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Gianforte during signing of bill preventing lawsuit says mask mandate will end
At his first bill-signing ceremony, held Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 65 and said he will announce the end to Montana's mask mandate Friday morning.
SB 65 protects businesses, non-profits, places of worship and health care providers from lawsuits related to COVID-19 transmission at their establishments provided those entities make good-faith efforts to keep people safe.
Gianforte said this will help Montana get back to work and open its economy, and combat the "economic pandemic" that has accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill passed the Montana legislature with support from Republicans and Democrats all of whom Gianforte said he appreciated the efforts of.
"I want to thank every legislator, Republican, and Democrat who recognized the importance of protecting businesses," he said.
Gianforte also thanked the supporters of the bill, including the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Montana Retail Association, the Montana Restaurant Association, the Montana Building Industry Association, the Montana Bankers Associations and others.
Passage of SB 65 is something Gianforte has said would be required for him to rescind his predecessor's mandate.
He said this, combined with the ongoing vaccine rollout and decreasing transmission within the state, is what allowed him to make the decision to rescind the statewide mask mandate.
"First, we needed to start getting the vaccine to our most vulnerable. We have done that," he said. "Second, we need to protect business, non-profits, places of worship and health care providers from lawsuits if they make a good faith effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and follow clear public health guidelines. We have done that too."
Legislative minority leaders Sen. Jill Cohenour D-East Helena, and Rep. Kim Abbott D-Helena, released a statement saying that the repealing of the mask mandate puts Montanans and their businesses at risk and accused Gianforte of rescinding the mandate before the people who need the vaccine most are immunized.
"Despite touting his commitment to vaccinating Montana's most vulnerable before lifting his mask mandate, Gov. Gianforte is now going back on his word and endangering the health and safety of those he has a duty to protect," Abbott and Cohenour said in the statement. "By passing the buck on public health, Governor Gianforte is putting Montana businesses and workers in an impossible position and undercutting our economic recovery. Montanans deserve better."
The release says public health officials, backed by data, continue to strongly recommend individuals wear masks in public until vaccines are more widely available.
During the bill-signing ceremony, Gianforte said local jurisdictions can still create mask mandates of their own.
He said the bill and rescinding the mandate is part of his administrations policy of providing incentives and relying on the personal responsibility of Montanans to keep themselves and those around them safe instead of imposing mandates which he called impractical.
He said he still wants people to follow health guidelines though and said he would do just that.
"I will continue to wear a mask and I encourage all Montanans to do the same to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their neighbors," he said. "When it's my turn to get a vaccine, I'm going to get one and I encourage Montanans do the same."
He said other mandates are still in place on the state level, and what is in effect will be communicated to the public Friday.
Gianforte said the federal government is not sending enough vaccine to the state of Montana considering the effectiveness of its rollout.
"We've proven time and time again how effective we are at getting the vaccine out to the most vulnerable and I will continue asking the federal government to send Montana our fair share," he said.
He said he is also hopeful that a vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson will be authorized for use by the end of the month and will further increase vaccination throughout the state.
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