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July 3, 2020
Effective at 12:01 p.m. today, July 3rd, Governor Abbott has issued a “face covering” mandate throughout Texas. The full executive order (GA-29) is attached, but a summary follows:
- A face covering “over the nose and mouth” must be worn:
- inside any commercial or public building and
- in any outdoor space when social distancing is not possible (i.e. six or more feet from non-household members)
Exceptions include:
- Anyone under age 10
- While eating/drink OR seated to do so
- While exercising or engaging in physical activity outdoors (while social distancing)
- While driving alone or with household members
- While needing to temporarily show one’s face, e.g. matching it to an ID card
- While in a body of water
- While voting or working at a polling place (“but wearing a face cover is strongly encouraged”)
- While involved in religious activity (“but wearing a face cover is strongly encouraged”)
- While giving a speech to an audience or via broadcast
- Any person in a county-designated to have minimum cases (< 20) by TDEM and whose county judge formally opted out of the requirements of GA-29 (“though wearing a face cover is highly recommended”)
- Attending a protest of more than 10 people does not constitute an exception to wearing a face covering.
- After an initial verbal or written warning, the penalty for violation of GA-29 is a fine ($250 max) for each violation; confinement in jail specifically prohibited
- Local law enforcement is encouraged to enforce GA-29 (and all previous EOs) but may not “detain, arrest or confine in jail any person for violation of this or any other executive order” provided violation is non-violent and does not constitute a felony.
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