Jan. 7 (UPI) -- An appeals court in Texas has upheld a lower court's ruling that found a local county can impose mask mandates, dealing a blow to Gov. Greg Abbott who has sought through executive order to prohibit local governments from enforcing such measures.
The ruling is the latest concerning an executive order Abbott issued under the Texas Disaster Act in July that bars any government entity from mandating face coverings.
The case in question was brought by Harris County officials who have issued mask mandates in violation of the order in an effort to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and curb the pandemic's spread.
The county had asked for injunctive relief after Abbott issued his executive order and the court in August blocked its enforcement, which the state appealed arguing that Harris County lacked standing to challenge it.
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On Thursday, Justice Chari Kelly wrote in the court's opinion that the disaster act does not arm the Republican governor with absolute authority to issue executive orders to undercut those by local governments.
The disaster act "does not give the governor carte blanche to issue executive orders empowering him to rule the state in any way he wishes during a disaster," she wrote.
Kelly continued that while the act empowers the governor to issue statewide disaster declarations, it does not prevent local governments for doing likewise to protect their own communities.
"Nothing in the act, however, suggests that these authorities are mutually exclusive, such that a disaster cannot simultaneously be both a statewide disaster and a local disaster," she said.
"Moreover, it stands to reason that even a statewide disaster may have distinct and disproportionate impacts in each of the state's 254 counties and that, as a result, some measures for addressing a disaster in some counties may not be necessary or even appropriate in other counties."
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who first issued a local disaster declaration for her community in March of 2020, said in a press conference that the ruling means schools, daycare centers and business leaders can enforce mask mandates.
However, she was quick to state that she expects the decision to be appealed and for the case to make its way before the Texas Supreme Court.
"The legal battle is not over," she said. "But today, right now, we celebrate another victory for public health, for local government's ability to protect the people we represent."
According to a list compiled by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, dozens of governmental entities, including school boards and counties, are currently defying the governor's executive order.
