L.A. County Board of Supervisors OKs policies on vaccine distribution, tenant protections, restaurant reopenings, PPE

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a number of motions Tuesday to help county residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board unanimously approved a motion set to extend the county’s eviction moratorium through June 30, while adding administrative fines and penalties against landlords for violating any of the protections, as well as right for tenants to sue if protections are violated.

While Assembly Bill 3088 and Senate Bill 91 protect from evictions on the state level, this motion is set to further extend eviction protections not covered by the legislation.

In addition, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion set to remove barriers for restaurants hoping to reopen their doors, such as streamlining the process for reopening and construction improvements, including the waiving of certain fees.

“We are calling on county departments to explore policy changes needed to facilitate the efficient reuse of existing commercial spaces to help new businesses get up and running quickly to replace those that were forced to close permanently,” said county Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District includes the Santa

Clarita Valley and who co-authored the motion with Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the 4th District.

The board also unanimously passed a motion on a plan for distributing vaccines to the county’s most vulnerable communities, including increasing the allocation of doses to trusted partners, such as independent pharmacies, faith-based community partnerships and schools/clinical partnerships, that work with those populations.

Another motion that passed unanimously is

expected to get surplus or donated personal protective equipment to residents, schools, transit operators and businesses within the county, focusing on areas in COVID-19 hotspots, while another unanimously approved motion is set to distribute 1 million high-quality masks to school districts across the county,

The second motion is also expected to provide school districts with information on how they can access funding through AB 841, which provides funds for energy efficiency upgrades, as well as accessible testing options, which will allow them to access state grants for reopening, per the motion.