stated he considers transparency critical and strives to be transparent. He acknowledged the right of citizens to obtain records such as contracts, but asked for patience, as his team finishes their work. He did state he instructed his team to release the contracts as early as this week.

The Governor went on to elaborate on the effort to secure masks, noting the large contract  they have with BYD, “the world’s largest manufacturer of masks,” is already paying dividends by delivering masks ahead of the first promised delivery date, and he is confident the number of masks California needs will be delivered, which, as he noted, is foundational and critical to reopening the economy and protecting employees and customers. He closed on this topic by noting the lessons learned through this crisis and the contracting process will all be detailed in the COVID-19 after action report.

The Governor went on to discuss issues of public health and his concerns over the fact that the people in the state’s black and brown communities are testing positive for the virus at much higher numbers than other populations. He shared with the audience his concern over social and healthcare disparities in these communities and the effort to address some of them in the January budget, when the state had a surplus. He asked the audience to consider these issues and noted “it is incumbent upon all of us that we consider these issues in next Stages and beyond—people’s mental health must also be considered, as the social economics and the complete disparities that continue to persist and are impacting people particularly in the black and brown communities.”  

The Governor cited a recent story published in the LA Times regarding the state’s release of records and analysis that illustrates the higher rates of positive COVID-19 tests among Latinos and African Americans. Read the story here

The Governor noted it is important for the state to consider disparities not only as they relate to COVID-19 but also in other areas.

The Governor closed is briefing with a reminder as the state moves into Stage 2, “we will do so with our eyes wide open, with data front and center, and with the dashboard of transparency in real time guiding our decisions over the coming days, weeks, and months ahead.”

Q&A

The Q&A focused on Legislative action and a question of taxing vaping. The Governor responded he will present a vaping tax in the May 14 revised budget.

Another question was regarding the value of the Western State Pact. The Governor responded stating the pact has been enormously valuable and he expects it will continue to be so well beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

The Governor was asked if he has considered a state version of the Defense Act to secure equipment and supplies. The Governor responded the voluntary efforts of business have proven sufficient to deliver what the state needs in supplementing existing and new contracts.

The Governor was also asked if he was adhering to the stay-at-home order and would he share some details of life under the order. The Governor responded that he is in fact adhering to the order and one could tell by the fact that his hair has not been cut for some time and is too long—although he noted, his daughter offered to cut his hair with her “crafting scissors.”

The final question was regarding the public release of the mask contract with BYD. The Governor assured the reporter that the contract would be released soon, and he thanked the reporter for their coverage and tenacity.

COVID-19 numbers – Key milestones updated (5/6/20):

  • More than 2,412 deaths up by 99 (4.1% increase)  
  • 58,815 positive cases, up 2,550 (4.1% increase)
  • 809,036 tests conducted. Still averaging over 30k daily
  • Hospitalizations decreased by 35 (-1%) to 3,334

    • The majority of hospitalizations are in LA County 1,826, followed by San Diego County at 294; 210 in Orange County; 208 in Riverside; 155 in San Bernardino; 79 in San Francisco.; and 79 in Santa Clara
  • ICU – 1,140, down by 17 (-1.5%)

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