New rules in North Carolina: Mask mandates explained.
A Rise in COVID-19 Hospitalizations Sparks Speculation of Mask Mandates
A recent surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations has ignited discussions about the possibility of federal officials reinstating mask mandates this fall. However, new laws in North Carolina have placed limitations on the governor’s authority to impose public health restrictions.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased for five consecutive weeks, reaching 12,613 new admissions for the week of Aug. 12. This marks a significant rise of over 21% compared to the previous week.
Mask Mandates Return in Certain Institutions
This week, Morris Brown College in Georgia and Lionsgate, a major Hollywood Studio, have reintroduced mask mandates. Additionally, universities such as Rutgers and Georgetown are now requiring masks to be worn indoors, as reported by No College Mandates, a group that tracks COVID-19 policies in higher education.
While the current increase in hospitalizations is still significantly lower than last year and 2021, the head of the CDC, Dr. Mandy Cohen, remains a strong advocate for masking and limiting gatherings.
Limitations on Governor’s Authority
In 2020, North Carolina’s Emergency Management Act was utilized to impose various restrictions, including mask mandates and limitations on leaving home, attending school, and operating businesses. Even houses of faith faced restrictions, and the state of emergency lasted a staggering 888 days.
In response to these measures, lawmakers, primarily led by the Republican majority, passed several bills to curtail the governor’s authority during a declared emergency. Although Governor Cooper vetoed all of them, a budget bill signed in November 2021 included a series of changes.
The new provisions, effective since Jan. 1, require greater agreement from statewide elected officials on the Council of State. They also mandate consultation with the General Assembly to extend a state of emergency. The Council of State comprises the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, commissioners of labor, agriculture, and insurance, as well as the state’s auditor, superintendent of public instruction, and treasurer.
Under the new law, the governor must obtain consensus from a majority of the Council of State within 48 hours before exercising any power or authority requiring their concurrence. If council members fail to respond within the given timeframe, their lack of response is considered a concurrence.
Furthermore, the law requires the governor to document the contact and response of each council member and publicly publish those responses on the same website where executive orders are posted. These changes effectively limit a governor’s ability to unilaterally impose emergency powers or restrictions without consensus from the bipartisan council.
Additional provisions of the law define a statewide emergency as one that applies to two-thirds or more of the counties and impose restrictions on the duration of an emergency. A declared state of emergency automatically expires after 30 days without approval from a majority of council members. If necessary, the council can extend the state of emergency to 60 days, but any further extension requires approval from the General Assembly through the passage of a law.
The new provisions also prevent any governor from bypassing the General Assembly or Council of State by issuing a substantially similar declaration of emergency arising from the same events that led to the initial declaration.
North Carolina’s restrictions on emergency powers have earned a score of 66 on the Maine Policy Institute’s Emergency Powers Checks & Balances Scorecard 2023. This scorecard rates states on a scale of 1-100, with higher scores indicating greater safeguards of liberty through legislative counterbalance to the governor.
North Carolina’s score is tied with Arkansas for the eighth highest figure, trailing behind South Carolina at 83, Kansas at 81, New Hampshire and Minnesota at 76, Montana and Utah at 73, and Alaska, Michigan, and Georgia at 71. Pennsylvania follows at 69, with Kentucky at 67.
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