ENROLLED 2020 Regular Session HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 73 BY REPRESENTATIVES SCHEXNAYDER, ADAMS, AMEDEE, BEAULLIEU, BRYANT, BUTLER, CARRIER, COUSSAN, COX, CREWS, DESHOTEL, DUBUISSON, ECHOLS, EDMONDS, FARNUM, FIRMENT, FONTENOT, FREIBERG, FRIEMAN, GADBERRY, GAROFALO, GOUDEAU, GREEN, HARRIS, HORTON, ILLG, KERNER, LARVADAIN, MCCORMICK, MCFARLAND, MIGUEZ, GREGORY MILLER, MINCEY, NELSON, CHARLES OWEN, ROBERT OWEN, PRESSLY, RISER, ROMERO, SCHAMERHORN, SEABAUGH, THOMAS, THOMPSON, W HEAT, AND WRIGHT A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health and the division of administration to provide an immediate update to the Legislature of Louisiana on efforts to establish an application or system to track the incidence and spread of COVID-19 and to urge the governor to amend his Proclamation Number 58-JBE-2020 to conform with the White House Guidelines for Opening Up America Again. WHEREAS, since the first presumptive case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana was announced on March 9, 2020, cases have been confirmed in all sixty-four parishes of the state, and Governor John Bel Edwards has issued multiple proclamations and orders aimed at preventing and reducing the spread of the virus; and WHEREAS, the impact of the coronavirus in Louisiana is widespread and ongoing, with both immediate and potentially long-term risk to the life, health, and well-being of Louisiana residents, as well as the severely detrimental impact on Louisiana's economy; and WHEREAS, each day more and more businesses are reported closing their doors for good due to their inability to operate during the COVID-19 shut-down; and WHEREAS, the Governor of Louisiana has proclaimed that Louisiana can move safely into Phase 1 as outlined by the White House guidelines for Opening Up America Again; and WHEREAS, a business cannot function without its employees, and the legislature trusts Louisiana business owners to comply with strict social distancing guidelines to keep their employees and customers safe; and Page 1 of 2 HCR NO. 73 ENROLLED WHEREAS, throughout this time, the Louisiana Department of Health has tracked and updated on a daily basis the number of confirmed cases in the state, as well as the number of COVID-19-related deaths and the number of tests performed and completed; and WHEREAS, with the governor's most recent stay-at-home order set to expire on May 15, 2020, and as work continues on Louisiana's economic recovery and the recovery of the health, safety, and well-being of Louisiana's residents, it is necessary to ensure that Louisiana is acting quickly to establish systems and processes to immediately identify and contain future spread of COVID-19. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health and the division of administration to provide an immediate update to the Legislature of Louisiana on efforts to establish an application or system to track the incidence and spread of COVID-19. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request that the governor revise Subsection (G) of Section 2 of his Phase 1 Order, Proclamation Number 58-JBE-2020, to mirror the White House Guidelines for Opening Up America Again that require businesses to operate under strict physical distancing protocols, rather than setting an arbitrary occupancy percentage limit. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the request encompassed by this Resolution shall not be construed as approval, endorsement, or promotion by the legislature of the practice of contact tracing, as administered by the Louisiana Department of Health, as a response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Louisiana Department of Health, the division of administration, and the governor. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE Page 2 of 2