Lawmakers: Mental health and mask mandates debated on Day 32

Mental health and mask mandates sparked debate in committee meetings on Monday.  

The House Education Committee voted on the controversial Senate Bill 514, which could circumvent mask mandates in Georgia schools. Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett), the bill’s sponsor, said that the bill does not prevent schools from issuing mask mandates; it just requires that parents be allowed to opt their children out of wearing a mask. Dixon said that children’s learning is inhibited by teachers and students wearing masks, because it can be difficult for children to understand the teacher.  

“We need to begin to return to normalcy, and it's the first step in doing so,” he said.  

Rep. Bee Nguyen (D-Atlanta) asked Dixon if Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, supported the bill. Dixon said that Toomey permitted it, because it did not prevent schools from issuing mask mandates.  

The bill passed the committee 11 to 6.  

Meanwhile, the Senate Mental Health Parity Subcommittee heard the bipartisan mental health reform bill sponsored by Speaker of the House David Ralston (R-Blueridge). Despite House Bill 1013’s strong support in the legislature, it was met with public opposition in subcommittee. A group of protestors arrived with signs reading "Say No to HB 1013.” The room was initially so packed that some attendees had to watch the meeting on televisions outside the room.  

Caption

Elaine Ligorn protests HB 1013 outside of the bill's hearing in the Senate Mental Health Parity meeting. She is concerned the bill could threaten citizens' rights.

Credit: Sarah Kallis / GPB News

Some of the bill’s protestors, such as Grant Meadows, expressed concern that HB 1013 could arbitrarily infringe on their rights.  

“In other states, we've seen mental health bills turn into red flag bills.” Meadows continued, “We don’t like that. If honest people were running the program, we wouldn't have a problem at all. The development turns into a problem for most conservative Republicans when we hear the word 'World Health Organization.' That is an immediate red flag.”

Several other critics of the bill echoed similar concerns about the World Health Organization’s definitions of mental illness in the bill, which critics said are arbitrary, although experts say those definitions are used in mental health research.  

Jeff Breedlove, who is in recovery from substance use disorder, spoke in support of HB 1013, but supported removing the WHO from the bill.  

“1013 is a brilliant platform to build a legacy to transform a system that I hope everybody would agree is broken," he said. "You have it within your power to fix it."

The committee did not vote on the bill.