Mask mandates are in jeopardy in one state.
The North Dakota House of Representatives, on a 50-44 vote, passed a bill Monday that would ban any future mask-wearing mandates.
The bill, which is now headed for the state Senate, follows the repeal in January of a November order by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum requiring the wearing of masks in public, though some local mandates remain.
State Rep. Jeff Hoverson, Minot Republican, called all mask mandates “diabolical silliness” and the conspiracy of “unelected, wealthy bureaucrats who are robbing our freedoms and perpetuating lies,” according to a report in the Grand Forks Herald.
“Our state is not a prison camp,” he said.
Masks are required in the state legislature, but the Herald reported that the rule is not tightly enforced and House Speaker Kim Koppelman has said that rule may be reconsidered soon.
