RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A new, revised version of a bill that initially drew criticism for removing pandemic-era health exemptions for wearing masks in public 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.
This law was previously Removed exemptions for 2020 A bill requiring people to wear masks in public for health reasons swiftly passed the Senate last month, but was stalled in the House after Rep. Erin Pare, Wake County’s only Republican, said she would not approve it because the health exemption had been removed. Republicans hold a slim supermajority in the House, meaning all party members would need to be in line to approve the bill or override a veto.
The House of Representatives The bill was sent back to the committee. Republican lawmakers negotiated changes to the bill. They reached an agreement on the bill last week.
countermeasure Added languages The law would allow people to wear “medical or surgical masks” to prevent the spread of the disease, and would also 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 Republican lawmakers 2020 State Board of Elections Advisory Opinion The bill, which found that campaign finance limits prevent groups like the Republican Governors Association from supporting state Republicans, would make the political contribution process “fair and balanced for both parties,” Rep. Gray Mills, R-Iredell County, said on the House floor.
but Core of the original legislation The bill remains in place and focuses on increasing penalties for those who wear masks while committing crimes or disrupt traffic during protests, making the sentence for the crime one class higher 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.