Blakeman wins the first round against Hochul mask mandate (Updated with Hochul comment)

                                                                              

Bruce Blakeman on Fox News talking about Gov. Kathy Hochul's mask mandate

A Nassau Supreme Court justice today ruled that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's mask mandate is illegal, giving Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman a big win.

The decision by Justice Thomas Rademaker says essentially that Hochul did not have the authority to bypass required legislative approval and delegate the power to issue the mask mandate to the state health department -- an agency she controls.

"To allow such agency lawmaking would result in laws being changed at the whim of every new commissioner who could then be said to be beholden to their appointor but also it would surely result in a lack of representative government wherein only a select few appointees of the Governor make the laws. This is the very antithesis of constitutionally established representative government," Rademaker wrote.

He added that enacting laws to combat the coronavirus pandemic "is entrusted soley to the State Legislature." 

Rademaker ruled in favor of a group of Nassau parents who brought the lawsuit, declaring the mask mandate "null, void and unenforceable." He prohibited Hochul and the health department from enforcing it.

His decision follows a similar ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that Democratic President Joe Biden  overstepped his authority by giving OSHA the unprecedented power  -- without Congressional approval -- to compel businesses with more than 100 employees to require their workers be vaccinated.

Rademaker's decision also happens to support this blog's doubts about the legality of Hochul's mask mandate.

The state legislature had voted to give former Gov. Andrew Cuomo the authority to take whatever actions he deemed necessary to fight the coronavirus pandemic. And Cuomo issued many,  often strange, orders, such as requiring food to be sold with alcoholic beverages at bars and restaurants during the pandemic.

But Hochul, the state's lieutenant governor who automatically became governor in August when Cuomo resigned,  did not get similar approval from Albany for her actions. Instead, she directed the state health commissioner to issue the mask mandate on her own.

Blakeman promised during his campaign for county executive last year that he would fight the mandate by issuing an executive order when he took office to allow school districts to decide whether students should wear masks.

When he signed that order early this month, his battle with Hochul made national news.

Hochul responded to Blakeman's order by asserting defiantly, "I have the law of the State of New York behind me."

Now it appears she doesn't.

Undoubtedly Rademaker's decision will be appealed, but will it wind its way through the courts by June, when Hochul is running in the Democratic primary for governor?

Blakeman hastily arranged a news conference this evening, after posting news of the decision on his Facebook page. "This is a major win for the constitutional rights of parents," he said.

Update: Hochul issued this statement: "My responsibility as governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis and these measures help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and save lives. We strongly disagree with this ruling and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately." 

Here is the court decision: