by Tony Gray
posted 16 February 2022

QUEENSBURY, NEW YORK --- Senator Dan Stec (R - 45th Senate District) Monday joined Republican colleagues in the state Senate calling for an end to Governor Kathy Hochul's mask mandate for schools. Last week, Gov. Hochul lifted the so-called "vax or mask" mandate on businesses but left in place her mandate for schools. A Hochul statement said school mask mandates would be reevaluated in early March, after the Spring break.

Senator Stec said multiple reports have shown detrimental effects on children and their development from long-term wearing of face masks. A National Institutes of Health review of mask impacts on school-aged children reached a different conclusion. Senator Stec said since the unconstitutional mask mandate was lifted for adults, it makes no sense for it to remain in place for students, the group least vulnerable to COVID-19.

Hochul's executive order mandating mask in New York is considered unconstitutional by many legislators who explain the plenary powers provided to former Governor Andrew Cuomo had been rescinded by the Legislature. So, they argue, she lacks the legislative authority to enact such sweeping proclamations on her own. A Nassau County Supreme Court Judge ruled the order unconstitutional January 24 but the injunction was removed the following day after an Appeals Court overturned that decision.

"Study after study has shown that masks have negatively impacted students' emotional, physical and educational development," said Senator Stec. "It's long past time for the governor to follow the actual science, do what's right for our students and end the unfair and unpopular mask mandates on schools."

An email request for comment from Whitehall Superintendent of Schools Patrick Dee was not immediately returned.

In an effort to end the governor's use of mandates and bring closure regarding this specific issue, Stec voted for an amendment Monday that immediately ends mask mandates in schools and restores legislative checks and balances. The measure was defeated along party lines in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

"Voters didn't elect an emperor; they voted for representation to make decisions that best represent their values," Stec noted. "We must end the cycle of unconstitutional mandates coming from the governor's office and restore the Legislature's role as a necessary check."

The North Country Republican added he voted to do exactly that and considers it a travesty his Democrat-party colleagues in the Senate do not show that same commitment to good government that all New Yorkers deserve.