Republicans Fire Back Against RI's New Mask, Vaccine Requirements

PROVIDENCE, RI — As Rhode Island's new mask and vaccine rules go into effect, Republican state lawmakers sounded off, calling the executive orders "onerous."

As the state faces rising coronavirus cases and hospitals pushed to the brink by the pandemic and staffing shortages, Gov. Dan McKee announced last week that new mask and vaccine verification requirements would go into effect Monday.

The Republican members of the House of Representatives issued the following statement Monday:

These latest mandates are harmful to individual privacy and our struggling businesses. While some may differ about whether these mandates are good policy, it is indisputable that such mandates must be made under clear legal authority.
That legal authority no longer exists because in June, 2021, the General Assembly limited the Governor’s emergency powers to 180-days, which only the General Assembly may extend (RIGL § 30-15-9(g)).
Rather than seek General Assembly permission to extend his emergency powers, Governor McKee cynically attempted to bypass the 180-day law by declaring a “new” state of emergency over the Delta Variant. A COVID-19 variant, by its nature, is not a “new” emergency. It remains the same pandemic we’ve dealt with for nearly two years.
Governor McKee’s move to skirt the General Assembly’s required oversight and approval violates the spirit and letter of the 180-day law. Since it is clear that Governor McKee cannot lawfully issue these mask and vaccine mandates without General Assembly oversight and authorization, House Republicans will submit legislation to further nullify these mandates, unless and until the Governor seeks and obtains the General Assembly’s lawful approval for his continued use of emergency powers.
For too long during this pandemic the General Assembly disregarded its responsibilities and our system of checks and balances - until June, 2021, when it wisely limited the Governor’s emergency powers to 180-days. We call on our colleagues to go on the record regarding the Governor’s willful disregard of this law we just passed to impose harmful mandates on our residents and businesses.

As of Monday, Rhode Island's daily percent positivity rate was 8.1 percent, nearly double the 5 percent threshold considered safe. The state is also poised to exceed 3,000 total COVID-19 deaths before the end of the year, with 2,998 to date.