LA County Public Health Councils Approved by Board of Supervisors

The Board of Supervisors voted to adopt the report from Department of Public Health that would create Public Health Councils to add another enforcement mechanism for employees in the workplace. The Chamber public policy team called in to testify our opposition for this item but were not chosen to speak in the 60 minute public comment period.

Our coalition of business advocacy groups met with the Department of Public Health and numerous Supervisor offices to ask questions and convey our confusion and opposition on this item. It is evident from the report submitted by the Department that their recommendations were strictly based on feedback from the labor community and no business advocacy groups were consulted.

The Department now has a few weeks turn around time to put together this complex public health council program and is on a listening tour with stakeholders to better understand how this can be implemented. The Hollywood Chamber will continue to reach out to the Supervisor offices, as well as the Department of Public Health to ensure that this time around, the report and recommendations reflect all stakeholders.

New “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” Releases Color-Tiered Structure for Reopening CA

Last Friday, Governor Newsom introduced a “Blueprint for a Safer Economy”, establishing a new color-coded system for businesses to re-open and schools to allow in-person instruction that went into effect on Monday. Under the new plan, each county is given a designation of “purple” (widespread), “red” (substantial) “orange” (moderate) or “yellow” (minimal) that measures the spread of COVID-19 and dictates what types of businesses and activities are allowed to open in each county. Los Angeles County is currently designated as “purple” based on the average new cases per day but has a 7-day average of five percent positivity testing rate which falls under the “orange” category. If a county has conflicting data, the designation will be the more restrictive option. Supervisor Janice Hahn announced on Wednesday that the LA County Health Officer Order will be updated to allow hair salons and barber shops to resume indoor operations at 25 percent capacity, although the implementation date is unclear.

It is not confirmed whether malls and other indoor business operations will be permitted with the updates to the Health Officer Order. A county must stay in their current tier for a minimum of three weeks before they are able to move into the less-restrictive tier in which a county must meet that tiers criteria for a minimum of two weeks. To read more on the new color-coded tier system click here.

To read more of the September 3rd 2020 Legislative Update click here.