LEXINGTON – The Lexington City Council voted to suspend the decree requiring the use of facial coverings at retail establishments shortly after Governor Henry McMaster announced plans on March 5 to lift state masking rules in restaurants and state buildings.
But the city failed to comply with the state’s 24-hour notice requirement when it met and voted on March 5, said the state’s top media advocate.
The word of the vote was posted on the city’s Facebook page at 8 pm, just over three hours after McMaster’s announcement, but no notice of the meeting or an agenda was posted on the city’s website or social media pages.
Lexington city attorney Brad Cunningham said the council had voted for an “emergency” law that does not require 24-hour notice.
But Bill Rogers, executive director of the SC Press Association, disagreed, saying that eliminating a mask covering the ordinance “is not an emergency” and that the city needed to follow state open registration laws when notifying the public of the meeting.
Lexington City Council voted 5-2 after a controversial meeting in late December to demand face coverings within retail companies by May 1. The city’s Facebook post on March 5 announcing the reversal of the decision did not include a vote count.
Lexington Mayor Steve MacDougall, who defended the council’s actions last week, said the city has lifted masquerade rules following a steady decline in new virus cases and increased availability of COVID-19 vaccines.
MacDougall said it did not make sense for the city of Lexington to impose mask requirements when nearby communities did not. Lexington County does not have a countywide law requiring people to wear masks, but mask rules are still in effect in neighboring West Columbia and Cayce.
Lexington city officials said individual companies may still require customers and employees to have their faces covered before being allowed to enter.
Andy Shain contributed from Columbia.
