Report by Paula Antolini, August 6, 2021, 8:04PM EDT
SEN. ROB SAMPSON & REP. GALE MASTRONFRANCESCO ON LATEST EXECUTIVE ORDER:
Hartford – Senator Rob Sampson and Representative Gale Mastrofrancesco provided comments following the Governor’s latest Executive Order “empowering” towns to implement their own, individual mask mandates.
“Today’s executive order is a mechanism to allow the Governor to pass the buck to town leaders. It basically states that Gov. Lamont will look the other way while towns choose to break the law. While we support more local decision making, this Executive Order is improper and implies local leaders have authority that they do not lawfully possess.
“The press release claims that he is enabling town leaders to enact mask mandates. In truth, his Executive Order merely says that he will choose not to nullify their actions if they initiate a broader mask mandate, despite exceeding their legal authority to do so.
“This is especially confusing given the questionable power of any government authority to mandate mask wearing. Our position has been that the Governor of Connecticut never had such authority, but there is no question that municipal CEOs most certainly do not.
“Further, as we pointed out in the most recent debate in the House and Senate on extending the Governor’s emergency authority, there is no current emergency relative to the Coronavirus. We are fully aware of the existence of the Delta variant and the increase in positive test results; however, the data provided by the executive branch does not support continued emergency authority or actions.
“Hospitalizations, and deaths have dropped so significantly that the Governor’s office now reports the statistics on a weekly basis only, instead highlighting the important – but much less relevant to public health – positivity rate. In yesterday’s report, there were only three deaths in the most recent week. We are certainly sympathetic to the individual circumstances, but three deaths, in a state of 3.5 million individuals, hardly constitute a state of emergency. Particularly, when the administration is ignoring the rampant increase in murders and criminal activity across our state. That is the true emergency that should be addressed.
“Town leaders throughout the state must understand that they do not have the authority to mandate mask wearing. We live in a free society, and each of us is entitled to undertake our own fact and science-based research to make informed decisions on whether to get vaccinated or wear masks.
“It is not our job as a government to protect citizens from every risk they may incur when leaving their homes, and it’s certainly not right for Governor Lamont to put pressure on municipal leaders to improperly interfere in the personal health and safety decisions of free citizens.”
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CT State Senator Rob Sampson is the leading Constitutional Conservative and our most fierce freedom fighter in the CT legislature.
CT State Representative Gale Mastrofrancesco (R) 80th District Representing Wolcott & Southington.
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