Mask Mandate To Be Dropped For Minnesota Lawmakers On House Floor
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Beginning this week, masks will no longer be required for Minnesota lawmakers and staff on the floor of the House of Representatives. Additionally, a return to work schedule is on the books for staff members at the Minnesota State Office Building.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, wrote Tuesday that masking rules at the Capitol will change in the coming days. Starting Thursday, masks will be encouraged but not required for lawmakers and staff inside the House Chamber. The public and the media will also not be required to wear masks in the House galleries.
However, masks will still be required in all other areas controlled by the House of Representatives, including the Capitol and State Office Building areas, offices and committee rooms.
Hortman also outlined the House's return to work schedule, saying that employees currently working remotely will return to their offices (wearing masks) on March 21 and show up in-person on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. She added that the State Office Building will also be open to the public on those days between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
While the public will not be allowed in the building on Tuesdays and Fridays, staff will be able to work in-person or remotely.
Like many workers in Minnesota and across the country, state lawmakers and their staff members have been working remotely for much of the last two years. While the capitol reopened to the public for this current legislative session session, it was closed to visitors last year.
The changes in policy come as COVID-19 infections and hospitalization in the state have dropped in recent weeks following the surge linked to the Omicron variant.
According to Hortman's letter, masking and other COVID-19 policies will be reviewed and adjusted in response to the trajectory of the pandemic.