Justices put a halt to mask mandate
SAN ANTONIO — The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked San Antonio and Bexar County’s mask mandate, marking the latest development in a flurry of court battles over mask requirements statewide.
The decision comes after an appellate court this month allowed the local mask mandate to stand, despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order barring public entities from instituting such requirements. The new ruling is a win for the governor and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who had asked the high court this week to step in and stop local officials.
“The Texas Supreme Court has sided with the law, and the decision to enforce mask mandates lies with the governor’s legislatively granted authority,” Paxton said in a release. “Mask mandates across our state are illegal, and judges must abide by the law. Further noncompliance will result in more lawsuits.”
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said shortly after that he was “personally disappointed” in the decision but would still “do all that I can to fight for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Bexar County.”
“We are continuing to work with the city of San Antonio to determine the next steps in light of the order issued today,” he said.
The county had issued its mandate this month, requiring face coverings in local government buildings and asking the same of public school districts. Both city and county officials have cited the recent surge of positive COVID-19
tests and hospitalizations in advocating for the requirement.
In the order, the high court noted that the lawsuit does not consider whether people should wear masks or whether government officials should compel them to do so. Rather, the justices said, the case concerns which levels of government can make those decisions.
“The status quo, for many months, has been gubernatorial oversight of such decisions at both the state and local levels,” they wrote. “That status quo should remain in place while the court of appeals, and potentially this court, examine the parties’ merits arguments to determine whether plaintiffs have demonstrated a probable right to the relief sought.”
The court has yet to make a final decision on the matter, which could take weeks or months. Several similar but separate lawsuits, including two in Houston and Dallas, are also currently being litigated.
It’s not yet clear how Thursday’s ruling impacts an Aug. 19 decision by the high court to temporarily allow mask mandates in school districts across Texas, a policy that Abbott has also banned.