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BREAKING COVID-19 Advocacy, Orders, and Resources for Special Districts

By Vanessa Gonzales posted 03-24-2020 08:30 AM

  

COVID-19
Federal, State, and local authorities continue to put forward updated legislation, orders, and guidance in real-time as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves. CSDA is actively communicating with these counterparts and advocating on behalf of special districts and the communities they serve. CSDA has established a COVID-19 Resources page and online COVID-19 Community where all special districts can stay informed. Below is a summary of the latest, most critical COVID-19 updates for special districts:

 

Active Funding Advocacy by CSDA

 

In addition to reviewing, sharing, and educating special districts on the latest details coming from State and Federal agencies, CSDA is actively engaging in advocacy for financial support and communicating on revenue-related matters.

 

Last week, CSDA CEO Neil McCormick sent a letter to Washington requesting, “additional prospective federal aid packages or supplemental appropriations measures to address the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic include special districts.” The letter went on to include detailed requests for restoration of advance refunding of tax-exempt bonds and increase access to capital for small borrowers. A sample letter is now available for special districts interested in joining CSDA in this call for Federal support.

 

Following the letter to Washington, CSDA also submitted a joint letter with other organizations representing local agencies, such as the California State Association of Counties and the League of California Cities, asking the State of California to maintain the current April 10th deadline for payment of property taxes. This was necessary as there have been suggestions and legislative proposals that could delay those property tax payments that local governments on the front lines of the current crisis depend upon to operate. The letter and more background  can be found on CSDA’s Advocacy News.

 

Yesterday, CSDA advocacy staff participated in a one-hour briefing with Assembly Local Government Committee Chair Cecilia Aguiar-Curry. Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry and the Assembly Local Government Committee solicited feedback, needs, and requests from CSDA, as well as cities and counties on the call. CSDA appreciates the Chair’s proactive leadership and will continue working with her and the committee as our membership works through the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Gubernatorial Executive Orders Summary

 

Since March 12, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom has issued 11 Executive Orders. Below is a summary of those orders with highlights of those impacting special districts:

 

N-25-20: Original Brown Act Order: Relaxed certain provisions of the Brown Act; this order was superseded by a subsequent Executive Order, N-29-20.

 

N-26-20: Child Care Order: Mandates that school districts use dollars to fund distance learning and high-quality educational opportunities, safely provide school meals, and arrange for the supervision of students during school hours. Requires Department of Education and California Health & Human Services Agency to develop strategies to address equity challenges around internet connectivity, ensure students with disabilities receive specialized education, and safely provide meals. Urges employers to take area school closures into account and provide flexibility during the COVID-19 crisis.

 

N-27-20: Health Care and Elder Care Order: Pertains to protecting the health and safety of Californians most vulnerable to COVID-19 who reside at health care, residential and non-residential facilities licensed by the state. The order directs state health and social services agencies to redirect resources and staff to the facilities, focusing on providing technical assistance and supporting compliance with core health and safety requirements for caregivers and residents under their care.

 

N-28-20: Utility Shut-Off Order: Authorizes local governments to halt residential and commercial evictions, slows foreclosures, and protects against utility shutoffs for Californians affected by COVID-19. Citing in his Executive Order the many public and private utility providers of essential services necessary for home-isolation and the public's health such as water and sewage, electricity, gas  and telecommunications companies, including internet and cell phone providers, who have already announced voluntary moratoriums on shut-offs and late fees for nonpayment, the Governor requests the California Public Utilities Committee monitor measures undertaken by public and private utility providers in response to COVID-19 impacts to implement customer service protections for critical utilities and to publicly report them on a weekly basis.

 

N-29-20: First Update to Brown Act Order: Recasts and supersedes some of the earlier Executive Order provisions from N-25-20, pertaining to the Brown Act. The changes include, but are not limited to:

 

  • A physical location is no longer required to be provided – public agencies may now "hold public meetings via teleconferencing and to make public meetings accessible telephonically or otherwise electronically to all members of the public seeking to observe…"

 

Under the Governor's Executive Order N-29-20, public agencies must, among other requirements:

 

  • Ensure that the public can "attend the meeting and offer public comment."
  • Implement a swift procedure for dealing with any ADA concerns and include the procedure in the agenda notice.
  • Include information on how the public can remotely participate in the agenda

 

Watch the CSDA Webinar: Brown Act Compliance During a Pandemic

 

See CSDA's previous post addressing Executive Order N-29-20 for additional information.

 

N-30-20: School Testing Order: Waives, pending federal approval, this year’s statewide testing for California’s K-12 students.

 

N-31-20: Commercial Transportation Order: Eases restrictions on commercial drivers engaged in support of emergency relief efforts; also suspends California Labor Code § 1401(a), § 1402, and § 1403, related to mass layoff notices.

