Summary: Gov. Greg Abbott said that he’ll leave his COVID-19 emergency declarations intact until the Texas Legislature [88th Legislative Session] bans mask and vaccine mandates. Dropping his pandemic order “would allow local governments to once again enforce occupancy limits, mask mandates and vaccine mandates.” “Gov. Abbott will not let any government trample Texans’ right to choose for themselves or their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses or get vaccinated,”
Latest Update: Friday, 27 January, 2023
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Gov. Abbott reveals why the COVID restrictions are still in place in Texas, four years later.
• Gov. Greg Abbott says he won’t give up COVID-era power until Texas lawmakers ban vaccine mandates, strengthen border, The Texas Tribune, 26 January 2023, Excerpts. Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that his pandemic-era public health disaster declaration, which has given him unprecedented powers for the past 1,049 days, would stay in place until state legislators pass laws banning COVID-19-related restrictions on Texans and strengthening the state’s power at the border.
“I’m going to keep that in place until the legislators codify my executive orders that ban mask mandates, that ban forced vaccines and things like that,” Abbott said. “I want to see that get passed.”
The Republican governor has been intensifying the pressure on legislators to codify those restrictions on cities and counties since banning the practice through an executive order.
Abbott’s office has maintained for months that it has no plans to join the ranks of those dropping the orders, releasing a statement in December that doing so “would allow local governments to once again enforce occupancy limits, mask mandates and vaccine mandates.”
“Gov. Abbott will not let any government trample Texans’ right to choose for themselves or their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses or get vaccinated,” spokesperson Renae Eze said in a written statement.
• Gov. Abbott to Preserve COVID Emergency Order Until Legislature Passes Mask, Vaccine Mandate Ban, The Texan, 26 January 2023, Excerpts.
The governor provided three reasons for preserving the disaster declaration will soon stretch into its fourth year.
In a Thursday morning interview with Lubbock radio host Chad Hasty, Gov. Greg Abbott said that he’ll leave his COVID-19 emergency declarations intact until the Texas Legislature bans mask and vaccine mandates. The governor renewed his COVID-19 disaster declaration on January 15 — a tradition that will turn three years old in March.
Asked why he continues extending the orders, Abbott said it was biding time, for three reasons: for the Legislature to “codify his order” that prohibits public or private vaccine and mask mandates, for the body to pass a state version of the federal Title 42 policy, and for the Texas Supreme Court to rule on his lawsuits against school districts that implemented such mandates.
State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) filed House Bill (HB) 1491 [Legiscan] that would establish a state version of Title 42, the federal provision that allows the government to expel illegal immigrants from the U.S. under the guise of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Biden administration to continue enforcing the provision, staying a lower court ruling that it be ceased.
The fight over mask and vaccine mandates has been long drawn out. Most recently, Abbott has called on the Legislature to pass its own ban, adding it to the special session call in October 2021.
The Legislature did not pass that ban during its truncated session, which focused mostly on redistricting.
The Legislature began the 88th Legislative Session this month, which adjourns sine die on May 29. Until then, the members have the chance to pass vaccine and mask mandate bans once and for all — until which date, the governor’s orders will continue to be renewed.
Most legislation passed takes effect the following September or January after the session, but if they get enough support, those laws may take effect immediately. How long Abbott renews his orders depends not only on the passage of these laws, but also on how much support they garner in the Legislature.
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