JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Mike Parson's office said Monday he would sign off on a plan to limit the authority of local health officials, a proposal pushed by GOP lawmakers in reaction to COVID-19 restrictions enacted in St. Louis County and elsewhere.
Parson's weekly schedule shows he will be signing House Bill 271, which contains checks on local health authorities, on Tuesday.
The Republican governor's approval is noteworthy because he largely avoided issuing statewide rules during the pandemic, instead allowing counties to implement more stringent regulations such as masking requirements and occupancy restrictions.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, a Democrat, arguably received the most criticism in response to COVID-19 restrictions issued at a local level. The rules were designed to slow the spread of the deadly respiratory disease.
Criticism directed at Page eventually was channeled into the legislation Parson's office said he was signing.
The legislation allows a local health agency to issue public health orders — similar to the type issued during the pandemic — for no longer than 30 days before a county's governing body must act to extend the order by a simple majority.
If there is no declared state of emergency by the Missouri governor, the local governing board would have to approve extension of the order by a two-thirds vote after 21 days.
Orders in question are those "issued in response to an actual or perceived threat to public health for the purpose of preventing the spread of a contagious disease … that directly or indirectly closes, partially closes, or places restrictions on the opening of or access to any one or more businesses, churches, schools, or other places of gathering or assembly."
Unlike most laws that take effect at the end of August, the new limits on health orders will be in force immediately because of an emergency clause legislators added.
Page spokesman Doug Moore said experts should make public health decisions.
"Public health decisions are best made by public health experts in the Department of Public Health," he said in a statement. "When the bill becomes effective, members of the County Council will participate in the very difficult decisions on protecting the health and safety of those in our most vulnerable communities."
The legislation is more restrained than earlier drafts.
One early proposal by Rep. Jim Murphy, R-south St. Louis County, for example, would have required local governments to seek permission from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for orders lasting longer than 45 days.
Orders lasting longer than 90 days would have required approval from the General Assembly, made up of GOP lawmakers who have demonstrated resistance to government health orders.
"We really wanted to keep it into local control as best we could," Murphy said when asked why lawmakers removed the state from involvement in the local orders.
The legislation also bars government entities from requiring proof of vaccination in order for someone to access transportation systems or other public accommodations.
St. Louis County Councilman Tim Fitch, a critic of Page, had pushed legislation to give the seven-member County Council authority over health orders. He said the new state law enshrines "what I believe the council already has the authority to do" as a legislative body.
"We never had a chance to have any input on these health orders," said Fitch, R-3rd District. "As a council, we were told what was going to happen, not asked."
Fitch said the new state law means any health orders in the county would automatically expire within 30 days, unless the council votes to extend them. The council could also immediately lift any restrictions by a simple majority vote, he said.
“Once the governor signs the bill, the clock starts ticking,” Fitch said.
But Fitch said he had no health restrictions in mind for the council to review.
St. Louis County relaxed most COVID-19 health restrictions in early May to allow businesses and public spaces to reopen to near full capacity and without any curfews. The decision, announced jointly with the city of St. Louis, came after a long decline in COVID-19 cases and an increase in the availability of COVID-19 vaccines.
Fitch, who over the past year had targeted previous capacity and curfew limits for churches, restaurants and youth sports, said he had asked the county's department of public health for a list of any current COVID-19 health restrictions in the county.
Moore said in an email there were four health orders still in effect: the Sixth Amended Quarantine and Isolation Order, the Amended Noncongregate Sheltering Order, the Residential Living Facilities Reporting Requirement Order and the Rapid Notification Order.
"These remaining health orders are mainly for reporting of positive cases, deaths, providing shelter for unhoused people, and containment of positive/presumed positive cases," Moore said.
Fitch is part of a council majority that is critical of Page and also includes Republican Mark Harder, District 7; and Democrats Rita Heard Days, District 1, and Shalonda Webb, District 4.
Days, council chair, said she supports a review of remaining health restrictions. But that doesn’t necessarily mean lifting them entirely, she said.
“We felt that the council should be informed of whatever orders you’re putting forth, so we can make suggestions,” she said.
The state legislation is House Bill 271.
