Committee introduces RS31857, a proposal to prohibit government mask mandates with specified exemptions

Representative Bieswinger introduced RS31857, a proposed measure that would prohibit any government official from imposing a mask mandate intended to prevent the transmission of viruses and infectious diseases. The committee voted to introduce the proposal for further consideration.

Bieswinger described the measure as narrowly targeted and noted several explicit exemptions in the draft: healthcare settings (for example, dentists and surgeons), and occupations with protective requirements such as welding or concrete work where respiratory protection is related to job hazards rather than infectious-disease control. "This bill will simply prohibit any government official from posing a mask mandate for the purpose of preventing the transmission of viruses and infectious diseases," Bieswinger said.

Committee members discussed the bill’s similarity to past measures and procedural expectations. Representative Barbieri asked whether the measure was identical to last year’s version; Bieswinger replied it appeared "exactly the same" based on his review. Representative Kiely cautioned that the draft reads as ‘‘an outright prohibition’’ rather than a narrow set of guardrails and requested that medical or public-health professionals be invited to testify at a future hearing to provide clinical perspective.

Representative Palmer moved to introduce RS31857. The motion passed on a voice vote; there was no roll-call tally in the transcript. The committee did not take public testimony at this meeting but members signaled they expect to invite outside experts when the proposal returns for formal hearings.