Somewhere Outside of Normal

CAPITOL INSIDER

Somewhere Outside of Normal

LOUIE BROWN

IN THE SACRAMENTO OFFICE OF KAHN, SOARES AND CONWAY, LLP

California’s regulatory environment and Gov. Gavin

Brown Newsom’s recall are shaping how the state reopens.

The state has reopened, and we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After 16 months of uncertainty and restrictions, grocers and everyone else are finally be able to return to usual operations with one major caveat – Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). Masks or no masks? Physical distancing? Capacity limitations? Vaccine verification? Terms that were once foreign to us, have become universal. We have adapted since last March, but now we are beginning to return to some normalcy and confusion is at an all-time high. The night before its May Meeting, the CalOSHA Standards Board received a memo from CalOSHA requesting they delay action on the proposed modifications. The Standards Board heard the issue and listened to more than six hours of testimony, which included many individuals requesting the Board to make the standard permanent, but ultimately agreed to postpone a vote. The Board then held another vote, even more raucous than the last. The meeting ran late into the evening (more than nine hours) as it first rejected, then passed, an updated ETS. All the while, Gov. Gavin Newsom telegraphed he hoped Cal/OSHA would revisit its new workplace rules, which it did on June 17. It’s easy to see why. These modifications made some improvements, but also created two different worlds after June 15 – one for employees and one for the rest of California. So, it was a positive development when the Board moved closer into alignment with the CDC a couple weeks later. With that being said, pre-Blueprint was always going to be different than pre-pandemic, and no one expected it to go away – meaning employers will once again be forced to make changes to current practices, continue some costly pandemic procedures and operate somewhere outside of normal.

While the Governor is preparing the state to reopen, he is also navigating through a recall. A number of Republicans have thrown their name in the hat, but the Democratic party is holding strong behind Gavin Newsom. We have seen a recall in recent years, but nothing quite compares to a recall during a global pandemic. Some might associate it with COVID restrictions, one expensive dinner party during a Stay-at-Home Order or simply political party affiliation. Whatever it may be, Gavin Newsom will have to fight for his political life this fall and if he wins, again next November. The odds definitely favor him with democratic registration outperforming republicans for the last few years. However, it will be those decline-to-state voters, the fastest growing registration sector in California, that will ultimately decide the outcome of the recall.

This effort is much different than the recall of Governor Davis. At that time, the State was suffering record energy prices, rolling blackouts and an economic recession resulting in significant cuts to services. Governor Newsom has a record surplus of $75 billion, a job approval rating hovering above 50 percent and the reopening of the economy after a devastating pandemic. Not to say it will be a cakewalk, because the state is also facing an extreme drought which could result in many being told to reduce water use, an out of control homelessness issue and the potential for another record fire season.

It will be a long, hot summer and how the Governor maneuvers through these issues will more than likely have a greater impact on his future, than the pandemic. ■