Thread by @emily_hoeven

I’m at the Capitol attending the first legislative hearing on CA’s COVID-19 spending since the state govt was shut down last month. Follow this thread for updates for my experiences from this historic hearing.

Before getting my temperature taken and being asked if I’ve experienced any symptoms of the virus, I was greeted with this sign outlining mandatory social distancing protocols.

People are being escorted one at a time from the lobby to the elevator, and only one person can be on the elevator at a time, accompanied by a masked and gloved sergeant at arms.

In the hearing room, there are only 6 open seats in the top gallery and 18 open seats in the bottom gallery because there needs to be 6 feet of distance on all sides. I’m told only 2 senators will be physically present at the hearing and 7 will call in remotely.

Here’s me with my mask in the upper gallery. It’s completely silent so far, and there’s only one other person up here with me. (My talented mother @kelly_hoeven made this mask for me!)

.@HollyJMitchell, who will be leading the hearing today, has arrived, and is wearing a fun red mask.

The other members will be calling in via Zoom. Let's hope all the necessary security measures were taken!

.@CASenatorJim has arrived and is being instructed how to put on a face mask.

.@HollyJMitchell: “This is going to be interesting.” She shows @CASenatorJim a screen with all the other members, except for @NancySkinnerCA who hasn’t called in yet.

One of the senators, I'm not sure who, is being told to change their Zoom account name to "the proper name."

There are some technical issues going on. "Too many connections." Someone's getting a restricted message. "People are having to leave the meeting to fix their names, because if I don't know your name, you're not getting in this meeting - it's one of the security measures."

Now, they're going to reboot. "Is it a website thing?" "No, it's the server." "It's not our servers." "We're rebooting the server." "No, it's the actual Senate website, it's getting hammered."

"We're rebooting the server because the server's getting pounded because of everyone trying to get in. They're going to try allocating space to other machines."

.@HollyJMitchell is telling the senators to do horizontal view on Zoom, because right now they're on gallery view. "Could you please place your device in the horizontal position so we all have the same view?"

.@HollyJMitchell: "Senator @NancySkinnerCA, pick up your phone and turn it. You may have to turn it back again."
Skinner: "My device is horizontal. It's an iPhone and I'm looking at it right now."
Mitchell: "Pick it up out of the tripod, give it a twist, and put it back."

.@HollyJMitchell: "There's a box that keeps popping up on the left and I didn't see it yesterday. It's some kind of list. Do you know what it is?"
Someone goes over to help. "The problem is, there's some kind of phantom..." checks their watch. "Let me see."

They still haven't heard an update on the server. People are on the phone.

Someone is on Mitchell's computer trying to "disable a device."

It sounds like the server is the main problem. "I don't know how much time we have, but right now we're waiting on the servers."

Everyone is on their devices trying to figure things out

Everyone in the room is now whispering to communicate. Someone just started to give a tech update loudly and they were shushed so members of the public can't hear.

They're testing the mics, and announce that they're still waiting, presumably for the server.

@CASenatorJim just started saying something about a "worst-case scenario." I can't hear exactly what he's saying but it sounds like he's trying to think of Plan B.

Now everyone is just sitting quietly and waiting. Hard to tell if they’re frustrated behind the masks, but I sense they are

While we're waiting, other observations: There are hand sanitizers and Clorox wipes spaced out on all of the tables. And everyone has a different mask. It would be interesting to know where they got/made them. It's completely silent, which is quite eerie.

There were two people sitting in a corner who I'm pretty sure are in charge of tech. But neither of them are in the room, and haven't been for some time. Not sure where they went.

There is also a sergeant-at-arms waiting in both the upper and lower balconies. If anyone needs to leave for any reason, they will have to be escorted individually out of the room.

Someone just came in and gave Mitchell updates, but I can't hear what they are because they're going up in front of her and whispering the information, and showing messages back and forth on a screen.

Someone just came in with an extra laptop and they're hooking it up to some of the tech people's laptops. A can of Clorox wipes is getting tangled up in the cords.

Mitchell and another woman are showing each other their phones instead of communicating out loud. BTW, not all of the people in this room are always practicing physical distancing.

BREAKING: Hearing will "be starting soon."

OK, it's officially starting, @HollyJMitchell just called the meeting to order.

"We're starting late because of some problems with the Senate server. 10,000 people beyond what we anticipated attempted to sign on, which complicated our situation with the server, but we're working hard to make sure people will still have access."

"I hope you'll understand the unique circumstances under which we are trying to do the people's work and be patient as we proceed ahead."

The 3 foci of today's hearing: The $1 billion through SB89, how the state intends to spend money through emergency services, and how the federal stimulus interacts with our state response and fiscal decisions.

Here’s what the meeting looks like live!

"We have received numerous emails from stakeholders throughout the state. This hearing is not structured to go through each individual issue, but we need to understand the budget dynamics that exist for these individual questions."

