HELENA, Mont. (AP) – As US lawmakers gather this winter to deal with the crisis created by the pandemic, state houses could turn out to be greenhouses for infections.
Many legislatures will begin the meeting remotely, but some Republican-controlled state houses, from Montana to Pennsylvania, plan to hold at least some of their sessions in person, without the need for masks. Public health officials say the move threatens the safety of other lawmakers, employees, lobbyists, the public and journalists responsible for holding politicians accountable.
The risk is more than just speculation: an ongoing assessment by the Associated Press finds that more than 250 state lawmakers across the country have contracted COVID-19 and at least seven have died.
The Montana legislature met Monday without masking rules. The Republican majority rejected recent Democratic demands to hold the session remotely or to delay it until vaccines are more available. Otherwise, Democrats demanded masking and virus testing requirements, which were also rejected.
Democratic lawmakers wore masks as they swore. Few Republicans have done the same.
“If the session takes place without public health precautions, it is very likely that the virus will spread in that environment and it is very likely that we will see serious diseases and, God forbid, deaths come from that,” said Drenda Niemann, the officer. Lewis and Clark County Health, which includes the state capital Helena.
Instead of addressing the COVID-19 guidelines before the session, Republicans decided to address them after lawmakers met by setting up a group that would meet regularly to consider updating policies. Senate President Jason Ellsworth said the panel “allows us to be more fluid with the situation” and “allows us our personal freedoms and responsibilities.”
The divergent approaches to the virus – Republican lawmakers largely rejecting masked mandates and blocking measures, and Democrats calling for a more cautious approach – reflect that of Americans in general. This contrast was reflected during the holidays, when millions of people took to the streets and airports, despite calls from health officials to avoid travel and family reunions to help contain the virus, which has claimed more than 350,000 lives in the United States.
Some legislatures try to find a balance between self-employment and protection against disease.
The 400-member New Hampshire House plans to hold Wednesday’s first session with a leadership event at the University of New Hampshire, in what interim President Sherm Packard called “the lowest session of the body” during the pandemic.
The clerk and the speaker will carry out the activities on a heated platform, and the members can watch and listen through a screen or through the car radio. The microphones will be brought to their windows for questions and debates, and voting will take place via electronic devices.
New Hampshire House Speaker Dick Hinch, a Republican, died of COVID-19 on December 9, a week after he was sworn in during an open-air rally at UNH. Democrats have been pushing for distant rallies.
Legislatures in Alaska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Washington require masks, but the requirement does not apply in Pennsylvania. Lack of application is a concern for news outlets that need to balance their ability to cover events with the safety of their reporters.
“If we start to get into a high-visibility issue and there’s an ash of reporters shouting questions at a legislator who is exposed, it couldn’t be a worse situation,” Paula Knudsen Burke told the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Pennsylvania Press.
In Idaho, where lawmakers are not required to wear masks, Melissa Davlin of Idaho Public Television said the media is trying to keep reporters safe while ensuring adequate access for lawmakers, many of whom do not follow the same safety guidelines. publishes as newsrooms.
Ordinary conversations in the lobby are “so valuable for coverage and perspective and even just for the background,” Davlin said. “Losing this is a real loss for our ability to cover the session. But, at the same time, we will not do good to the spectators and readers if we get sick “.
Ohio House Republicans have blocked efforts to impose a masked mandate, despite the fact that more than a dozen lawmakers there have tested positive for COVID-19.
Matt Huffman, the incumbent Ohio Senate president, was due to step down from home on Monday after testing positive for COVID-19. Huffman has shown mild symptoms and will return to the state house after a period of quarantine, spokesman John Fortney said.
In the Wyoming Conservatory, where Republican Gov. Mark Gordon did not issue a masked mandate until early December, lawmakers plan to convene on Jan. 12 to hear the governor’s speech. Legislative leaders will later decide whether to begin a virtual session in February or hold a personal session beginning in March, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.
Wyoming Republican Representative Roy Edwards died the day before election day from what his family later confirmed was COVID-19. Edwards spoke out in opposition to public health restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during his campaign.
In Montana, all upstairs sessions and committee meetings will be available for viewing or hearing online, and lawmakers will be allowed to participate virtually in many hearings, but voting on final bills by proxy is discouraged. Members of the public and lobbyists will be able to testify about invoices using video conferencing if they have access to the technology.
“I feel that this will preferentially censor people who are either vulnerable or who actually appreciate the advice that experts give,” said M. Kumi Smith, an assistant professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota.
Ellsworth, the leader of the Republican Senate, acknowledged that the COVID-19 panel of the Legislature will not solve everything.
“At the end of the day, this is an animal we can’t control,” he said of the pandemic during a Dec. 16 hearing. “I would imagine that we will have members who will get sick. . We may have members dying. But this possibility exists, whether we are here or not. “
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Associated Press writers Holly Ramer of Concord, New Hampshire and Farnoush Amiri of Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.