- SHALL=MAY 

On January 7th, 2022 the Anne Arundel County Council rejected the extension of Bill 6-22 and Bill 7-22. Due to the high volume of constituents (100+) testifying that day, this council meeting took over six hours to come to its conclusion. 

•Bill 6-22 Mask Mandates…Rejected          
•Bill 7-22 Civil Emergency…Rejected

Less than two hours after this decision was made by the Anne Arundel County Council. The County Health Officer, Dr. Kalyanaraman, led by the direction of County Executive Steuart Pittman, introduced a “Public Safety Order” for face coverings. The Maryland Health Code being referenced for this Public Safety Order is Maryland Health Code 18-208. 

This decision sent mass confusion across Anne Arundel County for businesses and residents. More importantly, this decision calls into question the integrity and legal authority of the County Employees who made it. It was embarrassing, disheartening, and deeply concerning to watch Anne Arundel County elected officials make a mockery out of its own legislative body (County Council). This Public Safety Order is no more than a poor attempt of manipulation through legal interpretation. 

Maryland Health Code 3-306(a) specifies that a County Heath Officer needs the approval of the Secretary of Health to implement any mandates under any non enumerated power. The state law contains NO delegations to a health officer to create a mandate without the Secretary’s approval.

Since 2020, every County/State Executive Order that’s been issued in regards to mask mandates. All of those orders used the word “REQUIRED” as the legal language when describing the mask requirements. The Public Safety Order issued by the county uses the word “SHALL” as the legal language. In the 1995 Supreme Court case, Gutierrez De Martinez vs Lamagno, the court ruled on the legal use of the word “shall”. 

                       SHALL = MAY

       -“Legal reference books like the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure no longer use the word "shall." Even the Supreme Court ruled that when the word "shall" appears in statutes, it means "may”. 

https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/plain_language/articles/mandatory

               Please Show Your Support
•Sign the petition                    
•Share it on social media                            
•Tell your friends and family                      
•Make business owners aware            
•Contact Anne Arundel County Council  (Office: 410-222-1401)                        
•Contact Governor Larry Hogan (Office: 410-974-3901)                          
•Contact Secretary of Health Dennis Schrader (Office: 410-767-4639)