Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, speaks in support of an amendment that would have prohibited state agencies from issuing mask mandates for children under the age of 18.

Unsurprisingly, state Republicans’ efforts to force a vote on legislation prohibiting state agencies from issuing mask mandates for children under the age of 18 was decisively dismissed by Democrats.

A “hostile” amendment offered by Assembly and Senate Republicans to prohibit state officials from requiring masks for children failed in both the Assembly and the Senate on Monday. Republicans attempted to attach the proposal in the Assembly to a chapter amendment increasing the number of signatures required to force a public hearing by state agencies. The Senate attempt was during legislation related to grow-your-own initiatives at school districts, BOCES and higher education institutions.

The speakers of the Assembly and Senate ruled the amended language was not germaine to the legislation being discussed, leaving Republicans trying to convince Democrats to overrule their respective house speaker’s ruling. Both efforts failed.

Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, argued the amendment was germaine because the state Health Department will be discussing amendments that deal with masking requirements, and the legislation being discussed increased the number of signatures to force a public hearing by the state Health Department or the state Education Department from 125 signatures to 750 signatures. Other state agencies would require 450 signatures on a petition to force a hearing.

“The reason this chapter amendment is germaine is because if we don’t act and amend this chapter amendment, this chapter amendment will undoubtedly be signed by the governor tonight and will raise the threshold for a public hearing by a factor of four just before the Health Department considers regulations that would allow the extension and continuation of this mask requirement on children.”

Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, looks on as Sen. Rob Ortt, D-Buffalo and Senate minority leader, speaks during a Senate Republican news conference on Monday.

Several Republicans spoke in favor of the amendment. The amendment failed in a largely party line vote 94-50, with three Democrats choosing to side with the Republicans. One of Goodell’s arguments in favor of the amendment was neighboring states — Connecticut, Delaware and New Jersey — removing mask mandates for children in schools and the fact that so few children have died of COVID-19. Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D-Buffalo and majority leader, said the Assembly should defer to the executive and agency commissioners in the matter while also criticizing Republicans for wasting the chamber’s time offering the amendment in the first place.

“I think there are many cases where we can look back … we would say this program’s not even a problem,” Peoples-Stokes said. “Well it is a problem. It has damaged our economy. People have lost their lives. And children are in jeopardy — not because the CDC says they are or they’re not; not because the health commissioner says they are or they’re not. It’s because there’s a virus that’s still out there that could very much impact them.”

While the amendment failed, Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, is co-sponsoring legislation in the Senate that prohibits state agencies from requiring children to wear a mask if children are not exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. The bill also prohibits requiring masks during sports or recreational activities. Last week, Sen. Rob Leader, D-Buffalo and Senate minority leader, penned a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul criticizing the decision to keep the state’s school mask mandate in place and calling for metrics that would end the mandate. Republicans said a representative from the Department of Health later confirmed there are no “data targets” for ending school masking.

“Like so many of the mandates handed down by the state during this pandemic, the mask mandate for school children isn’t about public health, it’s about control. At lowest risk for infection but at highest risk for lasting educational and social problems from being masked seven hours a day, our children are paying the price for the administration’s unconstitutional overreach. The public health emergency is over; it’s time to eliminate all mandates, including this ongoing mask charade in our schools. The learning disruptions caused by government directives have done enough harm, we must allow schools to refocus on their primary mission, which is educating our children,” Borrello said in a news release before the votes Monday.