Legislators question Newsom’s emergency plans

Local lawmakers are looking for answers after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his decision to keep in place California’s current state of emergency despite the planned ending of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework on June 15.

On June 7, Assemblyman James Gallagher (R - Yuba City), Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-rocklin) and Senator Melissa Melendez (R-lake Elsinore) sent a letter to Newsom requesting that he “identify the conditions of disaster or extreme peril that are the predicate for the ongoing state of emergency” despite allowing the state to reopen June 15.

Section 8629 of the California

Emergency Services Act states that the “governor shall proclaim the termination of a state of emergency at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.” The current daily COVID-19 infection rate in

California is one out of every 50,000 residents, according to the letter, and continues to decline.

“We want him to clarify to our constituents, as well the rest of California’s population, why he is continuing the order when there is such a low level of cases,” said Gallagher. “We also have about a 70 percent vaccination rate across the state. There just doesn’t seem to be a crucial reason to keep the order in place at this time.”

According to a spokesperson from Newsom’s press office, the Blueprint for a Safer Economy

framework is what impacts most Californians on a day-today basis, by creating capacity restrictions in businesses, physical distancing, and more for various industries depending on a county’s case and hospitalization rates.

“Come June 15, the Blueprint will go away and we will fully reopen the economy,” the governor’s press office stated. “The Emergency Proclamation recognizes that local jurisdictions cannot combat COVID-19 on their own, so it provides the state administrative flexibility to respond swiftly to the crisis and ensures we can support locals in

their response to the pandemic. Moreover, it allows California to continue coordinating with FEMA on a number of ongoing programs, like vaccinations and testing, which is especially important as the state continues vaccinating millions of people every week.”

The governor’s press office said it is common practice to keep emergency orders such as this in place for an extended period of time.

“The Emergency Proclamation for the Camp Fire remains to facilitate ongoing federalstate cleanup programs and rebuilding projects,” according to

a spokesperson on behalf of the governor.

As of Friday afternoon, Gallagher said no response from the governor had been received.

In lieu of a response, Gallagher said he hopes the governor ends the order himself in the near future.

In the meantime, Gallagher said he and his colleagues have introduced a resolution to have the legislature end the emergency order themselves.

“We are trying to get a hearing in the Rules Committee,” said Gallagher. “We are hoping to hear back about that in the next week or so.”