Labor, Health & Social Services Committee advances bill limiting mask, vaccine and testing requirements for state‑subsidized entities

The Labor, Health & Social Services Committee voted to advance House Bill 96 on Jan. 20, 2025, after adding language that limits the bill to COVID‑19 protections. The bill, sponsored by Representative Darren McCann, would prohibit discrimination by ‘‘persons’’ against people who decline masks, vaccines or testing where the person receives any state or federal subsidy.

The bill’s sponsor and supporters said the measure protects individual liberty for people who choose not to wear masks, receive a COVID‑19 vaccine or take diagnostic tests. “This bill eliminates discrimination for not wearing a mask, not receiving a so called vaccine, or not getting tested,” said former Representative Ward, a guest on behalf of the sponsor. Representative Darren McCann, the bill sponsor, described his medical background and said the bill targets policies that deny services or employment to people who decline mask, vaccine or testing requirements.

Why it matters: testimony before the committee highlighted a practical legal conflict. Federal agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) still require infection‑control measures in some health care settings, and federal grant assurances can obligate airports and other recipients to follow federal…