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Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a new ordinance that requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter indoor restaurants, malls, movie theaters, hair and nail salons, and many other indoor locations.
Council was due to vote on the law last week, but stopped when City Councilor Joe Buscaino said he would withhold his vote after voicing concerns about how the new rules would be enforced.
Buscaino ultimately voted against the ordinance after board members refused to accept several amendments he proposed, including one that would make it a crime to harass or interfere with any employee trying to enforce the rules. Councilor Mark Ridley-Thomas said the changes were important and deserved further consideration in council committees before council members could make a “thoughtful” decision.
The vote was 11-2, with City Councilor John Lee joining Buscaino in opposing the law. Lee said earlier this year that he was concerned about the plan, arguing that it was “arbitrary and would not result in increased vaccinations for our residents.”
Mayor Eric Garcetti plans to sign the ordinance as law, spokesman Harrison Wollman said ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
Under the new law, businesses must require proof of vaccination when customers enter indoor facilities from November 4, including cafes, gyms, museums, bowling alleys, spas and a range other places.
The requirements will expire when the city lifts its declaration of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic.
LA rules allow customers to submit written exemptions for religious or medical reasons, but companies must require those customers to use outdoor facilities or show evidence of a recent negative COVID-19 test. if no outdoor installation is available. Customers who do not have proof of vaccination, exemption can still enter briefly to use the restroom or pick up a take-out order, depending on the order.
Businesses that break the rules may face increasing penalties under the order, starting with a warning for a first violation, then a $ 1,000 fine for a second violation, ultimately reaching a penalty of $ 5,000. for a fourth violation or a subsequent violation. The fines would begin to apply from November 29, according to the order.
LA also requires proof of vaccination to enter city facilities, although unvaccinated people will be given “alternative arrangements for accessing government services,” which could include online or outdoor services or provide a negative test to enter an indoor installation.
Ahead of the vote, business groups raised concerns about possible confusion as Los Angeles County imposes its own set of vaccination rules for many local businesses and their customers. The county ordinance already applies within LA city limits, but California cities can extend county ordinances for vaccine needs.
The Los Angeles County Business Federation argued that the city’s new restrictions would put LA businesses at a “competitive disadvantage compared to other neighboring areas” and expressed concerns about how businesses would tackle the problems. false accusations.. The United San Fernando Valley Chambers of Commerce argued that it would be impractical and unreasonable for businesses to display a bouncer at every entrance to check for vaccination.
Other critics who phoned the council meeting argued that the rules would infringe on their rights, denouncing them as a form of discord and unnecessary discrimination against unvaccinated people. “I am appalled that the city council is even putting forward such a draconian, unconstitutional and immoral mandate,” one of them said in a letter to council members.
Others, however, urged the council to pass the new law. COVID-19 cases have fallen, “but not enough to be safe from another wave triggered by winter gatherings or a new variant,” wrote Daniel Kegel, a resident of West Adams. The vaccination rate is slowly increasing, but “we have to go faster. This motion will not solve the whole problem, but it will reduce the size of future epidemics and help the city get back to normal. “
Council members rejected the idea that the rules were authoritarian. “Nothing in this ordinance requires you to go for the vaccine,” City Councilor Paul Krekorian said last week. But there are some places where “you won’t be allowed to go to endanger other people”.
“You have rights. You have freedoms. But with those rights and freedoms also comes the obligation to protect other members of your society, ”said Krekorian, comparing the restrictions to banning smoking in an elevator or on an airplane.
Council Chairman Nury Martinez told reporters last week that because children too young to be eligible for vaccination continue to face the risks of the virus, “this is no longer negotiable. The stakes are too high. “
COVID-19 cases have declined in Los Angeles County, but the region still records an average of 14 deaths per day from the virus, according to the public health department. More than 61% of LA County residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data tracked by The Times.
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