Cancel ‘non-essential’ gatherings, Newsom says + Cannabis asks for a lifeline + Pandemic budget
Happy Thursday, California. It’s rough out there these days, and on Twitter, too. So please take care of yourselves this weekend.
COVID-19 UPDATES
For as long as necessary, we are bringing you daily updates to California’s efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Here’s what we know:
Gov. Gavin Newsom late Wednesday issued new public health guidance urging organizations to cancel or postpone “non-essential” events with more than 250 people, at least until the end of March.
“Changing our actions for a short period of time will save the life of one or more people you know,” he said in a news release. “That’s the choice before us. Each of us has extraordinary power to slow the spread of this disease. Not holding that concert or community event can have cascading effects — saving dozens of lives and preserving critical health care resources that your family may need a month from now.
His announcement capped a barrage of coronavirus news that included President Donald Trump banning travel to and from Europe for 30 days, the NBA suspending its season indefinitely after a player tested positive for the virus and state prisons canceling family visits for inmates.
All of those cancellations are going to affect the economy in coming weeks. The administration developed some tips for employers and workers who might lose income. Check it out here at the Labor and Workforce Development Agency’s website, https://www.labor.ca.gov/Coronavirus2019/.
“These changes will cause real stress — especially for families and businesses least equipped financially to deal with them,” Newsom said. “The state of California is working closely with businesses who will feel the economic shock of these changes, and we are mobilizing every level of government to help families as they persevere through this global health crisis.”
Here’s the age breakdown of coronavirus cases (not including people from the cruise ship docked in Oakland), according to the state Department of Public Health:
- 0 - 17: 3 cases
- 18 - 64: 104 cases
- Age 65 and older: 67 cases
- Unknown age: 3 cases
Where’d they come from?
- 24 cases related to repatriation flights
- 55 travel-related cases
- 40 person-to-person cases
- 32 community transmission cases
- 26 cases are under investigation
Five University of California medical centers are launching their own in-house testing for coronavirus, making the health system one of the first in the country to do so.
The giant bronze bear in front of the governor’s office, affectionately known as “Bacteria Bear,” is also hands-off for right now.
“Please do not touch the bear,” a sign on a rope blocking the animal reads. “Please do wash your hands for at least 20 seconds.”
‘A LIFELINE FOR THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY’
California cannabis farmers rallied to the Capitol this week in support of a bill they say would ease their tax burden significantly.
Assembly Bill 1948 got a hearing Monday in front of the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation.
“I think that it would be a lifeline for the cannabis industry,” said Max Mikalonis, a California cannabis policy expert with K Street Consulting.
So what does that lifeline look like?
Currently, California has a cannabis cultivation tax and a cannabis excise tax. AB 1948, sponsored by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, would for three years suspend the cultivation tax and reduce the excise tax.
A break from the cultivation tax would be a boon to the beleaguered California cannabis growers, supporters argue.
“Presently, most small farmers ... are struggling with being able to break even, much less make any profit during this time,” said Tina Gordon, co-founder of Moon-Made Farms in southern Humboldt County. “Everyone is just trying to make a living just to get cannabis from the farm into the hands of the consumer.”
Gordon said she is in year three of striving to break even, that she is operating “at a sustainable loss” while she waits for Sacramento to send help.
Even major players in cannabis, like Flow Kana, are struggling under California’s current cannabis tax structure, said Michael Wheeler, vice president of policy for that company. Last year, the company laid off a fifth of its staff. This year, the shuttered their Humboldt County trimming facility.
“Demand just doesn’t justify the real estate and the staff to trim that much cannabis,” Wheeler said.
While Wheeler said he can’t ascribe 100 percent of responsibility for his business’ slowdown, he said state and local taxes have been a contributor to the divide that is growing between the licensed and unlicensed cannabis markets.
“It’s critically important that CA gets real reform on cannabis taxes and market access this year,” said Mikalonis.
PUBLIC HEALTH BUDGET
One day after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus to be a pandemic, a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review is set to review the budget for the California Department of Public Health.
The subcommittee has asked CDPH to provide a brief overview of its programs and budget, as well as to present the State of the State’s Public Health Report.
Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 will be a topic of conversation at the hearing on Thursday morning.
The subcommittee has requested, among other things, “a brief overview of the current incidence, morbidity, and mortality statistics for COVID-19 infection in California and the United States.”
The subcommittee will hear from a number of experts who will discuss the local health department and health facility response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Kat DeBurgh of the Health Officers Association of California, Amanda Willard of the California Primary Care Association, Carmela Coyle of the California Hospital Association, Jackie Bender of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems and Amy Blumberg and Jason Belden of the California Assoication of Health Facilities.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If you do not panic, they will not panic.”
Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, speaking to Capitol members and staff during a panel hearing with public health experts. Pan said constituents need to be able to trust their elected officials during this crisis.
Best of the Bee:
T-Mobile promised to provide free internet for low-income customers and reduced-cost plans for five years under a settlement the company reached with California that ends a lawsuit the state filed to block the company’s merger with Sprint, by Hannah Wiley
A 24 percent pay bump offered three years ago failed to convince enough psychiatrists to go to work in California’s prisons, where inmate suicides reached record highs last year, according to prison and union officials, via Wes Venteicher.
The Associated Press projects that California voters have rejected a proposition to sell $15 billion in bonds to fund repairs and upgrades to aging school buildings, via Sophia Bollag.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 4:55 AM.