How to put a stop to the ridiculous mask bill NC is about to pass

Get ready for the nation to laugh at North Carolina again. We were the butt of jokes and serious criticism most recently for a bill passed by our state Senate that would make it illegal to wear a mask for health reasons.

People thought our lawmakers were crazy or mean. Or both.

Responding to public pressure, Senate Republicans put forward — and passed — a new version of the bill on Thursday. Weirdly, it more clearly outlaws wearing a mask “for the purpose of ensuring the physical health or safety of the wearer or others.” That phrase is marked out and replaced with a new standard: to be legal, the mask must be “a medical or surgical grade mask” and must only be worn “for the purpose of preventing the spread of contagious disease.”

So it will be illegal to wear a cloth or inexpensive mask because you have allergies or immunity issues, hate pollen or just aim to stay healthy.

There’s more weirdness from these Republicans who say they champion personal freedom. The revised bill authorizes anyone — a customer in a store, playground bully, jerk on a bus — to harass you and demand that you remove your mask and identify yourself.

And there’s more. The bill released Thursday adds a whole new section that dramatically changes how big money can flow into state politics. Ironically, while the first part of the bill makes it illegal for you to wear an ordinary mask to protect your health, this second part allows the super-rich to hide their identity from public view while sending big campaign donations to their favorite candidates.

Here’s how: A wealthy donor can give, say, $250,000 to a federal committee that only files obscure reports with the IRS. (The Republican Governors Association is one example.) Then, without identifying the true source of the money, the federal committee can donate the $250,000 in its own name to a state committee controlled by a top politician — they’re called “affiliated party committees” or APCs.

As the top Republican state official, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has one of these APCs. So does the top state Democrat, Gov. Roy Cooper, and the Republican and Democratic leaders in the legislature.

Outraged at the sudden release of this new bill, Senate Democrats blasted it as a devious way for Mark Robinson’s campaign to solicit large contributions from millionaires who don’t want to be publicly identified with his vile rhetoric.

It’s also a way to both escalate and obscure the pay-to-play schemes that have taken over the N.C. General Assembly. Gambling interests, for example, could use the new bill to launder large donations through a federal front group into committees controlled by legislative leaders.

The bill has other parts that will weaken public accountability and put a bigger mask on how big money distorts policy-making and elections. For example, a federal group donating to a state candidate will no longer need to have a local assistant treasurer who provides a channel for state regulators to subpoena the group’s campaign records.

House Bill 237 now goes back to the state House where Rules Chairman Destin Hall says it will be voted on before June 13. Unless there’s another loud outcry from the public.

So, if you don’t like a ban on wearing an ordinary mask for your health, or if you oppose what’s essentially a new mask on big money corruption contact the General Assembly and leave a message for Rep. Destin Hall or another House member to stop HB 237 from becoming law.

Bob Hall is the former executive director of the voting-rights organization Democracy NC.