AG Jeff Landry Joins Legal
Action to End Public Transportation Mask Mandates Joining 20 Other States to
End Arbitrary and Capricious CDC Rule
BATON ROUGE, LA – Attorney General Jeff Landry is once
again fighting back against federal mandates – this time, joining Louisiana to
a 21-state legal action against Joe Biden’s Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) continued use of the unlawful mask mandate on public
transportation.
Attorney General Landry argues that the mandate exceeds
the authority of Biden’s CDC. “The Biden Administration continues to use a
failed interpretation of a quarantine statute – one that has been ruled against
in court several times – to authorize the CDC’s rule,” explained Attorney
General Landry.
“This unlawful mask mandate not only harms our State,
but also runs against logic and reason,” added Attorney General Landry. “Enough
is enough: it is time for these draconian measures to cease; the decision to
wear a mask should be made by citizens not dictated by government.”
In their complaint for declaratory and injunctive
relief, Attorney General Landry and his colleagues argue that the CDC’s
unlawful mask mandate exceeds the agency’s authority in several ways. First,
the statute used to justify the mandate does not authorize economy-wide
measures. Second, the statute only authorizes rules directly related to
preventing the interstate spread of disease—it does not permit mask
requirements for individuals who show no sign of infection.
Additionally, the complaint highlights that the CDC rule
is arbitrary and capricious, required notice and comment that was not given
before being implemented and did not consider actions that states had already
taken to control the spread of COVID-19. The mandate also requires state-run
conveyances and transportation hubs to affirmatively enforce the rule, in
violation of the anti-commandeering doctrine.
The complaint seeks the eradication of the unlawful mask
mandate and a permanent injunction against enforcement.
“Biden's top-down, authoritative approach does not work
and violates freedom,” concluded Attorney General Landry. “I will continue to
fight for individual liberty and protect the people of Louisiana from
government overreach."
#
Attorney General Jeff Landry joined the attorneys general
from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia in this
action filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody in the United
States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.