Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This pandemic has impacted both landlords and tenants across California in their ability to meet their financial obligations. To aid both tenants and landlords, the State Legislature, this week, took early action to extend the eviction moratorium through June 30, 2021 and distribute $2.6 billion of the latest federal stimulus dollars to cover unpaid rent.

According to a PolicyLink report, in Santa Clara County alone, 37,305 households owe an estimated $173.5 million in "back rent" (or unpaid rent). Of those households, 22,269 are low-income. When back rent is eventually due, tens of thousands of families will be faced with evictions and crippling debt while, at the same time, landlords will see severe financial hits and cashflow challenges.

While it is imperative that we take action immediately to get federal relief money out the door to protect our most vulnerable, to avoid crushing debt and mass evictions, we also need in place a backstop through tenant-landlord mediation to ensure tenants or landlords that don't receive adequate funding don't fall through the cracks.

This is why I have been pushing for, as part of this equation, increased tenant-landlord mediation services. A lifeline to both landlords and tenants, mediation is necessary to bring parties together and resolve contentious situations. To this end, I'd like to thank my colleagues on the Senate Budget Committee and Chair, Senator Nancy Skinner for moving forward with my idea for a statewide multilingual call-center to answer questions and provide direct technical support to landlord and tenants over the phone to help ensure that no one goes unhoused. For those landlords and tenants that lack internet access, this call center will be essential in helping them access the services they may need.

We have a responsibility to do this right so that nobody is left behind. View my full comments here and learn more by reading the below local news coverage.

Mercury News: California lawmakers approve rent relief, eviction protections

KTVU Fox: California lawmakers extend eviction moratorium through June

SF Gate: California lawmakers agree to help cover some unpaid rent

Town Hall with County COVID-19 Vaccine Officer

Many of you joined me on a weekly basis last year for virtual Town Halls with experts to answer your questions about the COVID-19 health emergency.

I will be hosting my next virtual Town Hall on Thursday, February 4th at 6:00pm that will be focused on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout across our County and the State. Along with me, you will hear from the foremost expert on this subject, Santa Clara County COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib.

To RSVP for this Town Hall, visit this link. Upon RSVP, you will be emailed a link to join the virtual Town Hall. You can ask questions during the Town Hall or submit them in advance to Senator.Cortese@sen.ca.gov

For those of you unable to make it on February 4th at 6:00pm, the Town Hall will be livestreamed and available for later viewing on my website, https://sd15.senate.ca.gov, and my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/davecortesegov. Closed captioning will be available through the livestream on my website.

EITC Awareness

Friday was EITC Awareness Day. Both the Federal EITC (EITC) and the California Earned Income Tax Credit help millions of working people claim their hard-earned dollars every year. Help us spread the word so everyone who qualifies for the credits can get them. The EITC can help increase your tax refund to help you pay for things you need like rent, groceries & transportation. Be sure to claim your money this tax season. Learn more at CalEITC4Me.org.

COVID-19 By the Numbers in the State and Nation

Positivity Rate for California:

California's positivity rate is a key indicator of community spread. As of 01/28, the 7-day positivity rate is 7.5% and the 14-day positivity rate is 8.5%.

Nationwide COVID-19 Numbers (reported by the Center for Disease Control, CDC, from previous day):

As of 01/28, there have been:

• 25,456,670 total positive cases, with 155,504 new cases reported from the prior day.
• 427,626 total deaths, with 4,107 new deaths reported.

For more COVID-19 data provided by the CDC, click here

Tests Conducted in California:

As of 01/28, there have been 41,470,634 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 218,152 during the prior 24-hour reporting period. These numbers include data from commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California (UC) and Stanford, along with the 25 state and county health labs currently testing.

California COVID-19 Vaccination Progress:

Learn more about California vaccine distribution here.

National COVID-19 Vaccination Progress:

Learn more about national vaccine efforts here.

