Just when I was enjoying the road trip metaphor, Governor Newsom releases the “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” starting August 31. Apparently, the previous system wasn’t self-explanatory without our blog posts as a guide to the 10 different websites a business owner had to visit to figure out if they could operate and how, so the State of California is trying to streamline things. This new system also uses the same color scheme as we’re used to seeing for wildfires and air quality, so that if we didn’t already have PTSD from 2020, now we have another trigger.
So, how does the new system work?
With the Blueprint, instead of the county monitoring list, which had to be cross checked against local requirements and the state roadmap, now counties are assigned different color tiers based on their rate of new cases and positivity so it’s one-stop shopping on this new website. Counties cannot change colors until they’ve spent 3 weeks at the previous level and must meet the new tier’s criteria for at least 2 weeks before earning the new better or worse status.
On this new site (link again here), you can enter your county and the activity and website will magically do the work for you instead of having to follow different links and read a lot of snazzy handouts.
Kudos to the software engineers that built this new system, which allows you to get exactly what you need where you need it by entering in county and activity. Alternatively, you can see all activities at a glance by inputting just the county (all the different activities will pop up in your county) or search specific activities across all counties by inputting just the activity (I.e. Restaurants). Unfortunately, they left out industry-specific links, so you have to do the searching yourselves on the covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/ site, but the search terms for the industries we care about are: Bars (where no meals provided), Breweries (where no meals provided), Concert venues, Distilleries (where no meals provided), Festivals, Grocery stores, Hotels and lodging (tourism and individual travel), Live theaters, Nightclubs, Restaurants (dine-in), Restaurants (take-out and delivery), Wineries. Note that if you’re looking for bars, breweries or distilleries that are providing meals, you’ll find the guidance under restaurants, and apparently cannabis retailers were completely left out of the blueprint (?!?).
Wineries are still the favorite child among alcohol producers (without the requirement to provide meals), although the state has tried to explain the distinctions it’s making by identifying the risk criteria around the restrictions on different activities and sectors, without tying the factors to the activities and sectors (more about the tier framework here).
Good luck with the new blueprint, and don’t forget to wear a mask, wash your hands, and keep six feet distance!
This blog is dedicated to occasional (and hopefully interesting) reports of state and national alcoholic beverage regulatory developments that we encounter in our practice. Booze Rules (and any comments below) are intended for informational use only and are not to be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice please consult with your counsel.