New compromise bill in NC legislature would allow for public mask wearing to prevent disease

Republicans in the state House and Senate have agreed to revised legislation around mask wearing, a compromise that would ensure that people can legally wear masks in public to prevent disease.

Last month, the state Senate passed a version of the bill that eliminated any exemption for people to wear marks for health reasons. But some House Republicans balked at the change, forcing the two GOP-led chambers to work together on compromise language.

Democrats were against the measure in both chambers, pushing Republicans to allow for mask wearing for people with health concerns.

Current law allows any person to wear "a mask for the purpose of ensuring the physical health or safety of the wearer or others."

The new proposal narrows that exemption, allowing people to wear "a medical or surgical grade mask for the purpose of preventing the spread of contagious disease."

The Senate-passed version sparked outcry from some disability and free speech advocates and became a national story.

House Bill 237 also enhances penalties for people who wear marks while committing crimes and for protesters who block traffic, changes sought after pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses and that have blocked major roads in the Triangle. Civil rights advocates still oppose those portions of the legislation.

“Even though a health exception was added back in, H237 would allow police officers to stop anyone wearing a mask for any reason — or for no reason at all — raising serious Fourth Amendment concerns," said Liz Barber, director of policy and advocacy at the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. "This bill will allow for even more targeting of Black and Brown communities by giving law enforcement the ability to stop anyone wearing a mask. This bill is part of an anti-democratic, nationwide trend to silence protests." 

House Speaker Tim Moore said lawmakers requested guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services, which had expressed a desire to keep the exemption in place. "So the language that's in this bill represents that," he said.

"What we wanted to do was not allow folks to go out and break the law and conceal their identity doing so," Moore said. "At the same time, we want to make sure we take care of folks who want for legitimate medial reasons."

The 50-member Senate approved the bill 28-0 on Thursday with all Democrats not in the chamber. They objected to an unrelated provision about campaign finance that was included in the bill and were not there in protest.

The House didn't vote on the measure Thursday after sending the measure to the rules committee. The chamber is scheduled to vote Tuesday.