Govs On Deck – July 27, 2020

Happy Monday, and welcome to “Govs on Deck” – David Turner edition. While I know you all will miss Christina’s wit, I will do my best to fill her shoes. She may be out of the office this week, but we’re still here and we are still sending out this newsletter on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Let’s get to it.

As always, questions or suggestions? Send me a note at turner@dga.net. You can find us all on Twitter too – @A_Tall_Turner, @CEAmestoy, @JerusalemDemsas, and @andersonkayjay.

We want this to be helpful, so let us know what other info/what other formats you’d like to see for these updates.

Dem Govs Get It Done: 

NOTE: This is an overview of recent actions, not a comprehensive roundup of everything our incredible governors are doing. Want more examples? Send me an email and I can help you track down answers.

COVID-19 response:

Federal requests:

• NEW YORK Gov. Andrew CUOMO called on Republican members of New York’s Congressional Delegation to fight for state and local aid in the federal stimulus package, which is expected to be announced this week. 

Reopening efforts:

• DELAWARE Gov. John CARNEY signed a modification to his State of Emergency declaration, allowing driver education services to resume immediately, with safety measures in place to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Governor Carney’s modification also allows senior centers to open with safety precautions at 30 percent capacity.

Elections: 

• COLORADO Gov. Jared POLIS signed an Executive Order extending the temporary suspension of statutory provisions that allow collection of petitions for unaffiliated candidates and ensure designated election officials have adequate time to review and provide notification of sufficiency or insufficiency to unaffiliated candidates.

Business guidance:

• COLORADO Gov. Jared POLIS signed an Executive Order extending the temporary suspension of certain regulatory statutes due to COVID-19, including statutory license limitations for breweries, wineries, distilleries, and retailers licensed for on-premises alcohol consumption. 

Worker support:

• CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin NEWSOM announced a new program, Housing for the Harvest, that will provide safe, temporary isolation spaces for agricultural and farmworkers who test positive or were exposed to the virus, which limits the risk of spreading COVID-19 to their coworkers or households. This program will operate in partnership with counties and local partners in the Central Valley, Central Coast, and Imperial Valley – the regions with the highest number of agricultural workers.
• MICHIGAN Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two emergency orders extending previous ones allowing electronic transmission of youth work permits and remote notarization.

Child care/early education:

• COLORADO Gov. Jared POLIS signed an Executive Order directing the Colorado Department of Human Services to access federal funds for child care services.
• The NEW JERSEY Department of Education issued clarifying guidance to allow parents to select full time remote learning for their children in the 2020-2021 school year.  

Other efforts:

• CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin NEWSOM announced a new initiative that will allow the state to allocate existing federal funds to local public health departments and community-based organizations to assist with supportive services for isolation and quarantine.
• PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Tom WOLF visited Lancaster Health Center, a federally qualified health center, to thank staff for their work to ensure the community’s most vulnerable receive care during COVID-19 and year-round.
• PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Tom Wolf let HB 2463, “Restoring Transparency in State Government”, become law and called for increased transparency within the state legislature.
• COLORADO Gov. Jared POLIS signed an Executive Order extending the ability for Coloradans to continue getting marriage licenses while clerk and recorder offices are closed.
• MAINE Gov. Janet MILLS issued a statement on the Legislative Republicans’ continued effort to jeopardize Maine’s public health measures. 

Beyond COVID-19 

Federal actions:

• NEW YORK Gov. Andrew CUOMO called on the U.S. Department of Justice and Congress to investigate the Department of Homeland Security’s handling of the Trusted Traveler Program, after new information revealed DHS officials admitted to making false statements to justify the Department’s banning of New Yorkers from the program earlier this year.

Economic development:

• ILLINOIS Gov. JB PRITZKER joined viaPhoton in announcing the opening of its first hyperlocal fiber optics micro-factory in Aurora, IL.  Leveraging Industry 4.0 technology, viaPhoton’s new factory will build and supply fiber optic solutions for data centers and 5G infrastructure across the state.
• KENTUCKY Gov. Andy BESHEAR announced the creation of Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV), a new public-private partnership unique in the U.S. that aims to develop academic innovations into job-creating tech companies.
• VIRGINIA Gov. Ralph NORTHAM announced that Modea, a technology company that specializes in digital strategy for healthcare organizations, will invest $100,000 to grow its operation in Montgomery County. 

Health care:

• PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Tom WOLF announced that the Office of Advocacy and Reform is releasing the “Trauma-Informed PA” plan to guide the commonwealth and service providers statewide on what it means to be trauma-informed and healing-centered in PA.

Other efforts:

• HAWAII Gov. David IGE announced that he is granting non-essential state employees on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i administrative leave as the state prepares for severe weather resulting from Hurricane Douglas.
• CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin NEWSOM issued a proclamation declaring July 26, 2020, as “Americans with Disabilities Act Awareness Day” in the State of California.

Stay safe everyone and wash your hands! See you on Wednesday!