Alabama lawmaker wants to ban government COVID mask mandates to ‘stan…

The Alabama House Health Committee Wednesday approved a bill that would prevent the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and certain state government entities from enacting mask mandates.

HB 158, sponsored by Rep. Brock Colvin, R-Albertville, would bar governmental entities and the state health officer from imposing a “face mask mandate to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or any variant of COVID-19″

“My goal with the bill was to restrain government power, not going after the private sector — not my intention. This bill is strictly holding the government accountable on what they can and can’t do in terms of overreach,” Colvin said in an interview after the committee meeting.

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State and local governments, as well as public K-12 schools and charter schools, would be prohibited from implementing mask mandates under a proposed bill. The legislation includes exemptions for medical facilities licensed by the ADPH and state and local detention…