SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As California lawmakers head to Sacramento Monday to kick off the 2021-2022 session during a massive COVID-19 surge, multiple recent cases among Capitol community employees underscore the challenges facing the Legislature ahead of its second pandemic year.
The state has reached a critical point in its fight against the coronavirus. Hospital and intensive care unit beds are filling up, which has triggered new regional stay-at-home orders. California recorded a record 30,075 new cases on Saturday, and its seven-day positivity rate has hit 10.3%.
To slow the spread of the virus, the state Public Health Department issued an advisory that warns against nonessential and cross-county travel.
Traveling to the capital for Monday's organizational session could not come at a riskier time, but lawmakers and certain staff members are considered essential workers.
Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins said in a statement that the California Constitution obligates lawmakers to the ceremony to swear in both reelected and new members.
"The California Constitution requires us to meet and organize on Monday," Atkins said. "We have carefully balanced the constitution's requirements with the need to accommodate vulnerable members while we perform this essential function."
The event will differ greatly from years past, with limitations on who can attend the event. But many lawmakers plan to travel by plane, and almost all who decided to drive will have to cross several county lines to reach Sacramento.
To reduce the possibility of a superspreader event, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, said his 80 members will convene in the Golden 1 Center for their session. The venue will provide "additional space and advanced air filtration" according to Rendon's office, which worked on event logistics with Sacramento public health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson.
"Moving this event away from the Assembly Chambers and not allowing guests to attend were difficult decisions to make," Rendon said in a statement. "Given the circumstances of rapidly-growing COVID-19 rates across the state, we need to do everything we can to keep members, their families, staff, and the public safe."
The Senate will "strictly" comply with Sacramento County's health regulations when its current 39 members convene in the chamber for the meeting, Atkins said. One Senate seat remains vacant.
"The Health Services Director has confirmed that the distancing, screening, and air filtration systems the Senate has put in place — along with a strict no-guest policy — are sufficient to allow for the Senate's organizational session to be conducted within the Senate Chamber," Atkins said in a statement.
The modifications are just the latest required during a legislative year pockmarked by infections within the Capitol and among members.
Monday's meeting will be the first time all members will organize since the last night of the 2020 session, when most Republican senators were in quarantine after Sen. Brian Jones, R-Santee, tested positive for the virus. At least two Assembly members publicly said they had contracted the coronavirus during the 2020 session.
On multiple occasions, new infections forced the Legislature to modify its schedule and extend recesses.
The building remains closed to the public, and members are only allowed one essential staffer in the Capitol at a time.
Despite the regulations, multiple recent cases in and around the building highlight just how challenging it remains to safeguard the Capitol from COVID-19.
On Nov. 19, Assembly Rules Committee Chief Administrative Officer Debra Gravert sent a memo to members and staff stating an employee last in the Capitol on Nov. 15 had tested positive for the virus. That individual, Gravert noted, wore a mask "at all times while in the workplace." Those possibly exposed to the individual were notified, Gravert said.
A Nov. 24 letter stated two Department of General Services employees had also recently been infected with COVID-19. One had worked in the Capitol and another in the Legislative Office Building on Nov. 13. The two individuals also wore both face coverings and gloves while working, and did not have contact with members or staff, Gravert said.
Another Assembly worker who had been in the Legislative Office Building on Nov. 29 also tested positive for the virus, according to a Dec. 1 alert. This person wore a face mask and gloves in common areas of the building, and had no contact with members or staff.
In each letter, Gravert said "impacted areas" had been or will be cleaned "per current COVID-19 protocols" and that the employees were quarantining in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Rendon spokeswoman Katie Talbot reiterated on Dec. 3 that only essential Assembly staff will be allowed to attend the organizational session.
"Every Member and essential staff who is attending Organizational Session will be required to take a COVID-19 test before the event. If they test positive, they will not be able to attend," Talbot said. "In addition to the larger space and air filtration system, face masks and social distancing will be required as part of our safety measures, as well as temperature checks and health screenings."
But an Office of the Chief Clerk letter sent to new Assembly members states that the chamber's desk will be open to physically receive new legislative proposals.
"Bills may be hand-delivered to the Assembly Desk for introduction," the note says. "They may also be deposited in a designated receptacle in the Assembly Chamber."
Gravert, however, reminded members and staff in a Dec. 6 email that though it "may be tempting to come into the Capitol and/or the Legislative Office Building" on Monday, "our policy is, and remains, that only essential staff needed to support Members and Assembly operations should be in the office." Most staff should work remotely, she said.
Gravert also reminded members and staff to continue "common sense preventative measures" like wearing a face masks, washing hands and maintaining physical distance from others. In the memos, she reminded members and staff "how vitally important" it is to immediately notify Human Resources of any potential or confirmed COVID-19 infection.
"DO NOT WAIT FOR CONFIRMATION OF A POSITIVE TEST RESULT, OR UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO RETURN TO WORK TO NOTIFY US," Gravert wrote. "Please help us continue to protect our Assembly family from this virus. Preventing the spread of COVID-19 and maintaining the health and safety of our Assembly members and employees is our priority."
