Idaho Legislature passes bill to ban mask mandates statewide | ktvb.com

Feb 23, 2025

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IDAHO, USA — The Idaho Senate approved legislation Friday that would prohibit state and local governments from requiring face masks to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The measure will now go to Governor Brad Little's desk for final consideration.

The bill, which was introduced by Senator Brian Lenney (R) and modeled after last year's unsuccessful House Bill 493, would ban mask requirements across all state entities and political subdivisions, including schools and public health districts. However, the measure includes exemptions for workplace settings where protective equipment is mandatory for job duties, such as healthcare and industrial environments.

During the debate on the House floor on Feb. 21, Senator Lenney said the bill shows individual freedoms are just as important as public health.

"This bill says if you like your mask, you can keep your mask, but the state of Idaho can't force us to do that ever again," Lenney said. "So in closing, here, what this does is it limits government overreach and protects the human right to choose what's best for your own body and your own health, my body, my choice."

The legislation specifically requires that any official recommendations for mask use must include a notice stating the recommendation is not mandatory. It also preserves mask requirements in behavioral health and correctional facilities.

Senator Ben Adams (R) said what happened during COVID "was a huge psyop."

"God has not given us a spirit of fear, and that's what happened during COVID, and he gives us a sound mind. We also lost that clearly," Adams said. "So yeah, I am very much in support of this bill. I think it's time we put this thing to rest, and we get back to being free."

Melissa Wintrow (D) argued that there is another side to the debate, that lawmakers working during COVID were working to protect people and that it was not a conspiracy.

"I was serving in the house at the time, and people were afraid, and the local governments and folks, they got together, they did the best they could," Wintrow said. "And the least invasive way to prevent the spread of an airborne infection was a mask, and that was the easiest, least intrusive thing we can do. And so I would suggest that a lot of people actually valued that and were trying to stay safe."

This latest push comes amid ongoing efforts by Republican officials to restrict mask mandates in Idaho. The measure would affect state institutions and local governments.

The bill's provisions contrast with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which maintains that masks can reduce virus transmission both from infected individuals to others and protect wearers from infectious particles.

The legislation includes an emergency clause that would make it effective immediately upon receiving the governor's signature.