Evergreen Reporter

There is no state law that allows Governor Jay Inslee to direct Orting police officers to file charges against maskless residents because such a rule doesn’t reflect in the city's local code, according to the mayor of Orting.

Orting Mayor Josh Penner’s statement came after Gov. Inslee announced that not wearing facemasks publicly would result in a misdemeanor charge.

“He's speaking from a state perspective that doesn't match the realities of local jurisdiction,” Penner told the Evergreen Reporter. “There is no local law that people are breaking if they don’t wear a face mask. The governor can't create local laws. He can't create state law but under his emergency powers, he does have the ability to create new policy on the fly and say that this is how the state is going to operate.”

In response to Gov. Inslee's new rule, Penner wrote a lengthy Facebook post to his constituents detailing how the Democratic governor has not attempted to work with Republicans when it comes to crafting policy to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Mayor Penner states:

“The fines authorized during an emergency that the Orting Police Department will issue, are authorized by a proclamation of emergency from the Mayor of Orting, only. By Ordinance. I have not released a proclamation or policy statement regarding fines, or crimes, for not wearing masks. I've issued a statement of policy on this subject before, in the form of a memo to our council. If the Governor wishes to enforce these evolving standards of conduct and decency, he can do so with the WSP or another state agency under his direction. Orting staff will not spend valuable time and resources on chasing down mask offenders.”

Gov. Inslee has not responded to the post as of yet, according to Penner. 

“Issuing an order is not going to convince people to change their behavior that aren't already convinced that face masks are helpful and threatening a misdemeanor that is unconstitutional is not going to change people's behavior who don't already believe that masks are helpful,” Penner said. “So, it’s either a reflection of poor policy understanding at the County and city level or it's intentionally antagonistic.”

The statewide mandate took effect on June 26, 2020 in response to an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, according to a Governers office statement.

Signed by Secretary of Health John Wiesman, the order requires residents to cover their faces when in outdoor and indoor public places.

“Gov. Inslee has not had two-way dialogue with his own legislative branch and so I have no idea what is driving his perspective,” said Mayor Penner, a Republican who is running for a state Senate seat. “We are in a situation where we have an executive that is creating policy and we don't understand his motivations because there's no checks and balance to require him to disclose them.”

The Washington State Department of Health reported 39,218 cases statewide as of July 11 and 1,424 deaths. Nationwide, the coronavirus set record highs today, eclipsing more than 70,000 new cases.

“The worst that could happen if you’re not wearing a mask is you could end up with a citation for trespassing if a business owner asks you to leave but there is no code violation and there's no law that you're breaking in the city of Orting for not wearing a mask,” Mayor Penner said.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends all people over age 2 wear face coverings in public, based on "the role respiratory droplets play in the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, paired with emerging evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that shows cloth face coverings reduce the spray of droplets when worn over the nose and mouth."