Update on COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Vaccination Efforts in Santa Clara County

As I mentioned in a previous Newsletter, the California Department of Public Health, this past week, made the decision to return the state to its tier system that will allow for the expansion of our businesses and activities with safety precautions in place in Santa Clara County, including limited service of our personal care services, outdoor operations of gyms and fitness centers, and outdoor dining. Learn more about what is open in our County at this link.

The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department announced 191 new deaths from COVID-19 last week, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,395 in Santa Clara County as of January 30th, 2021. The total case count has now reached 101,453 with a 7-day rolling average of new cases (based on specimen collection date) at 722 cases per day.

As of January 30th, there were 479 COVID positive patients hospitalized in Santa Clara County (down from 585 the prior week and 638 the week before that) with 129 patients in the ICU. COVID positive patients now occupy 37% of all ICU beds, and just 14% of beds are currently available. These ICU bed capacity numbers already factor in surge beds that are staffed. More data can be found through the Santa Clara County Public Health Department's Data Dashboards.

The County's COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard is updated daily with information about vaccine allocation and administration by healthcare providers throughout the county. that your official and most up-to-date source of vaccine-related information in Santa Clara County is sccfreevax.org.

County COVID Testing Locations

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center continues to offer free drop-in and appointment-based COVID-19 testing at several locations across the county. Residents can book an appointment for various sites in Vietnamese, Chinese, Spanish, or English. Visit www.sccfreetest.org to search for an available site by City or Date, or to see the complete list of available County testing sites.

Additional Community-Based and State-Operated Testing Options

Roots Community Health Center and Gardner Health Services continue to organize free, community-based drop-in COVID-19 testing events every Wednesday. Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) provides similar community-based testing every Friday at their Story Road site. No appointments are necessary, and all individuals are served regardless of insurance or immigration status.

• Roots Community Health Center: Antioch Baptist Church parking lot, 268 E. Julian St, San José, 95112. COVID-19 testing offered Wednesday from 10am to 3pm. For more information or to pre-register see here or call 408-490-4710.
• Gardner Health Services: Mexican Heritage Plaza, 1700 Alum Rock Avenue, San José, 95116. Testing offered Wednesday from 1pm to 7pm. For more information, call 408-457-7100.
• AACI Health Center: Story Road Clinic: 749 Story Rd, #50, San Jose CA 95122. Testing offered Friday from 9am-12pm. For more information, call 408-975-2763.

In addition, there are several testing sites now operated OptumServe, a State contractor. The drive through sites previously run by Verily's Project Baseline at Independence and Mount Pleasant High Schools have been transferred to OptumServe. These sites are free but require appointments. Visit here or call (888) 634-1123 to schedule an appointment:

• Independence High School (drive through): 617 N. Jackson Ave., San José. Testing offered Sunday through Friday from 7am to 7pm.
• Mount Pleasant High School (drive through): 1750 S. White Road, San José. Testing offered Monday through Saturday from 7am to 7pm.
• Gilroy Civic Center: 7351 Church St., Gilroy. Testing offered Friday through Tuesday from 7am to 7pm.
• Gavilan College: Social Science Building, 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd, Gilroy CA 95020. Testing offered Tuesday through Thursday from 7 am to 7 pm
• Grange in Morgan Hill: 40 E 4th Street, Morgan Hill CA 95037. Testing offered Friday from 7 am to 7 pm.
• Valley Water (Mobile Van): 5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose CA 95118. Testing offered Wednesday and Thursday from 7 am to 7 pm
• James Lick High School: 2951 Alum Rock Ave., San José. Testing offered Tuesday through Saturday from 7am to 7pm.

State Resources Posted on My Website

State resources and services available during the pandemic have been posted on my new website: sd15.sen.ca.gov. Just click on the "COVID-19" link under the "Resources" tab of my website to get connected to some of the most frequently used state resources, including resources for businesses and employers, students, those in need of housing and financial assistance, and more.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or concerns. I can be reached at senator.cortese@sen.ca.gov.

Thank you,
Dave Cortese