Leon County
Board of County Commissioners

Agenda Item#28
 
May 11, 2021
To: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board
  
From: Vincent S. Long, County Administrator
Chasity H. O`Steen, County Attorney
  
Title: Phase 3 of Leon County's COVID-19 Response and Re-opening Plan, and Consideration of Public Hearing to Repeal Amended Emergency Ordinance No. 20-15
  

 

 

Review and Approval: Vincent S. Long, County Administrator
Chasity H. O`Steen, County Attorney
Department/Division
Review and Approval:
Alan Rosenzweig, Deputy County Administrator
Lead Staff/
Project Team:
Andrew Johnson, Assistant to the County Administrator
Mathieu Cavell, Assistant to the County Administrator

 

 


Statement of Issue:

This item seeks Board consideration to implement Phase 3 of the Leon County COVID-19 Response and Re-opening Plan, consistent with Executive Orders issued by the Governor on May 3, 2021, and seeks any additional policy direction the Board may wish to provide with respect to Leon County’s re-opening of programs and services.  Also, because the Governor’s Executive Order 21-102 invalidated Leon County Amended Emergency Ordinance No. 20-15, which required individuals to wear a face covering when inside a business establishment unless an exception applied, this item also seeks Board consideration to schedule a Public Hearing to consider the repeal of Amended Emergency Ordinance No. 20-15.

Fiscal Impact:

This item has a fiscal impact. Adequate Tourism funds have been budgeted in anticipation of transitioning to Phase 3 of the Re-opening Plan during FY 2021.  This includes funding for Amphitheater concerts that were rescheduled due to the pandemic and resuming the County’s sponsorship of indoor visitor-generating events through the Division of Tourism’s FY 2021 event grant program.

Staff Recommendation:

Option #1:       Direct the County Administrator to implement Phase 3 of the Leon County COVID-19 Response and Re-opening Plan.

Option #2:       Schedule the first and only Public Hearing to consider repealing Leon County Amended Emergency Ordinance No. 20-15 for June 8, 2021.

 

Report and Discussion

Background:

This item seeks the Board’s approval to implement Phase 3 of the Leon County COVID-19 Response and Re-opening Plan (Plan), consistent with Executive Orders No. 21-101 and 21-102 (Executive Orders) issued by the Governor on May 3, 2021, and seeks any additional policy direction the Board may wish to provide with respect to Leon County’s re-opening of programs and services. Also, because the Governor’s Executive Order 21-102 suspended Leon County Amended Emergency Ordinance No. 20-15 (Ordinance), which required individuals to wear a face covering when inside a business establishment unless an exception applied, this item also seeks Board consideration to schedule a Public Hearing to consider the repeal of the Ordinance.

 

The Executive Orders (Attachments #1 and #2), which suspend and invalidate local government actions based on the COVID-19 state of emergency, effectively preclude the County from requiring individuals or businesses to take measures to slow the spread and mitigate the risk of resurgence of COVID-19 unless the County adopts an ordinance pursuant to the regular enactment procedures in Section 125.66, Florida Statutes, to protect the health, safety, and welfare of those in the County. As discussed in detail in the Analysis section below, issuance of the Executive Orders will require the County to transition to a “full Phase 3” re-opening under the Plan (Attachment #3).  Also, because these Executive Orders suspended the Ordinance (Attachment #4), which required individuals to wear a face covering when inside a business establishment unless an exception applied, this item seeks the Board’s consideration to schedule a Public Hearing to consider the repeal of the Ordinance.

 

The Analysis section below provides an overview of the Executive Orders as well as an update regarding the operational and service changes contemplated in Phase 3 of the Plan.  In Phase 3, the County would continue to actively encourage, rather than require, citizens to follow the expert public health guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Finally, this item seeks any additional policy direction or community guidance the Board may wish to provide relative to Phase 3 of Leon County’s re-opening plan. The Analysis section below also provides an overview of the Ordinance, the Executive Orders, and effect of the Executive Orders on the County’s ability to require that individuals and businesses take measures to mitigate COVID-19.

 

Analysis:

Executive Order Nos. 21-101 and 21-102:

As indicated above, Governor DeSantis issued the Executive Orders on May 3, 2021, immediately suspending any COVID-19 restrictions and mandates on individuals and businesses issued by cities and counties.  Executive Order 21-102 suspends “all local COVID-19 restrictions and mandates on individuals and businesses.” This Order “eliminates and supersedes” any existing municipal or county emergency order or ordinance “that imposes restrictions or mandates upon businesses or individuals due to the COVID-19 emergency.” Such restrictions or mandates would include face covering requirements, curfews, business occupancy restrictions, business signage requirements, etcetera; however, emergency orders or ordinances relating to procurement, vaccination distribution, COVID-19 testing sites, etcetera, do not seem to be impacted by this Order. Until June 26, 2021, when the statewide state of emergency initiated under Executive Order 20-52 and most recently renewed under Executive Order 21-94 expires, a municipality or county cannot renew or enact an emergency order or ordinance using a local state of emergency or using the emergency enactment procedures under Chapters 125, 166, or 252, Florida Statutes, that imposes restrictions or mandates upon businesses or individuals due to the COVID-19 emergency. This Order does not prohibit a municipality or county from enacting an ordinance pursuant to regular enactment procedures to protect public health, safety, and welfare.

