RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – A Republican-drafted amendment that would change state laws on mask wearing and implement new campaign finance rules could reach Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's desk this week.
The bill doesn't eliminate the health and safety exemptions to the state's mask law that have allowed people to wear masks since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it still has Cat Williams concerned.
Williams underwent a double lung transplant in 2020 after suffering from cystic fibrosis, and because she has a weakened immune system, she continues to wear a mask wherever she goes.
“I think they just made things even more confusing than they already were,” she said.
Republican lawmakers introduced an amended bill last Thursday that would allow people to “wear a medical or surgical mask for the purpose of preventing the spread of a communicable disease.”
“Some people have allergies. There's wildfire smoke. There are lots of reasons to wear a mask other than to prevent the spread of disease,” Williams said.
It also includes a provision that would allow law enforcement and owners or occupants of public or private property to request that people temporarily remove their masks for identity verification purposes.
Williams said she believes some viruses spread so quickly that wearing a mask becomes pointless.
“Anyone, not just police officers, can say, 'Please take off your mask so we can identify you,' and you can take your mask off,” she said. “I go to the grocery store, I go to the pharmacy, I go to my doctor's office. Who needs to do an identification check? We have our driver's licenses. There are so many ways to identify people.”
Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said he believes the bill reflects a compromise that would still allow people to wear masks for health reasons while addressing situations where people wear masks while committing other crimes, such as recent protests on college campuses.
“I think the language that we came up with addresses that, and also addresses the more egregious situation where you have people wearing ski masks,” he said. “If they have it and they're wearing it for the purpose of protecting themselves from some illness or other medical reason, then it's not a violation of the law.”
The bill also includes tougher penalties for committing crimes or blocking roads while wearing a mask. Protest organizers could also be held liable if their demonstrations prevent emergency vehicles from reaching people in need of assistance, resulting in serious injury or death.
Senate Democrats walked out of the chamber last week and refused to take part in a vote on legislation after learning that Republicans were including new campaign finance provisions that could allow more “dark money” to flow into state elections through political committees sending funds to state parties.
Sen. Berger said the measure is intended to “level the playing field” after the North Carolina State Election Commission issued an opinion in favor of the Democratic Governors Association in 2020.
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake County) called it “political laundering” and said he was confident Governor Cooper would veto it.
The House could vote on the bill as early as Tuesday afternoon. The House Rules Committee is scheduled to take up the bill Tuesday morning.