Miami will ask voters: Should airport screen all travelers for COVID-19 symptoms?

City commissioners want Miami International Airport to screen all arriving passengers for coronavirus symptoms, and they are going to ask voters if they agree in a straw poll during the August primary.

Such a measure would mark a major expansion of an existing screening effort focused on travelers coming from countries and states hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez strongly rebuffed the idea, saying the county does not have legal authority to conduct health screenings on its own — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts tests for certain travelers now.

Gimenez accused commissioners of political posturing by putting the question on the ballot, which will ultimately cost taxpayers about $120,000 — a price that frustrated commissioners who do not believe they should have to pay the county that much to piggyback on a primary that is already happening.

Miami’s city government does not run the airport. It is controlled by Miami-Dade County’s government, headed by Gimenez. Without direct authority over the county’s aviation division, city commissioners are turning to voters to measure support — and likely to mount public pressure — for a mass screening program.

On Thursday, commissioners unanimously voted to hold a straw poll during the Aug. 18 primary, posing the following question to the electorate:

“Would you support requiring the Miami-Dade County Mayor who has authority over the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department to start a program to screen all passengers arriving at Miami International Airport for the COVID-19 virus?”

The non-binding ballot question could be seen as a pressure tactic to urge Gimenez to deploy a broader screening system.

“It’s not a great amount of effort to do this,” said Commissioner Joe Carollo, who sponsored the straw poll resolution. Carollo and Mayor Francis Suarez have been pushing for more restrictions and screening on travelers passing through the airport since March. These positions have put them at odds with Gimenez.

In April, Suarez sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging his administration to suspend all flights to MIA from domestic and international COVID-19 hot spots. The next day, Gimenez told the White House to disregard the letter.

“It’s not his purview,” Gimenez said at the time.

Since this disagreement, the state and federal governments have imposed more measures. Trump recently signed a proclamation banning Brazilian nationals from entering the U.S. while requiring medical screening of all U.S. citizens returning from Brazil. The screening mandates random temperature checks and requires all such travelers to answer health-related questions and give contact information to health officials.

These screenings are happening for passengers on three weekly flights from Sao Paulo and one daily flight from London, another place designated a hot spot by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under a separate state order signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is requiring passengers from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana to fill out health questionnaires and to self-isolate for 14-days upon arriving.

Gimenez blasted the commission’s vote in a statement Thursday evening.

“The City of Miami’s non-binding straw ballot seems to be an expensive exercise in political posturing that has no realistic solution because, under federal law, local governments have no authority to do health screenings at airports,” Gimenez said. “This is a complete waste of the City of Miami’s taxpayers’ money at a time when that city is looking at a multi-million dollar budget deficit. It’s futile, ridiculous and totally political.”

Before his comments, Miami commissioners expressed similarly harsh feelings toward the estimated fee that will be charged to the city to place the question on the ballot. The $120,000 fee, which could include paper, ink, translation service and additional formatting, seemed unreasonably high to Miami’s elected officials. In the past, commissioners had not noticed such costs, which are more notable now that city is facing a projected $21 million budget deficit due to lost revenues during the pandemic.

“This is absurd,” said Carollo, who suggested challenging the fee in court.

Suarez said the fee, even if the city has been charged before and was not aware of it, could impede the city’s ability to check the county’s perceived inaction.

“If they’re not doing something, we can’t sue them,” Suarez said. “This is a mechanism that we have to express to the county that it’s not just five commissioners and mayor that want you to do something. This is the people of the city of Miami telling you that they want you do to it.”

The city also disputed the county’s statements on who has authority to conduct screenings. Miami City Manager Art Noriega told commissioners he has an email from the Federal Aviation Administration that said airport screenings are under the purview of local governments.

“The local authority has the option to screen if they so please,” Noriega said.

After requesting a copy of the email, the Miami Herald did not receive it as of Thursday evening.

Gimenez’s office said county attorneys have explored the possibility of placing temperature-taking cameras in the airport, but such tests are not reliable enough on their own, and the FAA has not issued guidelines as to what types of cameras would be allowed.

The county mayor said he has asked the federal government to mandate point-of-origin screening at other airports with travelers who are bound for Miami, placing the responsibility for screening outside Miami International Airport.

Miami Herald staff writer Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.