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WECA Political Update April 16, 2020

Thursday, April 16, 2020

WECA Political Update
April 16, 2020
Government Affairs and Merit Shop Advocacy
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Governor Newsom Outlines Six Critical Indicators the State will Consider Before Modifying the Stay-at-Home Order Newsom unveiled six key indicators that will guide California’s thinking for when and how to modify the stay-at-home and other orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

California’s six indicators for modifying the stay-at-home order are:
  • The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed;
  • The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19;
  • The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges;
  • The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand;
  • The ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing; and
  • The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary.
The Governor said there is not a precise timeline for modifying the stay-at-home order, but that these six indicators will serve as the framework for making that decision. Newsom has issued 29 executive orders since March – you can see the list here.

Economic Forecast – Grim From Vox “There is no normal for the foreseeable future in any of the major plans that have emerged for what comes after social distancing in the United States from the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, the left-leaning Center for American Progress, Harvard University’s Safra Center for Ethics, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer. Until there’s a vaccine for coronavirus, all of the plans call for a period of national lockdown as well as “economically ruinous levels of social distancing, a digital surveillance state of shocking size and scope, or a mass testing apparatus of even more shocking size and intrusiveness.… [or] a yo-yo between extreme lockdown and lighter forms of social distancing, continuing until a vaccine is reached.… Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner who helped craft the [AEI] plan, says he thinks something like 80% of the economy will return—that may sound like a lot, but it’s an economic collapse of Great Depression proportions.”

[PDF] National Coronavirus Response: A Road Map to Reopening. By Scott Gottlieb,et al. American Enterprise Institute. Mar. 28, 2020. 20 p.

A National and State Plan to End the Coronavirus Crisis. By Zeke Emanuel, et al. Center for American Progress. Apr. 3, 2020.

When Can We Go Out? By Danielle Allen, et al. Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. Mar. 25, 2020. 31 p.

Simulating Covid-19: Part 1. By Paul Romer. Mar. 23, 2020.

Time to Declare A Moratorium on New Housing Legislation? The Legislature should impose a 2020 moratorium on all new housing legislation, except measures to provide funding, argues Susan Kirsch, founder of Livable California in an article in CalMatters.

OSHA Issues COVID-19 Interim Enforcement Response Plan Continuing its recent trend to update employers on COVID-19 safety, on April 13, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), providing specific guidance to all OSHA Regional Administrators and State Plan Designees on how to investigate potential COVID-19 hazards. The guidance addresses how OSHA offices should allocate resources for protecting workers across all industries. Here Cal/OSHA has a plethora of resources on their COVID-19 page.

Trump Announces Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups President Donald J. Trump selected “the esteemed executives, economists, scholars, and industry leaders who together will form various Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups. These bipartisan groups of American leaders will work together with the White House to chart the path forward toward a future of unparalleled American prosperity.” On the Construction/Labor/Workforce group are representatives of IUOE, NABTU, LIUNA, Teamsters, NECA, NAHB, AGC, AFL-CIO, Bechtel, Fluor, and ABC. But no one from the Business Roundtable or US Chamber. Here

Governor Appoints New DIR Director Governor Newsom picked a new Director at Department of Industrial Relations. Katrina "Katie" S. Hagen has been in State service since 2006; served as chief deputy director at the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration since 2017. She was deputy director of operations at the California Department of Human Resources from 2015 to 2017 and chief of human resources at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 2011 to 2015. Hagen was adjunct faculty at the University of San Francisco from 2000 to 2011, deputy director at California Correctional Healthcare Services from 2006 to 2011 and assistant deputy director at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2002 to 2006. She earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco.

Contractor Charged with $65 Million Tax Fraud An Oregon drywall contractor was charged with one count of conspiring to commit tax evasion and two counts of filing false tax returns as part of a scheme to evade paying $65 million of income and employment taxes. Read the US Attorney’s press release or Construction Dives’ coverage. The contractor had no reviews but a BBB rating of A+.


Man Accidentally Ejects Himself From Fighter Jet During Surprise Flight From the Guardian “A surprise outing in a fighter jet unnerved one defense company executive so much he accidentally ejected himself while flying at over 500km/h (320mph), an investigation into the debacle in France has found. The 64-year-old civilian got the most unwelcome ride of his life after the force of the take-off made him ‘float’ off his seat, causing him to stand up and involuntarily grab the ejection handle to steady himself.” Because of a “malfunction” the pilot was NOT ejected and landed safely. Here