Brian Kemp, Georgia, says he is suing the city of Atlanta over a dispute over the city’s requirement to wear masks in public and other restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
ATLANTA – Gov. Georgia’s Brian Kemp said on Thursday he was suing the city of Atlanta over a dispute over the city’s requirement to wear masks in public and other restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kemp had submitted to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the City Council. The Republican governor-appointed local leaders cannot impose measures that are more or less restrictive than those contained in his executive orders.
The decision to drop the lawsuit comes as negotiations ordered by a judge between Kemp and Bottoms broke down, according to a statement from Kemp.
In a series of executive orders, Kemp strongly urged people to wear masks, but refused to demand them. And he has tried to block local governments from issuing orders that require masks to be worn.
Bottoms, a Democrat, had said these statements were recommendations, not legal orders, and that Kemp did not understand what she was doing.
The lawsuit filed July 16 asked a judge to reverse Bottoms ‘orders that are more restrictive than Kemp’s, block them from issuing such orders any more, instruct the city council not to uphold Bottoms’ actions or order in to take those who are in conflict with Kemp’s orders. He also sought to prohibit Bottoms from making public statements claiming to have authority beyond Kemp’s, and to oblige city officials to enforce “all the provisions” of Kemp’s existing orders.
In a court case filed last month, city lawyers argued that the lawsuit was hampered by sovereign immunity, saying state and local governments could not declare without their consent. The city has the right to take action to protect the public, and its mask mandate is not in accordance with or preceded by the governor’s order, the city’s submission claims.
“In the absence of state leadership on this issue, local governments have stepped in to protect their citizens,” the city’s filing said.
The Georgia Municipal Association, which represents state governments throughout the state, as well as Democratic state legislators and various unions, had submitted letters saying the governor had flooded his authority by trying to curb additional measures taken by local governments to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
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