State law adds kink in Pulaski County reopening

Masks legislation raises questions

FILE — The Pulaski County administration building in downtown Little Rock is shown in this 2019 file photo.
FILE — The Pulaski County administration building in downtown Little Rock is shown in this 2019 file photo.

A state law going into effect next month has caused Pulaski County officials to question their plans regarding reopening county facilities as the covid-19 pandemic eases.

Act 1002, passed during the legislative session earlier this year, goes into effect July 27 and will end public mask mandates in the state.

That conflicts with the county's plans to require that vaccinated individuals receive approval in order to forgo wearing masks inside county buildings.

County Judge Barry Hyde said Friday that his executive order on county building closures expires Sunday, and he will not reinstitute it. He said a plan would be in place for reopening the buildings.

On Wednesday, he said the state legislation could change the county's plans, but he hopes that by the end of July enough people will be vaccinated that it won't matter if people aren't wearing masks inside county buildings.

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Hyde said Friday that he took inspiration from local businesses to devise a plan to allow county workers to go maskless inside county buildings.

"We started a program that I found from one of our local businesses that I thought was a very good idea, and the health department appears to also think is a good idea, where we have offered employees the opportunity to bring a copy of their shot cards to the HR department," Hyde said. "And upon receiving that, they're given what I'm going to call "a pool band."

Hyde said people wearing the wristband would be allowed to be inside county buildings without wearing masks. That would also encourage county workers to get vaccinated.

Hyde said he modeled the plan on one at Lexicon, which drastically increased its workforce's rate of vaccination.

"They believed it helped bring their workforce from a modest vaccination rate to what was described to me as nearly 98%," Hyde said. "Almost everybody was wearing their band and not having to wear a mask."

Hyde's plan has encountered some resistance from the Quorum Court.

Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers told a reporter Wednesday that if county employees do not have to submit immunization records to work for the county, they should not be pressured into doing so in order to not have to wear masks.

"I do have a problem with that in that we as a county do not require people to submit their vaccination or immunization record to go to work for the county otherwise," Stowers said. Doing so now "I believe would violate HIPPA."

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 in part regulates the use and disclosure of protected health information.

Additionally, in an email copied to a reporter Wednesday, Stowers revealed a proposed ordinance that he plans to push in July that would remove the mask mandate at the county level.

Justice of the Peace Doug Reed said he would like to join Stowers as a sponsor of the proposal.

Stowers said he opposed state legislation on mask mandates because government has no right to tell businesses how to operate.

"I opposed it at the time because I don't think we should be in the business of telling business owners what to do with their business," Stowers said. "I think it should be their choice. I certainly support any business even going forward that wants to mandate mask wearing in their business."

Stowers said Wednesday afternoon that he had not heard back from the county attorney's office on whether such an ordinance would be nullified as of July 27 or if the county would be in violation of state law.

Hyde believes a mask mandate inside county buildings would be nullified by the state legislation as of July 27.

"The mask covering would become null," Hyde said. "I would hope that we would continue to get people vaccinated closer up to those numbers that are going to be most beneficial to the public, and by the time the 27th comes along it will be a moot point."

The latest information Hyde said he had regarding the county vaccination rate put it at nearing 40%. The ideal number is 70%, Hyde said.

"This is a mathematical thing," he said. "The higher amount of people with at least one shot, then the better position we're in."

The county will continue with its reopening plan until July 27 when the state law goes into effect, he said.

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