Veto county health dept restrictions

I am writing today to ask you to VETO and REMOVE language preventing state and county health departments from enforcing mask mandates on children under 17 from senate bill 82. Local health departments are given charge by ML 333.2433 to continually and diligently endeavor to prevent disease, prolong life, and promote the public health through organized programs, including prevention and control of environmental health hazards; prevention and control of diseases; prevention and control of health problems of particularly vulnerable population groups…” State and local health boards are the professionals who should be making public health decisions. These decisions should not be pushed to school boards or any other non-public health entities. These governing bodies are not equipped to be making crucial community health decisions, nor is it fair to ask them to do so. Public health policy should not be made in budget bills, and this provision especially needs to be vetoed to allow health departments to make decisions that protect our communities and our children.