Wearing a mask will be mandatory for most Indiana residents in public areas on Monday, including Bartholomew County, but it’s still unclear whether those who refuse to "mask up" will end up "paying up."
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order Friday requiring most people in the state age 8 years or older to wear a mask or face covering at least through Aug. 26 while in public. The order came after state health officials reported increasing numbers of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations across the state.
The mandate is specific for mask wearing in indoor public spaces, commercial entities and on public transportation, as well as when outdoors and without the ability to maintain 6 feet of physical distance from others, among other provisions.
Holcomb initially said not complying with the mask order would be a Class B misdemeanor — which carries up to a $1,000 fine and 180 days in jail in Indiana — but also said he did not expect police to issue fines or arrest people for not wearing masks.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
The governor dropped the planned criminal penalty from the mandate he signed Friday after objections from some law enforcement officials and conservative legislators, The Associated Press reported.
Instead, he placed the responsibility for enforcement on state and local health departments "through education about the importance of wearing face coverings and dispelling myths and misconceptions about the use and/or the benefits of the requirement," the executive order states.
Dr. Brian Niedbalski, Bartholomew County Health Officer, said the Bartholomew County Health Department will initially give warnings to local establishments that “have a pattern of complaints” involving the failure to comply with the mask executive order. County health officials plan to discuss the possibility of imposing fines, he said.
“Enforcement has been a big discussion point,” Niebalski said. “We know that the health department will be taking most of the calls about mask wearing. The goal will be education, and contacting any establishments that have a pattern of complaints. Warnings will be given initially. We hope fines will not be necessary, but we will be discussing that possibility internally.”
Currently, it is unclear how much the fines would be, under what circumstances they would be issued or if they would even be imposed at all.
Local order set aside
Though Holcomb’s order allows local communities to impose stricter mask rules, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and Niedbalski said they are not considering a stricter mandate. They have set aside a local mask mandate that was in the works when the governor made his surprise announcement Wednesday, Lienhoop said.
Earlier this week, local officials announced they were in talks about a possible local mask mandate modeled after similar measures in place in Marion and Monroe counties and planned to consider moving forward with one even if Holcomb had backpedaled.
"I’ve had a chance to read the governor’s order, and I’ve also communicated with Brian Niedbalski, who is our county health officer, and we’ve concluded that this does what we felt we needed for the city of Columbus, so we’re going set any separate orders aside and we’ll just rely on what the governor has issued," Lienhoop said.
Lienhoop, however, said if more people wear masks, Columbus may avoid having to take measures similar to Indianapolis, where Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett closed bars, postponed school and issued other restrictions on Friday due to the spread of the virus.
"We’re not to that point," Lienhoop said. "We are watching the numbers that are reported to us by Columbus Regional (Health), and candidly, those numbers are not trending in the direction we want, but I don’t think we’re at the point yet where we would consider some business closures or further restrictions. I think if we could get a higher rate of compliance (with masking) than what I see already, then these other measures such as we’ve seen in Indianapolis and elsewhere, I don’t think they’d be necessary."
‘We’re not the mask police’
Several of the state’s police chiefs and sheriffs said they wouldn’t have officers respond solely to calls about face mask violators. Some went as far as saying they considered Holcomb’s proposed mask mandate unconstitutional.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbus Police Department said Friday they were not planning on being the “mask police” and would not be having officers or deputies patrolling looking for people not wearing masks.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers said Friday that he didn’t feel it was fair to ask law enforcement officers to enforce the mandate, adding that he supported the mandate for wearing masks as long as there was no punishment attached to it.
"We as a sheriff’s office respond to car accidents, domestic incidents, battery, serious crimes and we are covered up with serious calls,” Myers said …We are not able to enforce whether people are or are not wearing a mask, and I don’t think it’s fair to ask us to enforce that. I do feel the governor’s heart is the right place with this — it’s a tough time."
Columbus Police Department spokesman Lt. Matt Harris said CPD’s understanding is that the health department is in charge of enforcing the mandate. Officers will continue to respond to service calls about disturbances or disputes involving masks, particularly if they involve threats of physical violence or trespassing.
"CPD will respond to breaches of the peace and service calls about persons being asked to leave a business and refusing, which is a trespassing violation," Harris said. "The CPD supervisor on duty will determine what the department’s response is to a service call about masks on a case by case basis," Harris said.
Myers said sheriff’s deputies also will respond to calls about people who refuse to leave a business after being asked, including if the dispute or disturbance involves a customer refusing to wear a mask.
“In situations, which have been reported across the U.S., where people begin fighting about wearing a mask, we can charge people with a crime, particularly when it escalates into physical violence,” Myers said. “Fighting is not an appropriate response to the mask mandate. If it turns into something criminal, if it is battery, we will enforce the law. …If you go in without a mask and the business wants you removed, it is a trespassing incident.”
Other local police agencies had expressed similar views on the mandate.
Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess said in a statement Thursday the sheriff’s office will not police the state’s mask mandate in the county, and people should not call 9-1-1 to report someone for not wearing one.
The Whiteland Police Department also released a statement saying its officers would not police it.
The Greenwood Police Department will not respond to calls related to mask-wearing, and concerned residents should call the county health department instead, Chief John Laut said.
“We do not have the manpower and staffing to go out and write tickets for people not wearing masks,” Laut said.
Legal debate
Officials across the state have been engaging in a mask-mandate debate since Holcomb’s announcement.
On Wednesday, Indiana District 69 Rep. Jim Lucas took to social media to announce plans to draft legislation that would limit the governor’s power in emergency situations.
In his post, the Seymour businessman said he feels the executive order signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb mandating wearing masks is unconstitutional. On the social media post commenting about the mask executive order, Lucas is shown wearing pantyhose over his head in a selfie photo.
Lucas was not the only government official and others who took issue with the order.
State Attorney General Curtis Hill, who is also a Republican, issued a non-binding opinion Wednesday night, saying Holcomb would be overstepping his authority and that only the state legislature could make violations a criminal offense. That opinion was in response to questions from five Republican state senators regarding Holcomb’s legal power.
Some conservative lawmakers criticized Holcomb’s mandate announcement for using the state’s emergency law to sidestep legislators, who haven’t been in session since adjourning in March just before widespread coronavirus precautions began.
The opinion, which does not block the governor’s action, said the state’s emergency law doesn’t give Holcomb authority for the mask mandate without the consent of the Legislature. Hill said the governor should call the Legislature back into session.
“The wisdom of wearing masks — or of laws requiring such measures — is not the issue here. Rather, the issue is whether we are following the proper and constitutional processes for enacting laws and whether we are respecting the distinct roles of each branch of state government,” Hill said in a statement.
Holcomb, who began his press conference Wednesday wearing a State of Indiana mask, said wearing masks or face coverings can help prevent the spread of the virus and allow businesses and schools to remain open.
“The simple act of covering our faces, as odd as it may feel, can help us prevent the transmission of the virus, which, again, is why this is the next prudent step that we as state need to take,” Holcomb said.
The Associated Press and Republic Editor Julie McClure contributed to this report.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Where to read the order” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The executive order on masks is in effect until at least Aug. 26. Local governments may impose more restrictive guidelines.
To read the executive order, visit: https://www.in.gov/gov/2384.htm.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
