NEW YORK NIXXED: Hochul's Mask Mandate Ruled Illegal

Then Congresswoman Kathy Hochul (NY), meets with Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta and other local politicians at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, August 9, 2012. (DoD Photo By Glenn Fawcett)

In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul’s indoor mask mandate has been ruled illegal by Judge Rademaker of New York State Supreme Court on Long Island. Reuters reports:

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A New York judge has struck down the state’s mask mandate one week before it was due to expire, ruling the governor did not have authority to impose the rule without approval from the state legislature.

The mandate was reintroduced by Governor Kathy Hochul in December 2021, but state legislators had ruled in March that New York was no longer under a state of emergency, limiting her and the health commissioner’s powers.

This meant the new measures forcing New Yorkers to wear masks in all indoor spaces, which carried fines of up to $1,000 for those who did not comply, were unenforceable and are now void, Judge Thomas Rademaker has ruled.

A New York judge has struck down the state’s mask mandate one week before it was due to expire, ruling the governor did not have authority to impose the rule without approval from the state legislature.

It was latest setback for executive branch officials at state and federal levels after much legal wrangling over the issue of mask mandates in different states.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court also blocked President Joe Biden’s vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses.

Reuters continues later:

Hochul declared her own state of emergency almost immediately after the World Health Organization named Omicron as a variant of concern on November 26.

At the time, New York state’s seven-day average of new daily cases was around 6,400. That number rapidly rose until peaking at 73,815 on January 10. It has since fallen to about a third of that.

Rademaker wrote that his ruling is not intended in any way to question or otherwise opine on the efficacy, need, or requirement of masks as a means or tool in dealing with the COVID-19 virus, but that ‘enacting any laws to this end is entrusted solely to the State Legislature.’

Hochul’s Democrats hold large majorities in both houses of the New York state legislature.

Action Line: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, governors have gone wild with emergency powers no one gave them. If your governor has gone wild, you need to go where you’re treated with the respect you deserve. If you want to leave your state for one of my Super States, but can’t beat inertia, click here to sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive newsletter. I’ll help you break through inertia and achieve your goals.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.