TexasCHLforum.com

srothstein wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 4:26 pm

Rafe wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 3:29 pm Not unexpectedly, Harris County Judge Hidalgo has been sued over yesterday's mandatory face mask order. Per the Houston Chronicle article linked below:

Hotze...said in a petition filed in state district court that the mask rule is at odds with a provision of the Constitution that gives the Legislature "exclusive authority to define crimes and to designate the punishments for those crimes." The petition also contends that Hidalgo cannot issue more restrictive orders than Abbott, who has not mandated that Texans wear masks in public.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/h ... 221364.php

On the first point they will lose. The legislature defined the crime. I did find that in chapter 418 when I read the code.

Steve, I ALWAYS appreciate reading your analysis of things, particularly legal issues. I've read chapter 418, and I do see where she has the authority to declare disaster, control ingress and egress, mandate evacuation, and even control the movement of people. But I don't see where she has the authority to tell me to wear a mask, any more than I see she has the authority that I wear Reebok instead of Nike tennis shoes. I don't claim to be a legal scholar, so I welcome your perspective on this - do you think that such an order is within her power?

Just remember: 76.43% of all statistics are made up on the spot.