Your guide to California policy and politics by
Emily Hoeven
Presented by Mattress Recycling Council, Early Care and Education Consortium and California Health Care Foundation
Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, June 10.
School: Yes. Work: Maybe.
Alex Armstrong and his wife Paula Armstrong prepare pick-up orders at their Long Beach restaurant, VBurger, on June 8, 2021. Photo by Pablo Unzueta, CalMatters
Masks at school, but not at the store. Well, unless you work at the store. But store employees may only have to wear masks until June 28. As long as they’re fully vaccinated. But it’s up to businesses to figure out how to verify employees’ vaccination status. Or not.
If that sounds confusing, then it’s an accurate portrayal of the patchwork of policies various state agencies unveiled Wednesday, six days before California’s grand reopening.
First, Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s top health officer, announced that California will on June 15 align its mask rules with that of the federal government: Fully vaccinated people can forgo face coverings in most settings, with notable exceptions including K-12 school classrooms and public transportation.
Then, the standards board of the state’s workplace safety agency voted to repeal the mask policy it passed last week after changing its mind twice. It will consider modifying the policy yet again on June 17, with changes — which could include allowing fully vaccinated workers to go maskless — set to go into effect June 28.
In the meantime, even stricter emergency regulations will snap back into place — meaning all employees, even those who are fully vaccinated, must wear masks and physically distance, among other requirements.
For answers to your reopening-related questions, check out this Q&A from CalMatters’ Ben Christopher.
The coronavirus bottom line: As of Wednesday, California had 3,692,506confirmed cases(+0.02% from previous day) and 62,499 deaths(+0.03% from previous day), according to a CalMatters tracker.
Speaking of the workplace, it will likely be the site of California’s next major post-pandemic clash. Although many offices have begun to embrace more relaxed work-from-home policies, other companies — including Apple — are announcing stricter in-person rules that have already been met with strong pushback. On the other hand, working from home hasn’t been positive for everyone: A Wednesday survey from staffing giant Robert Half found that 39% of San Diego workers are burned out — up from 25% who said the same in October. One key reason? An inability to disconnect from work.
Alisal Elementary School first grade instructor Erin Salcido, center, teaches class on March 4, 2021, in Pleasanton. Photo by Aric Crabb, Bay Area News Group
One year after Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers allocated $450,000 to build a statewide portal tracking how school districts spend extra money intended for disadvantaged students, the state still hasn’t embarked on the first step of the project, EdSource reports. And a bill introduced in April — which would have required the state Department of Education to develop the portal by January 2022 — never received a hearing. The delays have sparked concerns among advocates for low-income students, who point out that school districts are about to receive record amounts of money — thanks to state and federal COVID relief funds and a massive budget surplus — with very little accountability. For example, although districts were required to tell the state how they plan to spend $4.6 billion earmarked for summer school programs, the state won’t actually monitor the spending — and districts aren’t required to share the information publicly.
Illustration by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters; iStock; Wikimedia Commons
If you’re looking for topics that divide California’s Democratic-dominated Legislature, psychedelic drugs seems to be pretty high on the list. A bill that would decriminalize the possession and non-commercial sharing of psychedelics for Californians 21 and older narrowly squeaked out of the state Senate last week and now heads to the Assembly, where it will likely continue to drive a wedge between top Democrats, CalMatters’ Marissa Garcia reports. The proposal’s author, state Sen. Scott Wiener, says decriminalizing psychedelics — which scientific research has shown have promise in treating PTSD, depression and anxiety — could help expand mental health care, especially for veterans. But others say the measure would essentially legalize party drugs and could result in serious consequences.
Sen. Melissa Melendez, a Temecula Republican: “I don’t know why in the world we would be contemplating legalizing a drug like ketamine, used to incapacitate young women and girls for the purposes of raping them.”
Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat: “We’ve addressed the issue of drug use by trying to arrest and incarcerate as many people as possible, and it hasn’t worked.”
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CalMatters commentary
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Were Newsom as humble as he often proclaims to be, he would issue a personal apology to the hundreds of thousands of Californians who still can’t receive unemployment checks.
