Federal

Travel Mask Mandate Repeal Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 372 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill stops federal agencies from requiring people to wear face masks when traveling on public transportation or at transportation hubs. It also cancels existing federal mask orders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Transportation Security Administration that are currently in effect.

Who It Affects

Federal agencies (government organizations), people who use public transportation and transportation hubs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Transportation Security Administration.

Key Provisions

• No federal agency can create or enforce a rule requiring people to wear face masks on any vehicle or at any transportation hub related to COVID-19 (Sec. 2(a)) • A federal mask order issued on January 29, 2021, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and related Transportation Security Administration orders and directives no longer have legal force or effect (Sec. 2(b))

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, federal agencies lose the power to make mask-wearing rules for public transportation and transportation hubs. Any existing federal mask requirements from the agencies mentioned stop being enforceable.

Important Definitions

The bill references "conveyance" and "transportation hub" but does not define these terms in the bill text itself.

Effective Date

The date the bill is signed into law (Sec. 2(b))

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 125 To prohibit the imposition of mask mandates on public transportation. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 9, 2023 Mr. BIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To prohibit the imposition of mask mandates on public transportation. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Travel Mask Mandate 4 Repeal Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN MASK MANDATES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 7 sion of law, no Federal agency shall impose any Federal 8 requirement related to COVID–19 that an individual wear 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Jan 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H125.IH H125 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 125 IH a face mask when utilizing any conveyance (as defined in 1 section 70.1 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, or 2 any successor regulation) or transportation hub. 3 (b) LIMITATION ON EXISTING ORDERS.—Effective 4 on the date of enactment of this Act, the order issued on 5 January 29, 2021, by the Centers for Disease Control and 6 Prevention under section 361 of the Public Health Service 7 Act (42 U.S.C. 264) establishing a requirement for per- 8 sons to wear masks while on conveyances and at transpor- 9 tation hubs, as well as any other related order, directive, 10 and emergency amendment of the Transportation Security 11 Administration (including those described in EA 1546– 12 21–01A, SD 1542–21–01A, SD 1544–21–02A, SD 1582– 13 84–21–01A, EA 1546–21–01, SD 1542–21–01, SD 14 1544–21–02, and SD 1582/84–21–01) shall have no force 15 or effect. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Jan 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H125.IH H125 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.