 

Effective July 1, 2021, Executive Order No. 21-101 provides that any “emergency order” issued by a municipality or county due to the COVID-19 emergency that restricts the “rights or liberties of individuals or their businesses is invalidated.” This Order uses the term “emergency orders” as defined in Senate Bill 2006 (2021), which has been signed by the Governor and is now denoted as Chapter 2021-8, Laws of Florida. The phrase “emergency order” as used in the Order and defined in the legislation means “an order or ordinance issued or enacted by a political subdivision in response to an emergency pursuant to this chapter [252] or chapter 381 that limits the rights or liberties of individuals or businesses within the political subdivision.” The term does not apply in response to hurricanes or other weather-related emergencies. This Order does not prohibit a municipality or county from enacting an ordinance pursuant to regular enactment procedures to protect public health, safety, and welfare of its local population; only COVID-19 “emergency orders” enacted prior to July 1, 2021, are invalidated.

 

Leon County COVID-19 Response and Re-opening Plan:

Since the Board accepted the Plan on May 21, 2020, the Board has approved incremental adjustments to the plan to reflect a transition from strict physical distancing to a gradual, phased re-opening.  These modifications to the County’s re-opening plan were made based on public health benchmarks and trajectories, expert public health guidance, and evolving requirements as set forth in the Governor’s Executive Orders. At this time, the vast majority of County services and facilities are fully open to the public:

Under the current re-opening phase, the only Leon County services and facilities that remain restricted are:

As discussed above, the Executive Orders preclude the County from requiring individuals or businesses to take measures to slow the spread and mitigate the risk of resurgence of COVID-19 unless the County adopts an ordinance pursuant to the regular enactment procedures to protect public health, safety, and welfare.  This, in effect, requires the County to transition to a “full Phase 3” re-opening under the Plan.  Under a full Phase 3, all County services and facilities would return to normal operations and capacity, as follows:

 

With respect to internal County operations, the Executive Orders do not impact internal guidelines in place for County employees.  Consistent with national public health guidance from the CDC, face coverings would still be required for County employees when indoors or when they are unable to maintain physical distance in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. Employees would also continue to conduct daily temperature checks and health screening questions prior to the start of the workday. The County Administrator will continue to administer these protocols and make organizational adjustments consistent with CDC guidance; however, the Board may also wish to provide any additional policy direction relative to Phase 3 of the Plan.

 

Leon County Face Covering Ordinance:

Finally, as a result of the Executive Orders, the Ordinance requiring individuals to wear face coverings within a business establishment unless an exception applied is no longer in effect.  Accordingly, this item seeks Board consideration to schedule a Public Hearing for June 8, 2021, to consider repealing Ordinance No. 20-15.  Notwithstanding this, the County continues to strongly encourage citizens to follow national public health guidance such as wearing masks when indoors, getting vaccinated as soon as possible, and practicing good hygiene. The Executive Orders also do not prevent businesses from instituting public health measures such as physical distancing, temperature screening, mask use, or other practices.  Leon County Community & Media Relations will continue to leverage every available communication platform including print media, radio, social media, and television and will continue to engage local media partners to promote critical public health information.

 

As indicated earlier in this item, Executive Order No. 21-102 prohibits the Board from renewing or enacting a new emergency ordinance to require face coverings or any other protective or mitigative measures related to COVID-19. The Executive Order does not preclude a local government from enacting an ordinance to protect the health safety, and welfare of its population under the “regular enactment procedure” provided under Section 125.66, Florida Statutes, which generally requires the County to publish a notice of intent to consider such an ordinance in a newspaper of general circulation at least ten days prior to the public hearing at which the ordinance is to be considered. Should local COVID-19 public health conditions significantly deteriorate, and in the event that the Governor does not take further statewide executive action to mitigate those conditions, a future agenda item would be brought back to the Board at the appropriate time with options to address the public health situation locally, which could include adopting an ordinance to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the community under the regular enactment procedure.

Options:

  1. Direct the County Administrator to implement Phase 3 of the Leon County COVID-19 Response and Re-opening Plan.
  2. Schedule the first and only Public Hearing to consider repealing Leon County Ordinance No. 20-15 for June 8, 2021.
  3. Board direction.

 

Recommendation:

Options #1 and #2

 

Attachments:

  1. Executive Order 21-101
  2. Executive Order 21-102
  3. Leon County COVID-19 Response and Re-opening Plan
  4. Leon County Amended Emergency Ordinance No. 20-15