Virginia Gov. Youngkin Signs School Mask-Optional Bill

Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a school mask-optional bill into law from the steps of the capitol on Wednesday afternoon, hours after the House of Delegates approved his amendments adding an emergency clause and a March 1 effective date.

“Today, we are reestablishing, restoring power back from parents. We are also reestablishing our expectations that we will get back to normal, and this is the path, this is the path. So thank you all for coming. And now, we’re going to do a little work,” Youngkin told the crowd before signing the bill.

State Senator and OB/GYN Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico) sponsored the original legislation, which began as a bill focused on requiring in-person learning.

“How wonderful it is to see your beautiful faces,” she told the crowd before the signing. “Listen, it is time to stop putting kids last. And I am going to tell you that decisions about protecting yourself in health are never made well globally, because we’re all different. And this is a decision that needs to be made individually.”

Bill signings from the capitol portico are used for flagship legislation. In Wednesday’s celebration, Youngkin was surrounded by children, Republican legislators, conservative activists, and members of the Virginia Federation of Republican Women. State Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City), who introduced the mask-optional amendment to SB 739, stood in the crowd instead of in front with the other dignitaries…. (Excerpt from the Virginia Star)