Public testimony will be taken by the Juneau Assembly at its Monday meeting on two controversial ordinances: One that would require a face mask be work in public indoor settings, and another that would establish a “systemic racism review committee” that would review every ordinance before it was enacted to ensure it does not promote racism.
The mask ordinance will be discussed during the 5:30 pm special Assembly meeting.
The systemic racism review committee is on the agenda of the 7 pm Committee of the Whole meeting.
The proposed mask ordinance would mandate cloth or surgical fabric coverings over a person’s nose and mouth when in publicly accessible indoor locations or indoor communal areas outside the home. Exceptions would be made for those with disabilities and young children. The proposed emergency ordinance requires six votes to pass. Read the ordinance here.
According to the city manager’s report, it would better if citizens voluntarily wore masks, but he says they are not doing so in sufficient numbers to eliminate community transmission.
“Mitigation of this disease is critical for the well-being of our citizens, our businesses, our school system and our health care system,” according to Manager Rorie Watt.
“Numerous trusted public health officials have identified that mask wearing is one of the most important COVID19 transmission mitigation measures. These health officials include the Alaska Chief Medical Officer, the Alaska Chief Epidemiologist, and the director of the Centers for Disease Control.”
The systemic racism review committee is a proposed ordinance that will create the new 7-member committee charged with reviewing all Assembly legislation and advising on whether an action by the Assembly likely includes a systemic racism policy.
The systemic racism committee would be appointed by the Assembly and would be comprised of “the most balanced representation possible. Members shall have experience identifying unlawful discrimination— including based on race, color, or national origin—experience identifying social justice inequity, or intimate knowledge of local tribal culture and practices. The Assembly must appoint only candidates that it believes would legitimately represent the long term interests of those groups.”
Read more about the ordinance here. The Assembly will not be taking final action on Monday.
To provide public comment, call the Municipal Clerk’s public testimony request phone line at 586-0215 or send an email to [email protected] by 3 p.m. July 20 and provide your full name, email address, the phone number you’ll be calling from, and the agenda topic(s) on which you wish to testify.
You can also testify by clicking the “Raise Hand” button (online Zoom Webinar) or press *9 (telephone) when those items come up on the agenda. Testimony time will be limited based on the number of participants. Members of the public are encouraged to send their comments in advance of the meeting to [email protected].
The public can listen to the audio or watch the meeting in a few different ways: connect directly to the Zoom Webinar https://juneau.zoom.us/j/94684718036, call 1-346-248-7799 and enter Webinar ID 946 8471 8036; or watch on Facebook Live.
