Sacramento County shelves controversial proposal to fine businesses for COVID-19 violations

Faced with community and board opposition, Sacramento County health officials on Tuesday withdrew a controversial proposal for an urgency ordinance that would have allowed enforcement officials to fine businesses for breaking COVID-19 health orders.

The proposal had drawn ire from the business community, many of whom said they are struggling financially and are being unfairly burdened by shutdowns. The Folsom City Council send a unanimous letter Tuesday to the county urging the board to reject the proposal.

The vote would have required a four-fifths supermajority. Supervisors Sue Frost, Don Nottoli and Susan Peters expressed their lack of support for the measure, saying the county should stick to education efforts rather than enforcement.

“I don’t think it is a good direction,” Frost said. “I think education is the best way to approach.”

The county received hundreds of communications from residents opposing the measure. A group of about 30 protesters, one carrying a sign calling COVID-19 a hoax, showed up at the county building, shouting and temporarily forcing the board to recess.

Board Chairman Phil Serna said the withdrawal made sense, given the staunch opposition. “I think this is the prudent thing to do in terms of the sensitivity to trying to balance enforcement with limiting the virus transmission. Something as important as this deserves the time necessary to think it carefully through.”

The ordinance would have been focused on bad actors who refuse to heed safety orders, after being warned that they are in violation. Under the plan, county code and health enforcement officers, as well as law enforcement and the director of emergency services, to fine businesses between $250 and $10,000 if they’re found in violation. The penalty for noncommercial citations would range between $25 and $500.

The amount would have based on “the gravity of the public health risk posed by the violation,” according to the proposed ordinance.

In withdrawing the proposal, Dr. Peter Beilenson, county health chief, said health officials may come back in a week or two with a rewritten proposal that could focus fines on large private groups who meet in defiance of safety rules, such as large weddings or other groups of hundreds of people.

Beilenson said that ordinance would exclude businesses and small gatherings in people’s homes.

Beilenson said the county, like much of California, is facing a critical few weeks during the Christmas season, as infections and hospitalizations mount. That requires urgent steps now to control the spread, he said.

Several board members, however, suggested they would not support that proposal either.

Protesters disrupt meeting

Earlier during the meeting, several dozen protesters banged on the chamber doors, shouting let us in, forcing Serna to recess the meeting for more than an hour.

In-person gatherings inside the chambers have been suspended for months to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. But about 30 people gathered outside the meeting room Tuesday holding signs, including one declaring the coronavirus is a hoax.

Some managed to enter to chambers. Sheriff’s deputies were called to escort them away. They were allowed to remain in the lobby where they held a prayer circle. After the disturbance, county workers entered the meeting room to disinfect and clean it.

The group remained in the lobby, watching via TV screens, and cheered when several board members expressed disapproval of the ordinance.

The ordinance had outlined six factors a enforcement officer would consider when issuing a citation, including whether a person or business has been counseled before. They would also consider whether the party has been cited before. If a violation can be corrected, the county could allow a grace period of one to three days.

Sheriff Scott Jones has repeatedly said he will not deploy officers to enforce the rules and he restated his position in a statement Friday, arguing that the agency does not have adequate staff.

This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 11:00 AM.