The California Assembly leader said Monday that he will delay legislative hearings after a Los Angeles lawmaker tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the state Capitol to shut down in order to disinfect it.
The announcements came after Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Marina Del Rey) and four other people working in the building tested positive for the coronavirus, which likely spread as staff members and lawmakers gathered to approve the state budget at the end of June.
Burke said in a tweet Monday that he was told Friday that he had a “mask-to-mask” exposure to COVID-19 on June 26, when the Assembly met in person to approve the state budget. The Democratic lawmaker said she tested positive Saturday.
“Currently, my daughter and I have no symptoms, but we will remain in quarantine until we are discharged by a doctor,” Burke wrote on Twitter. Through a spokeswoman, Burke declined to comment further.
The Capitol will be closed for a week while undergoing a thorough cleaning, according to representatives of the Senate and the state Assembly.
In a letter to lawmakers, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said confirmed cases of coronavirus on Capitol Hill will delay legislative hearings in the coming weeks. Lawmakers were due to return from the summer recess on July 13 to end the busy last weeks of the legislative session, which ends on August 31.
“I have instructed my staff to develop a timeline for hearings and other Assembly matters that will allow us to carry out our work but minimize days in the Capitol building,” Rendon wrote to lawmakers, according to a copy provided to The Times.
Rendon said in the letter that he did not yet know when the Assembly will resume its session.
The Assembly has five confirmed cases, said John Casey, a Rendon spokesman. Casey said the Assembly does not identify whether the five confirmed cases are lawmakers or employees.
The Assembly announced on June 22 the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus on the State Capitol after a staff member tested positive. That employee had minimal interactions with just a coworker while wearing a mask, Debra Gravert, the Assembly’s administrative director, wrote in an email to employees.
A Senate staff member tested positive last month, while two employees working at district offices have confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The legislature has taken unprecedented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Both cameras suspended the sessions in March to decrease the risk of spreading the virus on Capitol Hill. The Assembly returned on May 4 and the Senate resumed on May 11 to continue your legislative work and approve a budget, all while adhering to physical distance and mask protocols.
Staff and legislators were asked to take their temperatures at home and monitor their temperatures throughout the day.
Additionally, anyone entering the Capitol had to undergo health screenings and temperature checks. The elevators were limited to one person per trip and strict limits were set for in-person seats for public hearings.
