The Vermont Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to implement a mask mandate for all members, staff and visitors in the Statehouse as a mitigation measure against Covid-19.
The requirement was proposed by Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham, and Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, amid persistent spread of the Delta variant throughout the state.
“All individuals over two years of age entering legislative spaces in the Capitol Complex … shall wear a facial covering regardless of vaccination status,” the measure stated. “Individuals who do not comply with this policy will be asked to leave and may be escorted from the location.”
Exemptions may be granted for medical or religious reasons, in which case a person must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours in order to enter the building, according to the measure. It also states that facial coverings may be removed while eating in the cafeteria or in a private office.
The measure garnered unanimous support but not before committee members posed a range of questions.
Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, asked about the religious exemption, given that the same is typically not offered in schools that require masks. And Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin, wondered whether the Statehouse mask mandate would raise questions over why there’s not a similar statewide school mandate.
The mandate is “something that is temporary while we are not in session as we see a spike with Delta out there,” Balint said. The policy can be adjusted as more data on the spread of the Delta variant becomes available, she said.
Rep. Mike McCarthy, D-St. Albans, spoke in support of the measure, describing the relief he felt that his daughter’s school district has required masks thus far.
“I’m all about the optics of adopting this policy,” he said.
The mandate takes effect Wednesday and is scheduled to remain in effect until “all counties in Vermont are identified as being in a location with ‘low or moderate transmission risk’” as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the written measure.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Sen. Clarkson’s district.