 

N-32-20: Homelessness Order: Provides flexibility to local governments to spend their emergency homelessness funding on immediate solutions tailored to combatting COVID-19 and its impacts on the homeless population. Also waives certain regulatory barriers for any shelters or facilities built with this emergency funding.

 

N-33-20: Statewide Stay at Home Order: Orders all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence, except as needed to maintain continuity of operation of the federal critical infrastructure sectors, critical government services, schools, childcare, and construction, including housing construction. The order is in place until further notice. Essential state and local government functions will also remain open, including law enforcement and offices that provide government programs and services. Requires social distancing when individuals leave their places of residence.

 

N-34-20: Elections and Voter Rights Order: The order extends the deadline for the continued ballot counting following the March 3 primary election, changes several voting methods for scheduled special elections to vote-by-mail only elections, and of the most significance to special districts, the Executive Order suspends the timeframes for public agencies to hold public hearings related to transitioning from at-large elections to by-district elections. The timeframes are suspended as long as there is a social distancing order or recommendation by a state or local health official for the political subdivision in the process of transitioning their election method. Click here to read the full Executive Order.

 

N-35-20: Omnibus Order and Second Update to Brown Act: Allows all members of a local legislative body to receive simultaneous updates to the declared emergency and to ask questions to stay informed on the emergency operations and effects on constituents (but does not waive the requirement for a noticed meeting to allow them to take action or to discuss among themselves the subject).

 

Grants the Director of the State Department of Public Health, for the duration of the declared emergency, to waive any of the licensing and staffing requirements of chapters 1, 3.3, 8.5, and 9 of division 2 of the Health and Safety Code and any accompanying regulations with respect to any clinic, adult day health care, hospice, or mobile health care unit.

 

Includes additional provisions regarding timeliness of claims against the state and public agencies, as well as requirements to continue health services to certain vulnerable populations.

 

FEMA Grant Information

 

In response to the President’s national emergency declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic on March 13, 2020, FEMA has urged officials to take appropriate actions necessary to protect public health and safety pursuant to the public health guidance and conditions and capabilities in their jurisdictions, and to do so without delay.

 

Local governments are eligible to apply for FEMA Public Assistance grants, which will be provided at a 75 percent federal cost share. FEMA has issued guidance on the types of emergency protective measures that may be eligible under this program to ensure that resource constraints do not block efforts to respond to COVID-19 response. Of particular interest to special districts, eligible measures include:

 

  1. Management, control and reduction of immediate threats to public health and safety, including but not limited to training specific to the declared event, disinfection of eligible public facilities, and technical assistance on emergency management and control of immediate threats to public health and safety,
  2. Emergency medical care, including emergency medical transport,
  3. Security and law enforcement,
  4. Communications of general health and safety information to the public, and
  5. Reimbursement for local government force account overtime costs.

 

More information about eligible emergency protective measures, including a full list of potential eligible uses of funding, can be found here.

 

CalOES Taskforces

 

Task forces have been established at State Operations Center (SOC) to address various COVID-19 response issues that are informing the Governor’s decisions in real time:

 

  • Communications/Crisis Communications
  • Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Housing and Social Services
  • Logistics/Commodity Movement
  • Fire/Law Enforcement
  • Public Health and Medical
  • Schools Task Force
  • Economic Impact/Recovery Task Force
  • Volunteers & Philanthropy
  • Innovation & Technology Task Force
  • Cybersecurity
  • Corrections Facilities & Hospitals

*Emergency Support Function

The Governor is anticipated to make more announcements this week to address the rapidly changing situation. CSDA will continue to monitor and report out on developments and work with our member districts and the state to address issues and situations related to COVID-19 to ensure that our members can continue to safely provide essential core services to their communities.

 

Question Related to COVID-19?

 

Should you have any questions about the Executive Orders, other information in this article, or other COVID-19 issues, CSDA is working to support you:

 

 

  • CSDA’s COVID-19 Community: This facilitated forum allows local experts on the ground a platform to pose questions and share best practices, tips, policies, and other tools in order to efficiently and effectively crow-source the resources we will all need to get through this together.

 

If you have yet to do so, please subscribe today. You can adjust your settings to receive notifications in real-time, daily, or weekly.

 

  • CSDA Public Affairs Field Coordinators: Our team of six field coordinators are working to take in, synthesize, and effectively coordinate communications between our members, our team in Sacramento, and other Federal, State, and local officials. Use CSDA’s District NetWorks map to determine which CSDA Network you are in and contact our CSDA Public Affairs Field Coordinator through the CSDA staff page.

 

Now, as much as ever, is the time for special districts to be #StrongerTogether. CSDA encourages those districts with resources, tools, templates, policies, and other advice to share that information with your peers. And, for those districts with questions, concerns, and needs to let them be known so that we can all confront the COVID-19 pandemic and work to secure a better future for our communities.


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