COVID-19 News: May 12, 2020

• Governor Newsom announced a new executive order on Friday, May 8^th.
  • The executive order addresses the November 3, 2020 General Election. The order requires that each county’s elections officials send vote-by-mail ballots for the November 3, 2020 General Election to all registered voters. Californians who may need access to in-person voting opportunities – including individuals with disabilities, individuals who speak languages other than English, individuals experiencing homelessness, and others – will still be able to access in-person voting opportunities. You can read the full executive order here. 
• Governor Newsom announced a new executive order on Thursday, May 7^th.
  • The executive order extends a number of critical deadlines which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including but not limited to: deadlines for certification requirements for public school project inspectors; compliance deadlines for Certified Access Specialists; deadlines for the State Fire Marshal’s publishing of building materials requirements; and the authorization of remote reporting under the Sex Offender Registration Act. You can read the full executive order here.
• Governor Newsom released the guidelines for Stage 2 re-opening during his press conference on Thursday, May 7^th. The roadmap for (Early) Stage 2 businesses to re-open is laid out here. The presentation from the press conference can be accessed here. The press release which followed Thursday’s press conference is accessible here. 

• • Before initiating re-opening all facilities must follow a 5 step guideline as laid out by the roadmap. Further guidance for Stage 2 industry re-openings is available as well.
  • The 6 (six) critical indicators the states has considered (and will continue to consider) as it moves to re-open are outlined here. 
  • Higher-risk workplaces such as bars and lounges, indoor museums, theme parks, and public pools remain closed per the State order, however, counties can initiate earlier openings for some businesses if they submit a plan for county re-opening to the state. The governor has ordered the State Public Health Officer to establish criteria to determine whether, and how, local health officers may issue less restrictive measures than any related statewide measures. These guidelines have yet to be released.
  • Further, the state is looking for feedback from Californian business owners, workers, and customers regarding “physical and environmental adaptations that can make workplaces safer and protect our communities.” The survey is accessible here. 

• On Wednesday, May 6^th Governor Newsom announced two new executive orders. 

• • The first of which waives penalties for property taxes paid after April 10 for taxpayers who can demonstrate they have experienced financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic through May 6, 2021. The executive order will apply to residential properties and small businesses. Additionally,  the order will extend the deadline for some businesses to file Business Personal Property Statements from May 7, 2020 to May 31, 2020, in order to avoid penalties. You can read the full executive order here. 
  • The second executive order expands workers compensation law for workers who experience COVID-19-related illness. For the purposes of awarding workers’ compensation benefits, any COVID-19-related illness “shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the employment,” when certain requirements are satisfied. The complete order can be found here.  This order is likely to be challenged in court.

• All of the governor’s COVID-19-related executive orders can be found on the RPPG COVID-19 site via a live tracker. Future executive orders will be added to the document within 24 hours of their release online.
• On May 7^th, RPLG joined forces with CSMFO and Russ Branson Consulting to host a webinar during which they discussed “Forecasting and Managing Expenses: Strategies for Managing Financial Implications Resulting from COVID-19.” The webinar was attended by nearly 500 people.  The recording and other materials are available here.
• This week RPLG will be teaming up with GovInvest and AdastraGov to discuss “COVID-19, Local Finances and Labor Negotiations: The New Normal.” The webinar will take place on Wednesday, May 13^th at 11am. You can register for this free webinar here.
• The National League of Cities (NLC) has shared a tool developed by the NLC and Bloomberg Philanthropies in order to track the actions taken by local leaders and agencies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tool can be accessed here. The NLC and Bloomberg Philanthropies are asking local government agencies to submit their own actions in order to improve the tool and create a more robust database. Public agency employees can add their responses via this link. 

• • To date, the tool has tracked 1,569 policies from 465+ cities. Those policies have impacted 91,855,375 citizens.

• The State of California launched a website on May 6^th to help Californians find COVID-19 testing sites in their area. The website allows users to enter their address, city, county or ZIP code to find testing sites closest to them. In addition, the results are categorized by “State Testing Sites” or “Community Testing Sites.” You can read more about the website launch here and you can access the website tool here. 
• The State of California is following the progression of COVID-19 cases by county very closely. The information and data is available here and is updated daily. 

For more information about COVID-19’s impact on California’s political and administrative landscape, visit our coronavirus webpage.

Click/tap here for a full archive of our daily newsletters.