Previously I wrote about Hillsborough County's Safer-At Home Order. Well, today things changed. Previously Governor Desantis was allowing cities and counties to make their own "safer-at-home" orders. Today, the Governor issued a statewide safer at home order. You can read the entire order here.
Importantly, the Governor's order originally stated that it supersedes all local orders issued to the extent they define "essential services or essential activities" broader than the state does. So, localities could have issued orders that are more stringent than the Governor's, but not more lax. That changed later on in the day when the governor issued an order stating that the Governor's order superseded all local orders without exception. So, Governor's order is controlling on the subject statewide.
The Governor's order does not define many essential services itself, instead it refers to (1) a list created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and (2) a Safer-at-home order issued by Miami-Dade County. Both of those documents are attached as exhibits to the Governor's order.
The Governor's order does list a few essential activities:
- Attending religious services,
- Participating in recreational activities (outdoor activities with physical distancing),
- Taking care of pets, and
- Caring for or otherwise assisting a loved one or friend.
The documents attached the order list many different essential activities. The broad categories of activities include: healthcare, law enforcement and first responders, food and agriculture, energy, water and waste water, transportation and logistics, public works and infrastructure support services, communications and information technology, critical manufacturing, and financial services.
However, taken together, the Governor's order and its attachments are more restrictive than Hillsborough County's. Hillsborough County's order listed as essential businesses any business that can guarantee physical distance of 6 feet or more. The Governor's order and its attachments don't have such a broad category.
The broadest essential service appears to be this one from the Miami-Dade order: "Any business that is interacting with customers solely through electronic or telephonic means . . . ."
The information you obtain on this website is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult with an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
April 2, 2020