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Public can comment on mandatory face covering & establishing systemic racism review committee ordinances Monday

July 17, 2020 – Notices for Public Comment

The Juneau Assembly will be taking public comment on two ordinances at two different meetings on Monday, July 20: an emergency ordinance requiring face covering in certain indoor settings during the 5:30 Special Assembly Meeting (agenda), and an ordinance establishing a systemic racism review committee during the 7 p.m. Assembly Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda).

The Assembly is scheduled to take action on the masking emergency ordinance during the special meeting. The ordinance would require people to wear a face covering when in a publicly accessible indoor location or an indoor communal area outside the home. There are exceptions for people with disabilities or young children. This ordinance is very similar to the Anchorage mask mandate and would take effect immediately. As this is an emergency ordinance, it requires six votes to pass. Read the ordinance here.

On the ordinance establishing a systemic racism review committee, the Assembly is taking public comment during the Committee of the Whole meeting but will not be taking final action. The ordinance would establish a 7-member systemic racism review committee charged with reviewing Assembly legislation to advise whether the ordinance or resolution likely includes a systemic racism policy, present options for curing the potential systemic racism, and communicate to the Assembly its conclusions in a timely and succinct manner. Read the ordinance here.

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.