Texas Supreme Court Upholds Governor’s “No Mask” Mandate Order Against Local Governments
Ruling: State law empowered the governor to ban local governmental entities from imposing mask mandates due to COVID-19. Greg Abbott v. Harris County, et al., No. 22-0124 (main and concurring opinions) Issued June 30 by the Texas Supreme Court (TSC).
- Note: After dismissing the injunction involving orders to impose mask mandates by various Harris County officials, the justices then proceeded to dismiss other mask related injunctions involving: 1) La Joya ISD, 2) Fort Bend County, 3) Dallas County, and 4) San Antonio/Bexar County.
Justice Jimmy Blacklock, writing for the entire nine-member court, concluded that provisions of the Texas Disaster Act and the state Health and Safety Code collectively allows the governor to issue his COVID-19 disaster declaration and executive order prohibiting local governmental entities (including public school districts) from issuing mask mandates within their jurisdictions.
Governor has “The Lawful Authority”
“We hold that, during a declared disaster, the Governor has the lawful authority to prohibit local officials from imposing mask requirements in response to a contagious disease,” Blacklock wrote.
Justice Debra Lehrmann, in her concurring opinion, agreed that the governor has the “final say” when the state government disagrees with a local government on how best to strike a balance between respecting the liberties of the people and reducing the spread of a contagious disease.
But she also noted that “With the worst of COVID-19 behind us, it is easy to forget — or worse, minimize — how perilous the unchecked spread of the disease was.”
More than 92,000 Texans Died
Lehrmann cited state health data reflecting that from March 13, 2020 (when the governor declared a state of disaster for all Texas counties due to COVID) to May 10, 2023, more than 92,000 Texans died as a result of the virus, and many thousands were hospitalized.
Lehrmann added that if Texas is one day faced with a pandemic involving a virus that spreads as easily as COVID-19, but is more deadly, “our representatives must be able to thoughtfully use all the tools at their disposal and strike an appropriate balance based on the evidence supporting both sides of the equation.”
