HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-05-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - AB 1251 (2)O
Agenda Item: 6
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CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:1
DATE: May 11, 2021
SUBJECT: STATE LEGISLATION: ASSEMBLY BILL 1251
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
PRESENTER: Masis Hagobian
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council adopt the City Council Legislative Committee recommendation to support
Assembly Bill 1251 (Muratsuchi) and transmit position statements to Assembly Member
Muratsuchi, Santa Clarita's state legislative delegation, appropriate legislative committees,
Governor Newsom, League of California Cities, and other stakeholder organizations.
BACKGROUND
Authored by Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi (D-66-Torrance), Assembly Bill 1251 requires a
public health order issued by the County of Los Angeles Local Health Officer (County Health
Officer), during the COVID-19 pandemic State of Emergency, to be based on data for each
Service Planning Area, rather than on countywide data.
The County of Los Angeles (County) is divided into eight Service Planning Areas (SPAS) for
health care planning and homelessness service purposes. Each SPA has an area health office that
is responsible for planning public health and clinical services according to the health needs of
local communities. Some examples of health care planning activities include assessing health
needs of local communities, promoting health and preventing disease, and collaborating with
community groups to improve the health of SPA residents. These SPAS allow the Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health to develop and provide more relevant public health and
clinical services targeted to the specific health needs of the residents in these different areas.
The City is in SPA 2, which also includes the cities of Agoura Hills, Burbank, Calabasas,
Glendale, San Fernando, parts of the City of Los Angeles (in the San Fernando Valley region),
and unincorporated Los Angeles County (including the communities of Castaic, Porter Ranch,
and Stevenson Ranch).
In requiring the County Health Officer to issue a public health order based on data for each SPA,
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Assembly Bill 1251 develops a more relevant and locally focused process in the County issuance
of a public health order to combat the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, the bill enables the
County Health Officer to adopt policies that are more targeted and reflective of the health needs
of local communities. In doing so, this bill would allow for the public health order to be less
restrictive in parts of the County that have a lower number of positive COVID-19 cases and
related hospitalizations.
The recommendation to support Assembly Bill 1251 is consistent with the City of Santa Clarita
2021 Executive and Legislative Platform. Specifically, Component 12 under the "State" section
advises that the City Council, "Support legislation, regulatory proposals, administrative actions,
or public health orders to allow and support businesses that have been forced to limit or close
their operations, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to responsibly reopen and operate to the
capacity that will safely initiate the economic recovery process."
Assembly Bill 1251 was introduced on February 18, 2021, and referred to the Assembly
Committee on Health.
Health Officers Association of California and County Executives Association of California were
the only registered opposition on file at the time this report was developed.
There was no registered support on file at the time this report was developed.
The City Council Legislative Committee met on April 28, 2021, and recommends that the City
Council adopt a "support" position on Assembly Bill 1251.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
1. Adopt an "oppose" position on Assembly Bill 1251.
2. Adopt a "neutral" position on Assembly Bill 1251.
3. Take no action on Assembly Bill 1251.
4. Refer Assembly Bill 1251 back to the Legislative Committee.
5. Other direction, as provided by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
The resources required to implement the recommended action are contained within the City of
Santa Clarita's adopted FY 2020-21 budget.
ATTACHMENTS
Assembly Bill 1251 - Bill Text
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AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2021
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2021
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-2021-22 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1251
Introduced by Assembly Members Muratsuchi and Lackey
February 19, 2021
An act to add Section 53024 to the Government Code, relating to
public health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1251, as amended, Muratsuchi. Local public health orders.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act (CESA), among
other things, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency
in an area affected or likely to be affected. The CESA also authorizes
the governing body of any city, county, or city and county, or an official
designated by ordinance adopted by that governing body, to proclaim
a local emergency, as provided. Existing law authorizes local health
officials to take any preventative measures that may be necessary to
protect and preserve the public health from any public health hazard
during any state of emergency or local emergency.
This bill would require a public health order issued by the County of
Los Angeles local health officer during -a the COVID-19 pandemic state
of emergency to be based on data for each service
planning area, as defined, rather than on countywide data. The bill
would further require that a local public healthy order related
to the COVID-19 pandemic be issued itt aeeordattee with the include
the data for each service planning areal upon which the order is
based. The hill would sped that these provisions remain operative
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AB 1251 —2—
6.a
until the termination of the state of emergency declared on March 4,
2020. By requiring the County of Los Angeles to prepare emergency
local public health orders based on data for each service planning area,
this bill would impose a state -mandated local program.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the
necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory
provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State -mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
2 (a) State and county public health departments should develop
3 and provide relevant and data -based public health and clinical
4 services targeted to the specific health needs of residents in
5 different communities and regions.
6 (b) The County of Los Angeles, comparable to the geographic
7 size of the States of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, has
8 the largest population of any county in the United States. The
9 County of Los Angeles is larger in population than the nine
10 counties of the San Francisco Bay area, with a population of
11 approximately 10,000,000 residents.
12 (c) The County of Los Angeles is divided into geographic areas,
13 known as service planning areas, to allow the Los Angeles County
14 Department of Public Health to provide relevant public health and
15 clinical services targeted to the specific health needs of the
16 residents in each of the service planning areas.
17 (d) To achieve the goals of developing and providing more
18 relevant and data -based public health services during a statewide
19 or local public health emergency, the Los Angeles County
20 Department of Public Health public health orders, and the
21 enforcement of these orders, must be based on data for each public
22 health service planning area and not on countywide data.
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— 3 — AB 1251
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1 SEC. 2. Section 53024 is added to the Government Code, to
2 read:
3 53024. (a) For the purposes of this section, "service planning
4 area" means the subdivided areas of the County of Los Angeles
5 intended to facilitate and improve local service and health care
6 planning, as defined in Section 3.29.010 of the Los Angeles County
7 Code.
8 (b) itt the event of a "state of or «
9 , A public health order issued by the
10 County of Los Angeles local health officer pursuant to Section
11 101040 or 120175 of the Health and Safety Code due to the
12 COVID-19 pandemic shall be based on data for each respective
13 service planning area and not on data for the entire County of Los
14 Angeles. An order issued pursuant to this section shall include the
15 data for each respective service planning area upon which the
16 order is based.
17 (c) The requirements deseribed itt subdivision (b) shall apply
18 to all publie health orders issued by the County of T=os Angeles
19 dtte to the CO3YIID 19 pandemie.—This section shall remain
20 operative until the termination of the state of emergency
21 proclaimed by the Governor on March 4, 2020, regarding the
22 COVID-19 pandemic.
23 SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute
24 is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable
25 within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
26 Constitution because of the unique circumstances regarding the
27 large population of the County of Los Angeles. It is necessary that
28 special legislation be enacted to ensure relevant data -based public
29 health services and orders are based on the specific needs of
30 residents in the respective service planning areas within the County
31 of Los Angeles.
32 SEC. 4. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
33 this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
34 local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
35 pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
36 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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