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Sacramento State Senator Brian Jones (R-Santee) has been named to the Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response. Jones and 10 other Senators were appointed to the committee on April 15 by Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego).

“I am ready to serve on this committee to review how we responded as a state to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more importantly, work to better prepare ourselves for any similar emergency we may face in the future,” he said.

“Thousands of businesses have been decimated, and hundreds of thousands of Californians have lost their jobs. While in many ways, we set the example in how to properly deal with the crisis, there are undoubtedly plenty of things we need to learn from this situation and change our state’s future response to emergencies to better protect all Californians.”

Jones also stated, “When we return to normalcy, we must review what has taken place. All of our leaders, including me, should be held accountable for the decisions we have made. This is how we ensure that the infringements on our liberties are temporary and that they were narrowly tailored to achieve the state’s interest in keeping people safe. We must do so critically and thoroughly. We must be vocal about what was unnecessary overreach, if and when that becomes clear.

The Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response has specifically been charged with: “reviewing the state’s response to the COVID-19 health crisis – what has gone right and what could be improved. The committee also will make findings and recommendations for future preparedness if the Coronavirus returns later in the year, or if the state faces a subsequent pandemic.”