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Missouri AG files suit to stop St. Louis area mask mandates

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Missouri attorney general sues in an effort to stop a mask mandate in the St. Louis area. The mandate took effect Monday amid a rise in COVID-19 cases.

(Related: CDC expected to backpedal on some masking guidelines)

The mandate, one of the first to be reinstated in the country, requires everyone age 5 or older to wear masks in indoor public places and on public transportation in St. Louis city and St. Louis County even if they are vaccinated.

Missouri AG Eric Schmitt filed the lawsuit. “Today, my office filed suit against St. Louis City and County for reimposing their mask mandate on the citizens of St. Louis. This continued government overreach is unacceptable and unconstitutional, especially in the face of a widely available vaccine. There is absolutely no scientific reason to continue to force children to wear a mask in school,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “Back in May, I filed suit against St. Louis County for continuing to impose such unlawful restrictions, and just three days later, those restrictions were lifted. I will continue to fight this seemingly unending control and intrusion on peoples’ lives – we will not back down.”

Information from Schmitt’s Office

The suit, which was filed in circuit court in St. Louis County, names St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, and the respective directors of the county and city’s health departments.

Additionally, the lawsuit notes that St. Louis City and County had some of the most restrictive orders in Missouri and yet still suffered some of the highest COVID-19 case and death rates and that a renewed mask mandate undermines the important push for vaccinations.

Moreover, the lawsuit states that neither St. Louis City nor County cited the statutory authority that would allow them to issue wide-ranging health orders, that both orders are unconstitutionally vague, and that both orders restrict the religious freedom of St. Louisans.

Today’s lawsuit asks the court for injunctive relief to invalidate the mask mandate and for a declaration that the mask mandates are subject to the law passed by the legislature in May (see § 67.265, RSMo).

You can read the full lawsuit here.

Missouri AG files lawsuit against mask mandates, July 27, 2021

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Update: Kansas lawmakers revoke governor’s statewide mask order

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TOPEKA, Kan. – Update: The Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council voted, 5-2, Thursday afternoon to revoke a statewide mask mandate. The decision came just hours after Gov. Laura Kelly issued the new executive order Thursday morning.

Speaker Ron Ryckman (R-Olathe), Majority Leader Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita), and Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch (R-Ottawa) issued the following joint statement:

“Public health mandates should be short-term, data-driven and reserved only for pressing emergency situations. They should not be used to dictate Kansans’ daily lives year after year. If data is the real driver behind the Governor’s approach, then let’s rely on the numbers. In November, the Governor issued her last statewide mask mandate saying there was a “worrying spike” in cases. At that time, Kansas had 5,217 new cases and a 7-day average of 2,430 new cases. Now, Kansas has only 36 new cases and a 7-day average of 216 cases.

Kansans have banded together for over a year to successfully reduce the spread of COVID – and they’ve done so during a time when most counties had opted out of the Governor’s mask mandate. With cases dropping and no data to support the need for another statewide mandate, the best approach has proven to be local control. We support the continued ability of communities to tailor solutions that work for them, and we urge all Kansans to continue to practice recommended measures of infection control for their health and the health of those around them.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday issued an order aimed at encouraging Kansas counties to keep COVID-19 mask mandates, but the policy seemed unlikely to survive the day.

Kelly’s order requires people to wear masks in indoor businesses and public spaces and outdoors when they can’t socially distance. State law gives counties the final say, but her order means that their elected county commissions must take a specific vote to set less restrictive rules or opt out.

(Related: KS Gov. Laura Kelly extends COVID-19 response measures)

The governor said in a statement that the order would ensure that past efforts to check the virus “will not have been wasted.”

A Kansas law that took effect last week gives eight top legislators the power to revoke an order issued by the governor because of a pandemic or other emergency. Those lawmakers planned to meet Thursday afternoon, and the six Republicans in the group have signaled that they will revoke the mask policy.

Kelly issued a similar mask policy in November, but the new law required the governor to reissue it after Wednesday.

Republicans in both chambers approved resolutions this week directing legislative leaders to rescind a statewide mask policy. GOP lawmakers argue it’s unnecessary, given a sharp decline in new COVID-19 cases this winter.