The Los Angeles City Clerk approved a petition for circulation today that aims to have the City Council repeal its requirement that people show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 before entering certain indoor public spaces and outdoor “mega-events.”
The effort is backed, in part, by the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles County. The full text of a one-sentence petition the party submitted last November was: “Ordinance No. 187219 is hereby repealed and replaced with nothing.” Los Angeles City Ordinance No. 187219 requires the above-mentioned proof of vaccination.
According to the L.A. City Charter, the petition needs 15% of the total votes cast for the most recent mayoral election, which was held in 2017. If the petition receives enough signatures but the City Council does not adopt the ordinance, it will be presented to voters. The City Clerk said Thursday that 64,785 registered Los Angeles voters need to sign the petition within 120 days of the completed petition’s filing for it to be considered. The petition must also be filed within two years of its approval.
The proposed move would repeal the city’s proof of vaccination requirement to enter the indoor portions of restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, sports and concert arenas, outdoor large events and city facilities. It comes after the city’s mayor and the state’s Governor — both of whom are vaccinated — were seen maskless at a mega event last weekend: The NFC Championship game at SoFi Stadium.
One day later, County Supervisor Katheryn Barger proposed repealing “blanket Covid masking policies” since, she said, “they’re not consistently followed or enforced.” The truth of the latter assertion was made plain this week not just by the photos of Garcetti and others, but by TV images of what looked to be the majority of the fans at SoFi going maskless. Ditto last night’s Laker game at Crypto.com Arena. Crypto.com Arena has the fourth-highest current tally of worker infections among businesses listed by the County, at 273, according to the L.A. Department of Public Health.
The city began enforcing the vaccination ordinance on Nov. 29 after it was passed by the City Council on Oct. 6.
The law requires people to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test to attend outdoor events with 5,000 or more people.
The Department of Building and Safety can issue administrative citations to businesses that violate the ordinance. The citations include a $1,000 fine for a second violation, $2,000 fine for a third violation and a $5,000 fine for a fourth and subsequent violations.
People can be exempted from the mandate if they have medical conditions that restrict their ability to get vaccinated or a “sincerely held religious belief,” according to the ordinance. Those exemptions are supposed to be reviewed by the location the person is trying to enter.
People who appear over the age of 18 are also required to show identification with their proof of vaccination.
City News Service, contributed to this report.