Fox 59
INDIANAPOLIS – Attorney General Curtis Hill believes Governor Holcomb is overstepping his authority with a mask mandate and making it a Class B misdemeanor if someone doesn’t wear one.
A Class B misdemeanor carries a potential 180-day jail sentence and a fine of up to $1,000. Holcomb made a point to say the “mask police will not be patrolling Hoosier streets.”
“The simple act of covering our faces, as odd as it may feel, can help us prevent the transmission of the virus,” he said.
In his opinion letter, Hill cites Indiana’s Emergency Management and Disaster Law does not state the governor has the power to criminalize the mandate.
“The governor has taken conduct that has not been specifically criminalized by the General Assembly and unilaterally declared it as criminal,” Hill’s letter states. “The General Assembly has not clearly delegated this last-making authority to the governor, and cannot delegate law-making power.”
Hill is calling on the governor to call a special legislative session to allow all lawmakers of the state to have a say.
“Before a certain conduct is determined to be subject to criminal penalty, it should receive considerable debate by the legislative body that represents the people of the state,” Hill said in a press release.
Hill points out he is not against wearing a mask or the science behind it, but rather that the proper legislative process was not followed.
“Executive orders have an important and legitimate function during times of emergency,” Hill said in the release. “But by this point in the pandemic — more than four months since the emergency declaration — it’s time to show some deference to the branch of government actually charged by our state constitution with the responsibility for enacting laws.”
We have reached out to Holcomb’s office for a response.
To read the attorney general’s full letter, click here.
