Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee today (6.29.20) signed Executive Order No. 50 to extend the State of Emergency related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to Aug. 29th. The order allows the continued suspension of various laws and regulations and other measures in these orders to facilitate the treatment and containment of COVID-19 through regulatory flexibility, promoting social distancing and avoidance of large gatherings and protecting vulnerable populations.
Gov. Lee also signed Executive Order Nos. 51 and 52, which extend provisions that allow for electronic government meetings subject to transparency safeguards and remote notarization and witnessing of documents, respectively, to August 29, 2020.
Link to all Orders: https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2020/6/29/gov–lee-extends-state-of-emergency-to-aug–29–2020.html
Order No. 50 extends previous provisions. Some of the details of the order:
- Urge Tennesseans to continue limiting activity and staying home where possible, as well as following health guidelines and maintaining social distancing
- Urge persons to wear a cloth face covering in places where in close proximity to others
- Urge employers to allow or require remote work/telework if possible
- Provide that persons with COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms are required to stay at home, and that employers may not require or allow employees with COVID-19 to work
- Limit social and recreational gatherings of 50 or more persons, unless adequate social distancing can be maintained (the 6 counties with locally run county health departments may issue different directives on gatherings)
Executive Order No. 51
Executive Order No. 16, as previously extended by Executive Order No. 34, which allows governing bodies to meet electronically regarding essential business as long as they provide electronic access to the public and meet the safeguards established in that order to ensure openness and transparency, is extended through August 29 to ensure that governmental entities are able to carry out essential business in a safe, transparent way without creating large gatherings in a confined space and endangering persons, particularly those at increased risk of suffering severe illness from COVID-19, while determinations of how best to return to safe, in-person governmental meetings remain ongoing.
Executive Order No. 52
Executive Order No. 26, as previously extended by Executive Order No. 37, which allows for remote notarization and witnessing of documents, subject to compliance with certain procedures, is extended through August 29 to ensure that persons, and particularly populations especially vulnerable to COVID-19, including older adults and persons with compromised immune systems or serious chronic medical conditions, can continue to engage in commerce and execute legal documents without requiring in-person contact.
