Fact check: Do NC lawmakers have to follow governor’s COVID orders in their building?
The issue
North Carolina has been under a statewide mask mandate via Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive orders since the summer of 2020.
The Legislative Building is two blocks from the Executive Mansion in downtown Raleigh. There, the state’s 120 House members and 50 Senate members convene to make laws as the General Assembly. The building itself is also a workplace for dozens of legislative staffers, custodians, food service workers, police and the press.
Most lawmakers have been wearing masks in the session that just began. But the leaders of each chamber won’t force it, or issue fines like Congress has started to impose.
Reporters asked House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, on opening day if he would mandate masks.
“I have strongly encouraged wearing masks. Most of our members did,” he said. “I think it makes sense to wear them; I’m not going to mandate it.”
Moore cited an exemption in Cooper’s order for the legislature. Moore added that he thinks the best thing to do is to lead by example and strongly encourage face coverings, too. For the few lawmakers who don’t wear masks, he said it’s their choice.
“I’m going to let them make that choice. They’re adults, let them make that decision,” Moore said.
Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, also told The News & Observer that he would not order people to wear masks but will wear one himself.
“Folks ought to wear a mask,” Berger told The N&O in December.
He said he thinks a lot of people are skeptical about masks.
“My personal belief is they don’t hurt,” Berger said then. “I don’t know if they work or not, but they don’t hurt, and if they don’t hurt, it ain’t that big a deal to wear one.”
Why we’re checking this
The Legislative Building is a public building. Leaders are limiting overall building capacity this upcoming session, but the members of the public planning to visit the building should know what to expect.
Is the legislature exempt from the rules that require masks in so many other public places and government offices?
What you need to know
Is the General Assembly exempt? Yes. This is among the exemptions to various aspects of the governor’s executive orders around COVID-19 response.
There have been several orders that implement and ease some restrictions. The state is currently under Phase 3, which has been extended several times. After being extended again this week, the modified stay-at-home order is now set to expire Feb. 28. It includes the mask mandate, restrictions on business capacity and limits on gathering size as well as a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
According to a previous executive order, state government agencies headed by the governor’s Cabinet and the governor’s office must require on-site workers to wear face coverings when they are within 6 feet of another person. It also states that public-facing state government agencies under the same jurisdiction must follow the rules for retail businesses.
Then it moves on to this: “All other state and local government agencies are strongly encouraged to adopt similar policies that require face coverings.”
Cooper spokesperson Dory MacMillan weighed in on why the governor did not include the other state and local governments in his order.
“The Governor’s Order recognizes the constitutional principle of separation of powers and does not control conduct at the General Assembly,” MacMillan wrote in an email to The News & Observer. “The Governor has personally talked with legislators and has strongly encouraged mask wearing, not only to protect members, but staff and visitors, and there was better mask compliance when the General Assembly convened on its first day.
“This is a matter of life and death, and elected leaders should set the right examples,” she said.
Cooper is a Democrat, and both legislative chambers are controlled and led by Republicans.
Enforcement of the orders across the state varies. The Cooper administration has urged local municipalities to implement civil penalties for violations, and for business owners to enforce masks at the entrance to businesses.
Masks in use at the Legislative Building
At the Legislative Building, there are temperature checks for those entering the two main entrances to the building. Visitors and anything they are carrying must go through security and metal detectors.
Early in the pandemic last year, Republican Rep. Keith Kidwell said on the House floor he wouldn’t wear a mask — no matter what the governor said. His comment came after a mask mandate went into effect, first as a citywide order from Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin and then as Cooper’s statewide order.
He still has not worn a mask.
But other lawmakers who didn’t wear masks last year have started to this year.
Cooper is a Democrat, and both legislative chambers are controlled and led by Republicans.
As the 2021 session began with an opening ceremonial day on Jan. 13, both chambers’ leaders wore masks, as did most lawmakers. Unlike in last summer’s session, both chambers’ sergeants-at-arms and most staffers also wore masks on opening day.
The legislature returned to business on Jan. 27, but no voting sessions are planned until next week. Most of the people in the building on Wednesday wore masks.
Who runs the Legislative Building?
The building itself is run by the Legislative Services Commission, which is led by Legislative Services Officer Paul Coble. Moore and Berger hired Coble in 2015. Coble is a former mayor of Raleigh, Raleigh City Council member and Wake County Commissioner, including serving as commissioners chair.
Legislative Services oversees the General Assembly Police as well as the buildings and grounds and parking, according to state law.
Coble did not answer The News & Observer’s email with questions about the decision not to mandate masks.
Are there other exemptions in the governor’s executive orders?
Yes, many. There are exemptions on the curfew, gathering size and other aspects of the COVID-19 orders.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREOur process
We check claims that are widely shared or published; are about a topic of concern to many of our readers; can be proven or disproven through facts; and could cause people to act or vote in a certain way. This topic met all the criteria.
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Find out more about our process here. And as always, we abide by our newsroom’s ethical guidelines.
Our sources
Executive Order 163 Technical Corrections
North Carolina General Statutes 120-32.1
This story was produced by The News & Observer Fact-Checking Project, which shares fact-checks with newsrooms statewide. It was edited by Politics Editor Jordan Schrader and Breaking News Editor Jessica Banov. Submit a suggestion for what we should check, or a comment or suggestion about our fact-checking, at bit.ly/nandofactcheck.
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This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Fact check: Do NC lawmakers have to follow governor’s COVID orders in their building?."