California’s COVID state of emergency won’t end on June 15, Gavin Newsom says

Amid a parade of fanfare surrounding California’s vaccine lottery Friday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed he will not lift the state of emergency when California reopens its economy on June 15.

“We’re still in a state of emergency,” the governor said. “This disease has not been extinguished. It’s not taking the summer months off.”

California will still reopen its economy on June 15, doing away with the business restrictions, mask mandates and phased reopening for counties. But the state of emergency will remain in effect, allowing the state to continue programs that deal with the ongoing effects of the disaster.

Newsom and other state officials for weeks have careful to note that the COVID-19 situation could change. Vaccination supply, virus variants and human compliance are all factors that could affect the public safety and require the state to reinstate the restrictions it has slowly been rolling back.

For weeks, the governor has been touting June 15 as the day Californians will begin to return to normal. Everyday activities will be allowed and businesses can open with what Newsom’s office called “common sense risk reduction measures.”

But it appears the state of emergency order, which gives the governor additional emergency powers, isn’t going away anytime soon.

Newsom spokesman Alex Stack said the state of emergency allows California to draw down resources and continue operating programs that are needed to deal with the effects of the pandemic. Over the last year, the Democratic governor has issued a slew of executive orders and waived various provisions of law to facilitate such efforts as vaccine distribution and testing.

It’s not unusual for emergency orders to remain after the peak of a disaster has passed, Stack said. Emergency orders still exist for crises like the 2018 Camp Fire, for example.

The fact that the governor will continue to have expanded power angered Republican leaders on Friday afternoon, who have long criticized Newsom’s actions under the state of emergency as an abuse of power.

Some Republican lawmakers have even taken the governor to court to challenge his authority to issue orders under the state of emergency. His emergency orders have led those like the California GOP to label him a monarch and a tyrant, and fueled the effort to recall him.

“If Newsom believes the state is safe enough to reopen, then it’s safe for people to be able to make decisions for themselves without his arbitrary and capricious rules,” said Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, in a statement. “I believe it is time for him to hang up his crown and restore our democracy. In California we don’t grow bananas, so there’s no need for a banana republic.”

State Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, has introduced a measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, that would end Newsom’s emergency powers, though legislative Democrats have not scheduled it for a committee hearing.

“Since the governor refuses to relinquish his crown, the Legislature should pass SCR 5 and do it for him,” Wilk said.

Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Niguel, said it’s what Californians have “come to expect,” of Newsom’s administration.

“Time after time, the goalpost keeps getting moved,” she tweeted. “Enough already! We have trusted the science and CDC guidelines. California families and businesses are ready to fully reopen.”

Recall candidate Kevin Faulconer also knocked Newsom for not “following the science.”

“Other states have been safely open for months, but Newsom refuses to follow the science. It’s time to recall him,” he tweeted.

The news comes a day after a marathon meeting over the state’s ongoing mask requirements for workers. The standards board of the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly called Cal-OSHA, voted to require workers continue to wear masks unless everyone is vaccinated.

Newsom on Friday declined to say whether he would use an executive action to overturn the decision, which goes beyond guidance from the Centers for Disease Control.

This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 1:47 PM with the headline "California’s COVID state of emergency won’t end on June 15, Gavin Newsom says."