"CA is better prepared than ever to experience an economic downturn. If we had experienced it a decade ago, we would already have been out of cash. But it likely won't insulate us from economic harm coming our way."

Opening remarks from Jim Nielsen: "These are unusual times, and it's the more critical now than ever before than Legislature to exercise oversight authority regarding expenditures. The administration has been very good to work with, but we're at a new stage."

"A bunch of contracts are being let and we don't know what they're about, and a lot of monies are being spent and obligated."

They're doing a virtual roll call. One of the senators was on mute for a while. Senator Pan has a Zoom background of a city.

Holly Mitchell: "I am thrilled that we have so much public interest in the state's business. I'm going to give you the number right now for you to call, and you can form a queue for the end of the meeting. 18772268216. code is 1593295."

Gabe Petek of @LAO_CA: "Economic situation: The pace of job losses make it clear that the economy has entered a recession, and possibly a quite severe one. This is the largest rate in one-month unemployment since 1975. But it's probably an understatement of what's happening."

"Two scenarios. 1) activity will remain suppressed but enter activity later this year or next year. Bc the shutdown was intentional, it's more likely demand will spring back once restrictions are lifted. Less optimistic: Virus is slow to dissipate, restrictions stay in place..."

"And there's a slow, sluggish recovery. Worst case would be if the virus came roaring back, and we have to restart this cycle all over again. Our read on the situation: The economic outcome likely depends on the evolution of the virus itself."

"The fed govt, more than the state, is the entity with the fiscal capacity to run deficits. The adequacy of federal fiscal response will play a large role in economic recovery we may see."

"There was CARES act, but it's almost certain more will be needed. The CARES act did include $150B for states and local govts for direct response to pandemic. CA is eligible for $15.3B of this. However, given severity of downturn, there's an argument more aid is necessary."

"And states are good vehicles for getting large sums out of money out into the economy in a relatively quick fashion. Governor has requested discretionary aid which would be helpful."

"Likely state now faces a budget problem, potentially a significant one. Realistically, it will take several months to get a clear idea of the budget situation due to the timing and nature of the downturn. We are finalizing budget estimates with an incomplete picture."

There’s a budget document up on the screen, but it’s too far away for me to read (although I assume it’s much easier on the livestream!)

Vivek Viswanathan, Chief Deputy Director, Department of Finance is next up on Zoom: "Can you hear me?"
Holly Mitchell: "We can."

The people in the room are watching/listening to the people on Zoom from this big screen in the corner, although Holly Mitchell is using her laptop.

Viswanathan: "We expect $7B on COVID-19 in 2020, and other expenditures for Medi-Cal and other critical programs."

"The federal stimulus package is not enough to address our needs. Newsom asked for $1 trillion and specific asks in other areas. Even $1 trillion won't be enough to avoid the hole we're in, but will help us minimize the most devastating cuts."

"The number of times we say, 'We'll get back to you with more information,' may happen more than in typical hearings, especially for some of the details related to the contracts, tracking PPE and other materials; future planning. The course of pandemic is uncertain."

"The final area, this is both a public health and economic crisis -- is the May revision. The governor is still finalizing his key decisions for how he wants to finalize that budget. We don't want to speculate on courses of action until he's made his final decisions."

Love the Zoom background of the California Capitol!

Chris Hoene, executive director of CA Budget & Policy Center, is next up to speak

I love Holly Mitchell’s mask!

There's a slight delay between when Sen. Mitchell is asking questions and when the person answering pops up on screen. Someone in the hearing room has control over muting/unmuting the people on the call.

Viswanathan: "The funds in the rainy day fund can't be accessed unless there's a budget emergency declared by the governor, a situation of disaster or peril, or revenues less than the last 3 years. Leg would have to take action. Only 1/2 of fund can be withdrawn in a given year."

Mitchell is queuing up senators to ask questions. First up is Senator Moorlach -- he's directed to say who he'd like to direct the question to so IT can unmute the respective person.

Chief Deputy Director of OES responds to questions about BYD contract:"We're maximizing federal reimbursement for these supplies and are also protecting CA's investment with appropriate considerations and abilities to adjust the amount and terms if it doesn't meet specifications"

Moorlach: Why can't a California manufacturer make the masks?
"They're not coming online quick enough to meet the need and the scale, but the vast amount, because we have so many people in California, we needed to employ this more rapid solution to get a dedicated supply."

When will we see contract?
"We intend to provide contract. We have concerns about releasing too many details because our concern is getting the supply into CA for the people who need it. There are a lot of things that could come into play to interfere with that in some way."

Heading out of the hearing now to go write up tomorrow’s @calmatters newsletter! Only 9 people showed up at the hearing today: 5 lobbyists, 4 journalists, and 1 member of the public.

I’ll check in on the livestream and audience questions. Let me know if anything in particular catches your eye! 👀