South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
GOP lawmakers rejecting masks, mandates
GOP lawmakers say each person should decide as cases surge
Many are going maskless and resisting rules requiring them in their own capitols, even in states where coronavirus cases have surged.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Many Republican lawmakers in states where coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have surged are not only rejecting statewide mask mandates. They’re also resisting rules requiring them in their own capitols.
Efforts to require lawmakers and staff to wear masks have received a cool reception even in statehouses that have seen outbreaks of the virus or where Republican governors have issued statewide mandates. It’s echoing apartisandivide nationwide over a simple step that health experts say is proven to help keep others safe.
“We’re supposed to be modeling for our constituents and for our residents in our state,” said Arkansas state Sen. Stephanie Flowers, a Democrat in the majority-Republican Legislature who proposed a rule requiring senators towear a mask or risk losing their per diem payments. “You’ve got the governor asking everyone to wear a mask and socially distance. It’s not like I’m asking for something nobody has heard of.”
Many legislatures are still planning and drafting rules for their 2021 legislative sessions, while four chambers approved rules requiring masks for sessions this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Nearly 200 legislators nationwide have tested positive for the virus and four have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press. After at least four dozen Mississippi lawmakers tested positive in the largest outbreak in a legislature, where masks were encouraged but not required for lawmakers.
Health experts warn the public is taking their cue from elected officials at a time those officials are trying to restrict or discourage indoor gatherings that are fueling a rapid rise in cases.
“We know itworks, but if political leaders don’t stand behind their public health officials and say we need to do this, a significant portion of the public may not follow,” said Dr. Jeffrey Levi, professor of health policy at
George Washington University.
Legislatures have taken steps to try to limit the virus, with some allowing remote voting and others meeting in larger venues to allow more spacing. Arkansas’ House, for example, met in a basketball arena for two sessions last spring but will return to the Capitol next year.
Twelve Arkansas lawmakers have tested positive for the virus over the past month, the second largest known outbreak in a state legislature.
The latest outbreak began after lawmakers convened at the Capitol for budget hearings last month. The budget panel had adopted a mask rule that didn’t require lawmakers to wear them when speaking into amicrophone, drinking or if they were at least six feet away fromother people.
Flowers has diabetes, which puts her at a higher risk of complications from the virus. She pulled down her proposal for a stricter rule in the Senate to make changes based on concerns raised about the measure and plans to bring a reworked version back when lawmakers conveneinJanuary. House Speaker
Matthew Shepherd said he expected that chamber to take up a version similar to the Joint Budget Committee’s rule.
Republican Sen. Trent Garner called Flowers’ proposal and its penalties “draconian” and said the Legislature should be held to the same standard as the statewide mask mandate GOP Gov. AsaHutchinson signed earlier this year.
“We don’t need to create a ‘tell on each other’ rule when it comes to public safety,” Garner said.
Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson tweeted Tuesday shewould no longer have Thanksgiving dinner with her mother
after attending a legislative meeting with Republican members who weren’t wearing masks.
“We aren’t having a big family Thanksgiving dinner (with) mom due to COVID, but I was going to eat with her at a distance,” Johnson wrote, adding that being around her legislative colleagues for the past two days will now mean she’ll “leave her food on the steps.”
House and Senate leaders in Oklahoma announced plans to impose a mask mandate for employeeswho work inside the Capitol after two lawmakers tested positive last week. But legislative leaders acknowledged that individual legislators
couldn’t be forced to wear masks.
An outbreak among Missouri state senators that postponed a special session focused on federal coronavirus aid hasn’t spurred a requirement for lawmakers there to wear masks either. Republican senators were photographed not wearing masks during a caucus retreat with GOP Gov. Mike Parson.
“Senators have been encouraged towear masks and many have done so as they move around through public spaces,” Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz said. “It is, however, ultimately up to each individual to make that decision.”