PORT ANGELES – Gov. Inslee said Monday that state and local law officials are going to start cracking down on non-essential businesses that are not complying with his “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order. (To see list, click here)
Saying his office has received thousands of calls from across the state that some individuals and businesses are not complying with the emergency order, Inslee said the first step will be a warning from local law enforcement.
If the business still does not come into compliance, the state will take action by issuing a citation, suspension of permits or even the revocation of a business license.
Inslee said the last resort would be to refer a business owner to the state attorney general’s office for civil or criminal charges.
To get a sense of where we’re at here in Clallam County in terms of compliance, we spoke with Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King. He told us, coincidentally, the Sheriff’s Office had just fielded 4 calls Tuesday morning having to do with non-compliance. He thought that only one of those was regarding a business, which was a construction site, but he didn’t yet know the outcome. King was quick to point out the Sheriff’s priorities on the subject.
“Our mission and our role in our eyes remains exactly the same, and that is education, and having a conversation. There still remains some uncertainty and we field a lot of questions about what is essential versus what isn’t essential. A lot of it is well defined. Some of it is still pretty gray. That list can change and is evaluated as, for example, a business can actually contact the Governor’s office and seek guidance on whether they’re essential or not, or whether they can actually be placed upon those essential lists, too.”
We also spoke with Port Angeles Deputy Chief Jason Viada, who told us that as far as the Police Department was concerned, their focus is on voluntary compliance.
The governor’s office has created a special form to report businesses violating the stay-home order. To access it, click here.
For inquiries about your own business’ classification, click here.