Annapolis Omnibus COVID-19 Response Legislation
Introduced by: Alderman DaJuan Gay, Ward 6
Written & Researched by: Richard DeShay Elliott
The COVID-19 virus has spread to pandemic levels across the globe, being categorized as such by the World Health Organization on March 11th and forcing Maryland to be placed under a State of Emergency on March 15th. The United States has the most cases of any country in the world, and at time of writing, Maryland has nearly 1,000 cases while Anne Arundel County has 88[1]. Simultaneously, we are experiencing the most rapid economic downturn in American history. 3,283,000 Americans filed for unemployment claims in the last week, nearly 5 times as many as the worst week of the Great Recession[2]. There were 4,517 unemployment claims in just Anne Arundel County during the same period, more than twice as many as the whole state of Maryland in the week prior[3]. This threatens not just working people’s incomes, but their health insurance and housing as well.
This disastrous combination of a global pandemic and a global economic downturn necessitates urgency to prevent financial ruin for the families of our City. The federally-provided one-time payment of $1200 per adult and $500 per child is not enough to sustain an individual, when one bedroom apartments in Annapolis rent for $1329 a month on average and two bedroom apartment rents average $1660[4]. While federal efforts have put a 60-day moratorium on foreclosures and evictions for those with mortgages, renters are still unprotected[5].
- Housing & Utilities
- This legislation calls for a rent freeze, a rent moratorium, and an eviction moratorium for the duration of the State of Emergency for all senior citizens, unemployed persons, individuals in public housing, and those with incomes below 2 times the City’s average income. This legislation will also create a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sheriff’s Department to ensure that eviction orders cannot legally be served under the State of Emergency.
- Rent freeze is defined as “no increase in the price of rent over what the monthly price was in December 2019. Any rent increases since then, or announced during the process of passing the law, will be rolled back to December prices”[6]
- Rent moratorium is defined as “complete cancellation of rent, not mandating backpayment or the present or future ability to sue or evict for unpaid rents”[7]
- Eviction moratorium is defined as “if a renter is not able to pay the rent while under this State of Emergency, the eviction moratorium states that tenants cannot be evicted for any reason.”
- This legislation mandates that there will be a moratorium on utilities and utility shutoffs within Annapolis City limits for the duration of the State of Emergency.
- Utility moratorium is defined as “complete cancellation of utility payments, not mandating backpayment or the present or future ability to sue for unpaid utility payments”.
- Moratorium on utility shutoffs is defined as “if a renter does not pay the utilities while under this State of Emergency, the utility shutoff moratorium states that tenants cannot have their utilities shut off for any reason.”
- This legislation mandates that unoccupied, City-owned properties/housing are used as shelter for the duration of the State of Emergency by those without shelter.
- Banking
- This legislation mandates that all financial institutions within Annapolis City limits remove, and ban for the duration of the Emergency, any fees or negative impact on credit score/history for overdrawn accounts.
- This legislation mandates that all financial institutions within Annapolis City limits remove, and ban for the duration of the Emergency, any charges for check cashing.
- Labor
- This legislation mandates that all employees of essential businesses are granted 3 weeks of sick leave, renewed every 2 months of the State of Emergency, and are required by law to be granted hazard pay, mental healthcare, and personal protective equipment, on demand.
- This legislation requires that workers over the age of 60, with respiratory ailments, and the immunocompromised are given telework opportunities within the best ability of their employer.
- City Services
- This legislation mandates that non-essential City employees have their duties converted to supply distribution, welfare checks of seniors and the immunocompromised, establishing childcare protocol for essential City.private employees, and disseminating information to the public regarding the City’s response. All City employees who continue to work are guaranteed hazard pay.
- All social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, and other mental healthcare providers who are not currently essential workers are mandated as City employees, with the function of treating healthcare workers and providing for the welfare of Annapolis families via calls and home visits.
- Youth
- This legislation mandates that the City of Annapolis will require free public operation of childcare facilities for the children of employees of essential businesses and those currently working for the City of Annapolis.
- Seniors
- This legislation mandates the City of Annapolis compile a list of all City residents above the age of 60 to build the logistics for daily check-in calls, supply distribution, and otherwise protecting the welfare of the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. Lists of their necessary medications must be generated to ensure that our City can secure the supplies of generic medication to persist for an indefinite period of time without risking the lives of our seniors.
- Business Operation
- This legislation grants the Annapolis City Council the right to terminate water and power access for any non-essential business that remains under normal operation during this State of Emergency, along with the right to tax the violating business at twice the value of their profits for each day of continued operation.
- This legislation mandates that all businesses that sell food and beverages are required to donate, rather than discard, food and beverages that can be distributed to City residents in need. Violating businesses will face the same tax increase as businesses in non-compliance with shut-down notices laid out above.
- This legislation mandates hours set aside for only seniors, the immunocompromised, and those with respiratory ailments at grocery stores and pharmacies, ideally with earliest access after restocking.
- Parking, Towing, and Transit
- This legislation mandates that for the duration of the State of Emergency, that no parking fines are levied by the City of Annapolis.
- This legislation mandates a moratorium on car repossession, car payments, and car insurance payments for the duration of the State of Emergency.
- This legislation bans private towing for the duration of the State of Emergency.
- This legislation grants free usage of City transit by all essential employees and employees of Annapolis City government.
- Healthcare Providers
- Hospitals and healthcare providers are required to provide adequate personal protective equipment to all employees.
- Hospitals and healthcare providers within Annapolis City limits are banned for the duration of the Emergency from pursuing outstanding medical debt from patients, including but not limited to, contacting the patients regarding their medical debt, charging interest on medical debt, reporting unpaid medical debt to credit agencies, and instigating lawsuits against patients in pursuit of medical debt.
- Hospitals and healthcare providers within Annapolis City limits are required to provide mental healthcare on demand to healthcare workers for the duration of the Emergency.
- Election Update
- This legislation mandates that all registered voters are notified via robocall, in partnership with the Anne Arundel and/or State Board of Elections, to inform of ongoing updates to the 2020 Democratic and Republican primary elections.
- Recommendations to the Anne Arundel County Council & County Executive
- This legislation mandates that these measures are officially made as recommendations to the Anne Arundel County Council, County Executive Steuart Pittman, and other municipal governments in Anne Arundel County as part of an Anne Arundel County Pandemic Rapid Response Plan.