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Govs On Deck – March 31, 2020

Govs on Deck

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Good Tuesday afternoon and welcome to today’s edition of “Govs on Deck.” We’re still here, we’re still daily, and we hope you are all safe and healthy.
Questions or suggestions? Send me a note at amestoy@dga.net. You can find us all on Twitter too – @A_Tall_Turner, @CEAmestoy, @JerusalemDemsas, and @andersonkayjay.

 A different sort of week:

Because of the quickly evolving situation, we are changing this newsletter to become a daily roundup of how our states are responding to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Every day this week, we will send an overview of the actions our governors have taken the day before. We want this to be helpful, so let me 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.
Stay home orders:

  • LOUISIANA Gov. John Bel EDWARDS extended his stay-at-home order through April 30th. 
  • PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Tom WOLF extended his stay-at-home order to four additional counties, bringing the total number of counties under the order to 26. The order is extended through April 30th. 
  • VIRGINIA Gov. Ralph NORTHAM issued a stay at home order through June 10th. 
  • WASHINGTON Gov. Jay INSLEE issued enforcement guidance of his recent stay at home order. The state has created a one-stop online form for reporting businesses potentially violating orders and is providing guidance to local law enforcement on enforcing bans on gatherings of individuals.

Federal requests:

  • CALIFORNIA and NEW YORK have both welcomed U.S. Navy hospital ships into Los Angeles and New York City harbors, respectively. 
  • NEW MEXICO Gov. Michelle LUJAN GRISHAM’s request for an Army combat support hospital in Albuquerque has been approved by President Trump.

Presidential Major Disaster Declaration:

  • KANSAS announced that their requests for a statewide Major Disaster Declaration was approved by President Trump.  

Business operations:

  • CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin NEWSOM signed an executive order that will provide tax, regulatory and licensing extensions for businesses.
  • CONNECTICUT’s Department of Revenue Services announced that it will grant a two-month extension of filing and payment deadlines for certain small businesses. 
  • ILLINOIS Gov. JB PRITZKER will issue additional guidelines for grocery store operations to maintain social distancing. 

Schools:

  • PENNSYLVANIA is extending closure of all schools indefinitely.  
  • RHODE ISLAND Gov. Gina RAIMONDO extended the closure of schools through April 30th. 

Health care:

  • CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin NEWSOM launched California Health Corps – a major new initiative to expand the state’s health care workforce and recruit health care professionals to address the COVID-19 surge. 
  • CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin NEWSOM signed an executive order that will temporarily waive some licensing and staffing requirements to expand the health care workforce. 
  • HAWAII’s Department of Health released a warning about the hazards and dangers of using non-approved drugs for COVID-19 like antimalarial drugs have recently been reported as possible treatments.
  • ILLINOIS Gov. JB PRITZKER announced plans to temporarily convert part of the McCormick Place Convention Center into an Alternate Care Facility for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms who don’t require intensive care.
  • ILLINOIS Gov. JB PRITZKER announced that the state will take charge of coronavirus testing, citing President Donald Trump’s administration’s “profound failing” to roll tests out successfully.
  • MAINE Gov. Janet MILLS announced that the Administration is accelerating pay increases for personal care workers and expanding access to meals for older Mainers who are home-bound because of COVID-19. 
  • NEW JERSEY temporarily adopted rules allowing supervising nurses working as in-home health aides to conduct required plan-of-care evaluations by phone or video-chat instead of in person. 
  • NEW JERSEY’s Division of Consumer Affairs issued an Administrative Order imposing statewide restrictions on prescribing and dispensing of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.
  • NEW YORK Gov. Andrew CUOMO announced a statewide public-private hospital plan that will implement a new balanced approach to fighting the virus where hospitals that are beginning to reach or exceed capacity can transfer patients to other hospitals that are not as full.
  • NEW YORK Gov. Andrew CUOMO issued a call to out-of-state health care workers in areas where the need is not currently urgent to come to New York to provide relief to health care providers. 
  • NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Roy COOPER signed an executive order to help schools and local governments access state surplus property to help bridge gaps during the response to COVID-19. The order also provides transfer or donation of personal protective equipment that the state government may have and not need.
  • WISCONSIN Gov. Tony EVERS announced a private-public partnership among Wisconsin industry leaders to increase Wisconsin’s laboratory testing capacity for COVID-19.

Child care / child support:

  • COLORADO’s Department of Human Services announced that all essential workers will have the opportunity to get free child care through May 17.
  • CONNECTICUT Gov. Ned LAMONT signed an executive order requiring all child care facilities to limit group sizes to no more than 10 children in one space.
  • CONNECTICUT Gov. Ned LAMONT signed an executive order enhancing health procedures for all operating child care programs including checking for obvious signs of illness at the entrance of all facilities. 
  • DELAWARE Gov. John CARNEY signed the eighth modification to his State of Emergency declaration allowing child care programs to be designated as emergency child care sites in an effort to assist essential personnel during the coronavirus crisis.
  • WISCONSIN’s Department of Children and Families launched an interactive map for essential workers to find child care options near them.

Worker support:

  • MAINE Gov. Janet MILLS signed an executive order allowing for greater flexibility to train workers online for critical jobs needed to address the effects of COVID-19 by suspending certain restrictions, on an as-needed basis, on job training funds managed by the Maine Community College System’s MQC program. 

Response funds / volunteer efforts:

  • MAINE Gov. Janet MILLS announced the launch of Maine Helps – an online resource that outlines ways Mainers can help support response efforts. 

Response teams:

  • CONNECTICUT Gov. Ned LAMONT has appointed the CEOs of three of the largest hospital systems in Connecticut to serve as co-chairs of the Governor’s Health System Response Team. The team’s work will provide the foundation of the plans and actions as the state’s health care system handles an expected surge of COVID-19 cases.

Response funding:

  • MICHIGAN Gov. Gretchen WHITMER signed two supplemental budget bills to secure $150 million in new funding to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. 

PSA campaigns:

  • MINNESOTA Gov. Tim WALZ announced the launch of print versions of the state’s COVID-19 PSA campaign in newspapers across the state. 

Inter-state travel restrictions:

  • HAWAII Gov. David IGE announced that a 14-day mandatory self – quarantine for inter-island travelers will go into effect on April 1st.  
  • KENTUCKY Gov. Andy BESHEAR issued an order restricting non-essential travel to other states. 
  • MONTANA Gov. Steve BULLOCK directed that travelers arriving from another state or country to Montana for non-work-related purposes undergo a 14-day self-quarantine.

Other efforts:

  • KENTUCKY Gov. Andy BESHEAR signed a coronavirus relief bill into law. The legislation codifies many of the measures already being taken and creates flexibility in the telehealth system, prohibits non-emergent procedures, allows for the delivery of alcohol and creates flexibility in deciding who is eligible for unemployment insurance. 
  • NEVADA Gov. Steve SISOLAK announced that the Nevada Office of the Military will coordinate activities between the Nevada Division of Emergency Management, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, and other state agencies.
  • NEW JERSEY announced the formation of a joint federal-state task force to investigate and prosecute a wide range of misconduct arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the unlawful hoarding of medical supplies, price gouging, charity scams, procurement fraud, insurance fraud, phishing schemes, and false and misleading investment opportunities.

Stay safe everyone and wash your hands!