Two more Valley lawmakers have added their names to a letter by a bipartisan group of 11 state legislators urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to reclassify restaurants as essential businesses deserving special consideration during the pandemic.

The letter dated Friday and signed by state Sens. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, and Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, does not specify at what capacity level restaurants should be allowed to operate but refers to industry-proposed guidelines that would let them “continue to operate safely and at capacity levels that will allow restaurants to stay afloat.”

The lawmakers’ letter notes many restaurants have gone out of business during the pandemic.

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