Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, is leading a legal fight against his state’s Democratic governor to stop a mask mandate covering kindergarten through high school students.
Cameron filed an eight-page brief with the state Supreme Court this week arguing that Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s mask order for schools is barred under state law. Beshear issued the order on Tuesday on the eve of the start of the school year for dozens of districts over concerns about the spread of the Delta variant.
“Three facts are undisputed. First, Kentucky law as amended by the general assembly during its 2021 session prohibits the Governor from reissuing a mask mandate. Second, the Boone Circuit Court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the Governor from violating Kentucky’s new laws. And third, both the Court of Appeals and this Court have refused to stay that injunction,” Cameron wrote in the brief.
The attorney general went on to blast Beshear’s claim of “supplemental authority” to reinstate the mask mandate over Kentucky’s school’s.
“What’s his authority? He cites his own executive order requiring children above age two and adults to wear masks at all schools and daycares,” Cameron said. “But the relevant authority, of course, is what the General Assembly has passed into law.”
“Nine months ago, this Court told the General Assembly it could end the emergency,” he continued. “House Joint Resolution 77, enacted over the Governor’s veto, declared an end to the state of emergency as of June 29, 2021. … And Senate Bill 1, also enacted over the Governor’s veto, prohibits a new declaration of emergency ‘based upon the same or substantially similar facts and circumstances as the original declaration or implementation without the prior approval of the general assembly.’”
“It matters that the General Assembly expressly prohibited the Governor from re-imposing a mask mandate. It matters that the Governor is under a permanent injunction from the Boone Circuit Court prohibiting him from violating these laws. And it matters that the Court of Appeals and this court have refused to lift that injunction,” Cameron concluded. “Regardless of whether the Governor’s mask mandate is a good or bad idea, his issuance of it offends the rule of law.”
Beshear’s order took effect on Tuesday as classes for dozens of schools across the state were set to begin on Wednesday. Beshear said the Delta variant was causing a surge in cases faster than “we have ever seen during COVID.” As The Daily Wire reported:
Beshear said the virus is “hitting kids in a way that we haven’t seen before,” but health officials say most children who are infected experience mild symptoms and do not require hospitalization. Still, the number of children requiring treatment has increased.
The governor cited data indicating a steep rise in overall coronavirus-related admissions.
“For hospitalizations, we are seeing the most significant, severe slope, meaning the rate of growth, that we have ever seen,” Beshear said. “We are doubling the number of Kentuckians hospitalized with COVID-19 every two weeks.”
Kentucky Department for Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said the state saw a 43% increase in hospitalized COVID cases in one week.