California Capitol to reopen to the public next week after long COVID-19 restrictions

As Californians shed COVID-19 restrictions and move toward reopening, the state Capitol will allow more access to the public starting next week.

On June 15, the Capitol will allow 500 members of the public to be in the building at any given time, Legislative leaders announced Friday.

The building has been mostly closed to the public since March 18, 2020, when the Capitol shut its doors under Sacramento County’s stay-at-home directive. At that time, staffers were told the building would be closed until “further notice.”

Since then, Californians wanting to participate in the legislative process mostly have been relegated to phone lines and Zoom video conferences as lawmakers weighed bills.

Rules committees of both the state Senate and Assembly plant to continue to assess increasing the capacity to a total of 1,000 members of the public as soon as June 21.

“The Legislature is both an employer, and an essential legislative body that must maintain the safety of its workforce, while also ensuring access for the public to participate in the democratic process,” wrote Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, in a joint statement.

“We are committed to providing the broadest access to the public and doing so in a manner that protects the public and Capitol employees. We look forward to seeing everyone in person again.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration on June 15 plans to lift the tiered, color-coded COVID-19 reopening system that dictated what kind of activities could take place in counties through the pandemic. The state’s mask mandate is also expected to be lifted, and businesses will be able to open fully without much restriction.

Despite the planned reopening, California workers will still be subject to wearing masks after June 15 after a California state board on Wednesday withdrew proposed updates to its COVID workplace safety rule, meaning the current regulation — which requires masks to be worn at all times indoors, as well as outdoors if less than six feet away from others — will stay in effect for now.

This story was originally published June 11, 2021 at 12:50 PM.