The New Jersey Assembly Budget Committee advanced a bill that would penalize residents who don’t wear a face covering in stores that require one.
Residents would be fined $50 to $500 if they go into a store with a face covering over their mask or nose or if they remove it while inside under the bill’s provisions. The law would remain in effect until the public health emergency ends. The bill passed the committee by a vote of 7-4.
Mask wearing is one of the aspects of COVID-19 that has been politicized, Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, D-Essex, said in a statement.
“We need to look at the facts based on what we know right now, which is that wearing a mask around other people – especially indoors – significantly reduces the spread of this deadly virus,” Caputo said in a statement. “There needs to be some sort of penalty to drive home the point that this mandate is not optional. One way or another, we’re all in this pandemic together, and must all do our part to prevent the spread of this virus.”
Caputo sponsored the bill with Democratic Assemblyman Joe Danielsen and Assemblywomen Valerie Vainieri Huttle Annette Quijano. They cited a July poll from The Associated Press that indicated 75 percent of Americans are in favor of wearing face coverings in public.
“There has been enough information and messaging around masks that everyone should know by now why they are so important,” Quijano said in a statement. “If someone is strongly opposed to the idea of a mask, there are other options, such as getting curbside pickup or online deliveries.”
Danielsen said mask mandates are in place for a reason.
“By ignoring mask mandates and strolling into a store without one, these individuals are willfully putting lives at risk, Danielson said in a statement. “Other people have a right to go to work or patronize a business without fearing for their health because someone else chooses to ignore the danger of their actions.”
The bill goes to Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin for consideration.
Masks are a controversial topic in the U.S. and New Jersey.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order requiring New Jersey residents to wear a mask outdoors while in large crowds were social distancing is not possible.
Republican Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano called the executive order “arbitrary and hollow.”
“If people are comfortable wearing masks, they should feel free to do so,” the men said in a statement. “What we are asking for is choice. Requiring masks without any clear rationale is troubling.”
