Jasper Scherer
Houston Chronicle
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — When Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s order requiring residents to cover their faces in public takes effect Monday, Houston police and Harris County Sheriff’s deputies will distribute masks and largely avoid issuing fines for people who fail to comply.
“Instead of a citation, police officers will give you a mask, or at least offer you one,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “So, it’s masks over citations. It’s all about education and awareness. We’re working to make sure that we are keeping people healthy, and it’s not about being punitive.”
The rule, which lasts for 30 days, allows scarves, bandanas, handkerchiefs and homemade masks, and subjects violators to a fine of up to $1,000. Hidalgo said law enforcement officers have discretion in enforcing the rule, though she made clear that the order is not merely a suggestion.
“We want to make sure that this is not a recommendation, it’s a requirement, and so that’s why we have to make it enforceable by adding a fine,” Hidalgo said.
Still, the judge emphasized Friday that law enforcement “should use education as their default.”
“That has worked for all these weeks,” Hidalgo said. “As with all previous orders, they ought to do everything they can to be educational. The harshest penalty is what spreading the virus could do to others in our community — it’ll kill someone. So, please, take this seriously.”
Harris County sheriff’s deputies also will receive masks to give people who lack a face covering, said Jason Spencer, a spokesman for Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Asked if the deputies will distribute masks instead of issuing fines, Spencer said, “that’s our preference.”
“We’ve instructed our deputies that we’re taking an educational approach to enforcement and seeking voluntary compliance,” he said.
While Turner endorsed Hidalgo’s rule, law enforcement union leaders blasted the judge, contending that her order would strain their understaffed agencies. David Cuevas, president of the Harris County Deputies’ Organization, said in a statement that the mask rule would “erode trust” between deputies and residents.
On Thursday, Houston talk-radio host Michael Berry asked Cuevas: “Are deputies telling you that they’re not going to enforce this?” Cuevas replied, “Absolutely.”
“I told them, look, it’s discretionary,” Cuevas said. “They are adamantly opposed to it, and so am I. It’s ridiculous.”
Houston Police Officers’ Union President Joe Gamaldi also said he reminded union members that Hidalgo’s order gives them discretion in enforcing the fine. On Friday he thanked Turner in a tweet for “being reasonable and telling folks HPD will not be issuing fines for Judge Hidalgo’s draconian mask order.”
https://twitter.com/HPOUTX/status/1253709304101773313
Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña on Friday said fire department officials have responded to hundreds of calls about potential violations of Hidalgo’s stay-at-home order, and resolved “over 99 percent” of the cases without issuing a citation.
In addition to the mask rule, Hidalgo’s order requires residents to wash their hands before leaving and upon returning to their homes, and to stay six feet apart and avoid touching their faces in public. People do not have to wear masks when exercising alone, eating, drinking, driving or when they are “alone in a separate indoor or outdoor space.” Residents also are not required to wear a mask “when doing so poses a threat to their health, mental health, or safety.”
A handful of other Texas counties, including Bexar, Dallas and Travis, also are requiring residents to wear masks in public with possible fines of up to $1,000.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made it clear in a radio interview this week that he is not prepared to follow suit even as he prepares to re-open “massive amounts of businesses.”
“I’m not sure that will be a state mandate, but certainly it is a practice that is going to be encouraged,” Abbott said Thursday just minutes before El Paso city and county officials announced they were ordering people to wear masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
In the interview on El Paso’s KVIA, Abbott said masks, testing and proper social distancing will all be key parts of his plan to allow some businesses around the state to begin opening as soon as the first week of May.
Hidalgo has come under far more intense criticism than other county judges after issuing her mask order, with Republicans from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw saying they support the idea of wearing masks in public but oppose an order mandating it.
Houston GOP activist Steve Hotze on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging Hidalgo’s order. Hotze’s petition, filed in state district court, alleges that the mask rule violates the Texas Constitution and conflicts with Gov. Greg Abbott’s stay-at-home order.
The Harris County Attorney’s office said Hidalgo has authority to issue the order under Section 418.108 of the Texas Government Code, which allows the county judge to declare a disaster in her jurisdiction and to “control the movement of persons and the occupancy of premises in that area.”