Raleigh, North Carolina — A new, revised version of a bill that initially drew criticism for removing pandemic-era exemptions to wearing masks in public for health reasons was approved by the North Carolina House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The revised bill still increases penalties for those who wear masks while committing a crime. The bill was introduced in response to university protests against the Gaza war. The previous bill also banned wearing masks in public for health reasons.
After lengthy debate led by Democrats, the state Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 69 to 43. The state Senate passed a compromise version last week. The bill now heads to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk, a Democrat.
The bill, which already removed a 2020 exemption to wearing a mask in public for health reasons, swiftly passed the Senate last month. But debate in the House stalled after Rep. Erin Pare, the lone Republican from Wake County, said she would not approve the bill because the health exemption had been removed. Republicans hold a slim supermajority in the Legislature, meaning all party members would need to be in lockstep to approve the bill or override a veto.
The House then sent the bill back to a Republican-led committee for revisions, which reached an agreement on the bill last week.
The bill added language allowing people to wear “medical or surgical masks” to prevent the spread of the disease. It also would allow law enforcement and property owners to ask people to temporarily remove their masks to conduct identification checks.
“Basically, as long as you’re not planning on breaking the law, you can wear a mask for your health and safety,” said Rep. John Trubett, a Gaston County Republican who is one of the bill’s sponsors.
Another new factor could make it easier for wealthy donors to try to influence this fall’s election without facing more direct scrutiny.
The bill would allow 527s and other federal committees, a special type of political organization named for its location in the IRS code, to donate funds to state political party committees from accounts that allow 527s and federal committees to receive unlimited donations from individuals.
State Republicans argue that a 2020 State Election Commission advisory opinion that allowed limits on campaign finances prevents groups like the Republican Governors Association from supporting the state GOP. Rep. Gray Mills, an Iredell County Republican, said on the House floor that he would make the political contribution process “fair and balanced for both parties.”
But the core of the original bill remains, focusing on increasing penalties for people who wear masks while committing crimes or disrupting traffic during protests. The bill would make the sentence one class higher for the crime than if they did not wear a mask.
Republicans backing the bill argued it was needed in part as a response to a nationwide movement last month to wear masks during a series of protests against Israel’s war in Gaza on college campuses, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The bill is a retaliatory attack against pro-Palestinian protesters who have a right to privacy, Shruti Parikh, political action director for the North Carolina Asian American Coalition, said at a Tuesday morning press conference hosted by a coalition of social advocacy groups.
“It’s essential for our citizens to be able to exercise their right to peacefully protest,” said Dawn Blagrove, executive director of the criminal justice organization Emancipate North Carolina.
The campaign finance provisions received less attention at the press conference than House Democrats, who repeatedly criticized the changes as hasty and a further lack of transparency.
“It’s insane that a country as wealthy as ours, and as proud of its democracy, would allow the power of money to turn that democracy into a sham,” House Minority Leader Robert Reeves said during the debate.
Cooper also opposes the provision, his press secretary Jordan Monahan said in a statement, but his office would not confirm whether Cooper plans to veto it.
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Associated Press writer Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh contributed to this report.