Mask issue not over: How Horry County could reconsider the mandate

Even though Horry County’s coronavirus emergency ordinance — which includes a requirement that residents and visitors wear face coverings in businesses — expires after Oct. 30, some County Council members are vowing that the fight isn’t over yet.

By utilizing seldom-used procedural tactics, several County Council members have said over the past week that they will move to bring up the emergency ordinance and mask mandate for another debate at council’s next full meeting on Nov. 17.

The debate could lead to council voting to reinstate the emergency ordinance and mask mandate, meaning people visiting businesses in unincorporated Horry County would again have to wear a face covering before entering. Cities like Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach have their own face mask requirements, both of which have recently been renewed.

If successful, Horry County Council will have both killed its emergency order and mask mandate — a signal that leaders felt the pandemic was ending — and reinstated it within a matter of weeks.

Now, a group of council members is hoping to bring the measure back up for another debate and another vote. The move will come as COVID-19 cases in Horry County have spiked in recent weeks, with more than 1,900 so far in October and 26 deaths. At least 20 of those cases, and several of the deaths, have been tied to a late September shag dancing festival in North Myrtle Beach.

“You can see the numbers are spiking in our area and a few hospitals are at capacity and we don’t want to see a situation where we’re back to where we were a few months ago,” said Council member Dennis DiSabato. “I feel like its important for us to have the emergency order in effect so that way our administrative staff can take the steps they need to if we find ourselves with a shortage of supplies.”

How it could happen

In order to bring the emergency ordinance — and with it the mask mandate — back up for reconsideration, one of the council members who voted to kill it will have to ask for the issue to be debated again. Council member Harold Worley, who represents North Myrtle Beach, said either he or councilman Gary Loftus, who represents Surfside Beach, will likely ask.

According to council rules, only a member who voted with the majority on a given issue can ask for the issue to be reconsidered at the beginning of the next council meeting.

That’s why Worley and other members who support the mask mandate voted with their colleagues to kill the emergency ordinance. If they hadn’t, Worley argued, they wouldn’t have the chance to ask for reconsideration.

Once Worley or Loftus asks for council to reconsider the emergency ordinance, Council Chairman Johnny Gardner will call for a vote on whether or not to re-start debate. A simple majority of council, or seven members, will have to vote in favor of re-starting debate for that to happen.

Then the floor is open, and council members can discuss and amend the emergency ordinance. One amendment Worley said members will need to make is changing the language of the mask mandate. At council’s last meeting, Tyler Servant, who represents Garden City, successfully led an effort to have the ordinance say face coverings were “strongly encouraged” but not “required” in businesses and public buildings. Servant said Tuesday that he still supports an emergency ordinance that encourages, but doesn’t require, face coverings.

Worley said that should change.

“I won’t be in favor of any amendments because those tend to be killer amendments,” he said. “It’s designed to kill the motion.”

Council member Bill Howard, who represents part of Myrtle Beach, said he, too, isn’t in favor of masks only being “strongly encouraged.”

“It’s not going to do any good, ‘strongly encouraged.’ We have to require them until at least the vaccine is out there, then people can say. ‘Hey, I’m going to stay indoors until I get a vaccine,’” he said.

Any changes council makes to emergency ordinance during discussion will also require a majority, or seven votes, to pass. To re-enact the emergency ordinance, council will need a super majority, or eight votes, for it to pass.

If reinstated, Horry County’s mask mandate will require residents and visitors to wear a face covering — whether a medical or surgical mask, scarf, bandanna, cloth mask or gaiter — if they’re entering a public place such as a grocery store, restaurant or other retail business. Residents and visitors do not have to wear masks in public places that are outdoors, such as parks and beaches.

Exemptions will also again apply. People who have a health condition or religious belief that prevents them from covering their faces are exempt, as are those who need to communicate with a hearing impaired person. People are also permitted to remove their masks while dining at a restaurant, engaged in “strenuous exercise” at a gym or getting their hair cut. Masks may also be removed if a police officer or other first-responder directs a person to do so.

How council got here

Whether or not to mandate face coverings has been a fraught topic in Horry County from the start of the pandemic.

At a special meeting in July, called to discuss spiking COVID-19 cases in the county, council members voted to enact an emergency ordinance that gave administrators spending power to buy needed protective equipment and mandated that residents and visitors wear a face covering when entering local businesses. Even then, the topic was controversial and was heavily debated at that meeting.

In September, the emergency ordinance caused more controversy when council Chairman Gardner caused the measure to be automatically renewed, angering several on council who voted against it initially and wanted it to end. That caused council to vote on whether to kill the emergency ordinance and mask mandate, though the vote failed 7-5.

The controversy came to another head last week when council voted against extending the emergency ordinance, a result that came after a tumultuous and often confusing council meeting, as members attempted various procedural measures to keep the measure in place. Those efforts failed, and council ultimately voted to not renew the emergency ordinance, instead allowing it to expire after Oct. 30.

Some council members, like Danny Hardee and Servant, believe masks work, and wear one to protect themselves and their loved ones. They don’t believe, though, that Horry County should require that people wear them. It’s a matter of personal choice, they’ve said, not to mention that the mask mandate has proven difficult to enforce.

“If you’re old enough to read and write you shouldn’t need someone to tell you to put a mask on,” Hardee said.

He added that he’s willing to re-debate the issue, and wants to see council use common sense on the issue.

“We don’t need a law or a mandate that we can’t enforce,” he said. “We don’t have the time or the manpower for that.”

As for whether council has the votes to reinstate the emergency ordinance, some, like Howard, are optimistic.

“I think we have eight smart councilmen,” Howard said. “I have no doubt in my mind.”

This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 8:30 AM.