The California Statehouse | Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images
OAKLAND — The California State Assembly is exploring the feasibility of testing lawmakers for the coronavirus as they eye an imminent return to the state Capitol.
Conversations about such testing, first reported by The Sacramento Bee, come as legislative leaders weigh potential measures to safeguard lawmakers’ public health ahead of a tentative May 4 return date. Legislators adjourned early in March, shortly before Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order, and then delayed a planned April return as the infection threat endured.
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Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said in a statement that “members of the Democratic caucus have had several discussions about potentially getting tested.”
“Due to the public nature of our work, the Sacramento County Public Health Officer is recommending Members get tested for COVID-19, and we are taking that guidance seriously,” Rendon said in a statement.
The legislative testing dilemma comes as California still lags in providing enough tests for its residents, with bottlenecks occurring due to supply shortages. Newsom said Wednesday that the state was only conducting about 16,000 tests per day, while he wants to see 60,000 to 80,000 tests daily to feel confident about reopening the economy.
Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins said in a statement that, given finite testing capacity, the Senate is not recommending testing for senators or staff unless they are at high risk for infection. Atkins said that the Senate has not heard from public health authorities about testing.
“We continue to require essential employees, including Senators and staff, to practice self–assessment each day prior to coming into the Capitol, including taking their temperature and monitoring for signs of illness,” Atkins said. “Anyone experiencing any symptoms of illness has been instructed to stay home and not come into the Capitol.”
Sacramento County Director of Health Services Peter Beilenson recommended every member get tested in conversation with Assembly Rules Chair Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), but that advice fell short of an enforceable mandate, a department spokesperson said. Beilenson suggested that if members could not get tested through their own insurance, UC Davis could furnish tests.
Cooley, who oversees the Legislature’s internal mechanics, said he reached out to Sacramento public health authorities after other Assembly members asked about testing during a series of caucus conference calls.
“The question has come up from a number of my colleagues about testing,” Cooley said, and Beilenson replied “that it actually made sense” to broadly test members as supplies become more widely available.
“He actually felt there would be capacity for a good many staff tests” in addition to lawmakers, Cooley said.
Lawmakers generally spend Monday through Thursday in Sacramento during the session, then spend the remainder of the week in their home districts. California’s infection spread has slowed overall, but the situation varies widely between different counties and cities. Lawmakers representing Los Angeles may face a higher risk of exposure at home than those hailing from rural districts, based on current testing data, and returning to Sacramento would mean mingling together.
While California’s rates of hospitalization and intensive care unit admissions are flattening, the nature of the Legislature’s work this year remains highly fluid and uncertain.
Newsom has consistently resisted calls to get tested despite the amount of public exposure his job entails, saying that at-risk Californians should do so first given a persistent scarcity of testing.
California may test state lawmakers before they return to Sacramento
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