BILL NUMBER: S7392

SPONSOR: MARTUCCI
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to prohibit day care centers from requiring children ages five or
under to wear face coverings or face masks

 
PURPOSE:

To rescind emergency regulations issued by the Executive Branch that
require children aged two to five to wear face masks

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Makes it impermissible to require a face covering for a child
under five years old.

Section 2. Effective Date

 
              

JUSTIFICATION:

Earlier in the pandemic, former Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order
requiring children aged two to five to wear a facemask in a daycare
setting. That same week, I offered a hostile amendment on the floor to
repeal that directive. Within days, the governor rescinded it himself.
The reason is that all involved realized that it is impractical, unen-
forceable and unreasonable to expect a toddler to keep a face covering
on properly during eight or more hours of pre-school. Unfortunately,
current Governor Hochul has resurrected this requirement in the form of
an emergency regulation. It is as bad an idea as it was then. The World
Health Organization does not recommend masks for kids five and under,
nor do they recommend that children with developmental disabilities be
forced to wear a mask.  Serious COVID related infections among young
children remain much lower than the general population. Recent data from
49 States collected by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that
0.1-2.0% of hospitalizations were among young children and 0.00%-0.03%
of COVID related deaths. The current policy is unreasonable and not
backed by data or science.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021 New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately