Utah Senate votes 22-5 to overturn mask orders in Salt Lake, Summit counties

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The Utah Senate has passed a resolution to overturn county mask orders in Salt Lake and Summit counties. The orders were issued amid concerns over the surge in coronavirus cases brought on by the Omicron variant.

The vote was 22-5 to terminate the orders. The measure passed under suspension of Senate rules with no public hearing, as most bills usually get. It now heads to the House of Representatives, but it's unclear when that will come up for debate.

"The House Majority Caucus is in widespread agreement that mask mandates are not the answer," Utah House spokesperson Alexa Roberts told KUTV 2News late Tuesday. "However, we are still looking at the resolution and discussing a variety of options."

SBJ003, sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton), was initially directed at the 30-day mask order issued by the Salt Lake County Health Department. After a short debate in the Senate Tuesday afternoon, a substitute resolution was adopted to include the Summit County mask order.

At a media availability Tuesday, McCay said he filed the resolution because his constituents don't want government telling them what to do, and he questioned the efficacy of masks during the Omicron surge. The current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance recommends mask wearing as a protection against all variants.

"I’ve likened the requirement to wear a mask like trying to wave your arms out the window of a car and try to slow yourself down," McCay said.

The Salt Lake County Republican also said his decision to run the resolution was prompted by seeing his seven-year-old daughter break down in tears when told she needed to wear a mask.

"That impression was poignant enough for me to be willing to step up and end the mask mandate," said McCay.

The Salt Lake County mask order was issued on Friday, Jan. 7 amid Utah’s record-breaking COVID-19 surge and requires people in Salt Lake County to wear well-fitting masks when indoors in public. It runs through February 7.

Sen. Luz Escamilla (D-Salt Lake City) said Democrats opposed overturning the Salt Lake County mandate.

"We have serious concerns," Escamilla said. "This variant is very different, the Omicron variant. But...there’s enough evidence that masks are helping to reduce at least how fast is the transmission."

During debate, other Senate Democrats blasted the resolution as not following the science on masks and flying in the face of local control.

MORE: Governor, county mayor at odds over mask order in state buildings

Earlier Tuesday, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson sent KUTV 2News a statement criticizing McCay's resolution. After the Senate vote, Wilson and Salt Lake County Health Department executive director Dr. Angela Dunn expressed disappointment that the measure passed.

Last year, the Utah Legislature passed a law giving mayors, county councils and ultimately, lawmakers themselves, the power to overturn mask orders.

After the mask mandate was issued, the Salt Lake County Council voted to take up the issue at a special session last week. With a 5-4 vote, the council narrowly allowed the order to stand, maintaining the option to revisit the issue.

Five of the council members attended the meeting virtually, one of whom - Aimee Winder Newton - was dealing with a COVID-19 infection. Winder Newton had previously stated she supported a temporary mask order.

"Right now this virus is hitting so fast and furious that we need to do all we can to slow it down through layered approaches, and using every tool in the tool box," she said during the meeting, "even masks."

The deciding vote came down to Council Chair Laurie Stringham, who made clear that she was not in favor of mask mandates.

"I have been very frustrated because the only thing this council gets the right to do is either uphold the mandate or overturn it," she said.

Stringham also acknowledged that if the council voted to let the mask order stand, there were state legislators who were ready to overturn it.