There are two faces to this particular General Assembly. Some of the most thoughtful bills sweep through, protecting the finances of those hit hard by the pandemic, for one. And then . . . .
We're not sure if we understand everything we know about the effort to unsanction, or return fines, to businesses that defied state orders during the height of the pandemic. Some lawmakers seem to want to make this a separation of powers argument, a checks-and-balances argument. But it appears as though the Legislature is stepping into executive authority.
According to Michael Wickline's story in Thursday's paper, a Senate committee ushered through a bill that would require state authorities (ABC, the Department of Health) to "return fines" that were handed to businesses for failing to comply with covid-19 rules.
When a political committee votes for a bill over the objections of the Health Department, beware.
The bill would require the state to return those particular fines that were handed out since March 11. The bill wouldn't apply to fines in nursing homes or hospitals.
We're not talking a lot of money here. The Alcoholic Beverage Control people handed out about $38K in such fines in the last six or seven months. So it's a rounding error in the state's budget. But we are talking about an overreach by one branch of government, and it's not the executive.
Lawmakers should be told that the governor and his people didn't issue these covid-19 rules as a power play, but to 1. protect people and 2. protect businesses by keeping restaurants and bars open as much as they could be given the pandemic.
Another option would have been to let the virus run free for a few weeks, then shut down the economy completely as deaths mount. Most people would consider that option to be poor form.
There weren't many businesses that were fined, according to the paper. But if this bill becomes law, you can almost guarantee there will be a lot more that will disregard state rules. Now and in the future.
It should also be noted that the governor and his people didn't issue these covid-19 rules hoping to score political points. (Unlike other politicians we could name.) Because it wasn't politically helpful to tell businesses they could operate at 25 percent capacity or 50 percent capacity. These things tend to make business-owning constituents and voters angry. But leadership requires doing the right thing even if it means taking political hits. Which the governor certainly has done.
The director of the state ABC, Doralee Chandler, asked lawmakers to consider the message being sent. She's right. The message is: Don't worry about the governor and ABC, scofflaws.
It should also be noted: A business really needed to go out of its way to be fined. Warnings were issued. An official testified before the Ledge that the state "has made multiple attempts to encourage voluntary compliance with thousands of permitted facilities and retail facilities with success for most of its efforts."
The legal counsel for the Health Department put it this way: "This bill, if enacted, subjects the state to future litigation in the Claims Commission and federal court for various entities for enforcement of legitimate health directives. More importantly, it diminishes the ability to use established procedures to protect others in a public health emergency."
And protecting the public during an emergency is one of the first priorities of government. It's a shame that needs to be said.