Gavin Newsom cuts back California COVID orders — but keeps his emergency declaration. Here’s why

Gov. Gavin Newsom will lift a series of statewide orders he issued during the COVID-19 pandemic as California begins to shift its response to the virus – but his overall emergency declaration will remain in place.

Newsom on Friday announced he’s rescinding a large chunk of the COVID-related executive actions he issued during the pandemic, “while maintaining critical measures that support the state’s ongoing response and recovery efforts,” a news release said.

Some of the orders and provisions will end immediately, while others are set to expire on March 31 and June 30. They encompass use of facilities for housing and medical treatment, COVID relief funds, appointment and Senate confirmation deadlines, flexibility for state public meetings and provisions related to teacher staffing for kindergarten through 12th grade schools, the release said.

Newsom also signed a proclamation ending 12 open states of emergency — mostly relating to natural disasters — that date back to 2015, the release said.

“California’s early and decisive measures to combat COVID-19 have saved countless lives throughout the pandemic, and as the recent Omicron surge made clear, we must remain prepared to quickly and effectively respond to changing conditions in real time,” Newsom said in a statement. “As we move the state’s recovery forward, we’ll continue to focus on scaling back provisions while maintaining essential testing, vaccination and health care system supports that ensure California has the needed tools and flexibility to strategically adapt our response for what lies ahead.”

Long-term COVID emergency

The governor declared a COVID state of emergency in March 2020. The emergency declaration allows Newsom to issue orders related to keeping the state’s COVID response running smoothly, but it also gives him broad powers to override state law that he wouldn’t ordinarily have.

Republican leaders have long called for the Legislature to terminate Newsom’s emergency declaration, saying it gives him too much control over the state. Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, announced on Feb. 17 the Governmental Organization Committee will hold a hearing to debate ending the emergency on March 15 — a discussion Republicans have pushed for nearly two years.

Following Newsom’s announcement, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, criticized the governor for not ending the state of emergency, saying it’s a “blatant violation of the Emergency Services Act, which requires him to terminate the emergency at the ‘earliest possible date that conditions warrant.”

“California also continues to be a national outlier on masks in schools, despite school districts across the state taking action to make masks optional,” Kiley said in a statement. “Since Gov. Newsom refuses to end the emergency as the law requires, on March 15 the Legislature must act to cut off his emergency powers and end this era of one-man rule once and for all.”

But Newsom administration officials say it’s essential to keep the emergency declaration in place, as removing it would stymie the state’s evolving COVID strategy. The governor on Feb. 17 announced his SMARTER plan, which emphasizes vaccination, testing, education and other strategies as California begins to treat COVID as an endemic disease, rather than a pandemic emergency.

“The SMARTER plan, California SMARTER, really depends on us being able to do some of the things that come as a result of certain provisions under the Emergency Services Act to keep us prepared and ready for whatever COVID brings us,” said Mark Ghaly, Health and Human Services Secretary, during a Friday press call. “Whether that’s delivering COVID tests of 500,000 a day, or ensuring that our hospital systems can surge up with thousands of staff coming in — many from out of state — to support the high need areas, whenever that might occur in the future.”

Which emergency orders remain?

The orders and provisions that remain in effect are related to COVID testing, vaccine and booster distribution, maintaining hospital capacity and protecting vulnerable populations, the release said.

Newsom is keeping them in place to permit a variety of activities that wouldn’t be possible without special orders, which include:

▪ Allowing pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to conduct COVID tests.

▪ Permitting out-of-state healthcare workers to serve patients in California.

▪ Enabling medical personnel, like emergency medical technicians, to help with the COVID response and administer vaccines.

▪ Directing the Department of Developmental Services to expand services for nonresidential clients.

However, some public health directives – like the mask rules issued by the California Department of Public Health – are not contingent on maintaining the emergency declaration.

Administration officials didn’t commit to canceling the declaration at any specific time, and they didn’t tie ending it to a particular metric. Instead, they emphasized the importance of continuing the state’s COVID response until it’s no longer needed.

“Having some of these provisions – the very limited ones that we’ve talked about today – in place, especially in the context of the SMARTER plan, sort of keeps us on our toes rather than flat-footed,” Ghaly said. “And when you’re caught flat-footed in situations that you can anticipate, they could easily become emergencies and much more urgent because of your lack of readiness and preparedness.”

“So in some ways, the ability to have the flexibilities and provisions that we’ve highlighted today, I think, really help us prevent what might be more easily anticipated and expected challenges ahead from becoming full on emergencies and hard situations for Californians and communities across the state,” he added.

This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 2:33 PM.