Suing the state is a lost cause. Here’s a better way to help businesses survive COVID

The odds of winning a lawsuit challenging the state’s COVID-19 restrictions?

Exceedingly slim, based on cases that have already been heard.

Yet in a bid to loosen current stay-at-home restrictions, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors may sue the governor anyway.

The board’s conservative majority — John Peschong, Debbie Arnold and Lynn Compton — voted Tuesday to further explore the idea of filing a lawsuit, minutes after County Counsel Rita Neal warned that the prospect of winning is poor.

The board’s goal is to break away from the state’s Southern California region and return the county to the purple tier, which would allow restaurants to operate outdoors; let wineries and breweries reopen; and put hair salons and barber shops back in business.

The county already tried petitioning the governor to allow it to join Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in forming a new Central Coast region. That didn’t work.

We share the county’s frustration with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who never even bothered to respond directly to its request.

But let’s get real.

Threatening to sue the state may appeal to the supervisors’ conservative base, but if the county’s lead attorney sees little chance of success, it would be a waste of time and effort to pursue it.

More importantly, COVID-19 is now more of a threat than ever in San Luis Obispo County; we are not in as good a shape as some of the supervisors would have us believe.

So if the board really wants to help small businesses survive, it will follow what other agencies have done by quickly moving forward with an economic relief package.

Why the wait?

Supervisors took a first step by voting unanimously Tuesday to form a subcommittee to look into providing economic aid to local businesses.

That’s good news, but why did it wait until we’re nearly 10 months into the pandemic?

Other jurisdictions with far fewer resources than the county have been providing direct help to businesses for months now. The city of Grover Beach, for example, has put $750,000 toward grants for small businesses to cover rent, utilities, payroll and other expenses.

There’s no reason the county can’t do the same, or more.

As we reported in May, the county had the ability to tap into $3.6 million in economic development funds it received as part of the Diablo Canyon closure agreement.

Since then, some of that money has been allocated to other uses, but there’s enough remaining to provide meaningful grants and/or loans to businesses.

To make an even bigger impact, the county could supplement public dollars by setting up a relief fund to accept donations from the public, as other government agencies have done.

The city of Berkeley, for example, has raised $1.5 million in donations on top of the $3 million it put toward relief efforts. The money has funded grants to 700 small businesses, 63 arts organizations and 214 families affected by COVID.

Here’s another idea: Calculate what it would cost to pursue a hopeless lawsuit against the governor and put that money toward economic relief instead.

ICU beds

Filing a lawsuit at this time isn’t just a legal gamble, it’s also sending a mixed message at a time when officials should be united in their efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

Throughout California, cases are surging like never before and hospitals are running out of space for patients, especially in intensive care units.

It’s true that SLO County has more ICU bed available at present than its neighboring counties — which is one of the arguments for separating from the SoCal Region — but that could change rapidly, as it has in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Just last month, the chiefs of staff of our local hospitals issued a joint letter warning that messaging from some community leaders “has gravely underestimated our local crisis.”

Conditions have only gotten worse since then, yet many local businesses are openly defying restrictions.

Meanwhile, enforcement has been spotty to non-existent, depending on the area of the county.

Challenging the governor’s authority at this time — and by extension, the authority of SLO County Public Health — would be another sign that COVID rules don’t really matter.

Before the board votes to go down that road, we strongly urge supervisors to speak directly with hospital chiefs who are on the front lines and have practically been begging people to stay home as much as possible.

We don’t doubt that county supervisors sincerely want to help their constituents any way they can.

But suing the state — which could take weeks if not months to decide — does nothing to alleviate immediate needs.

By the time a case is decided, how many more shops and restaurants will have been forced to close for good?

Local businesses are suffering now, and the board should focus on practical ways to help instead of threatening legal action that is almost doomed to fail.

We strongly urge the Board of Supervisors to make an economic relief program its top priority and forget about filing a lawsuit that’s a long shot at best.

This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 9:31 AM.