SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Even if the state of emergency ends, the California Department of Public Health still has full authority to implement mask, isolation, and vaccine requirements.
ABC10's Political Reporter Morgan Rynor spent time talking to Gov. Newsom's legal team on Saturday to clarify the laws behind this.
Here is what we know
Republican legislatures right now are pushing the governor to end his state of emergency which does give him the authority to implement mandates.
But it's the CDPH that's made the big, more recent requirements that are in place right now like school masking and vaccines — not Newsom —and that's the key here.
Newsom's legal team says it comes down to Health and Safety Codes 120-140.
The codes say, "upon being informed by a health officer of any contagious, infectious, or communicable disease the department may take measures as are necessary to ascertain the nature of the disease and prevent its spread."
Newsom's legal team said courts in California have interpreted this line broadly, to mean CDPH can impose mandates as they see fit.
A San Diego judge ruled in a November 2021 lawsuit using the health codes saying, "the CDPH is empowered to take action to prevent the spread of disease, which includes preventative measures in the school setting."
Now the big question is will CDPH continue to impose mandates beyond a state of emergency?
Newsom's team did say the offices work together on these decisions. So while Newsom may not be the one officially writing these mandates, he has a say in them.
CDPH is supposed to give us an update on Monday when it comes to masking in schools.
