Lawmakers voted Monday to discontinue COVID-19 vaccination and testing policies for public visitors to the Statehouse in favor of posting signs that “strongly recommend” visitors be vaccinated.
The old policy, passed in December 2021, had recommended visitors provide proof of vaccination to Statehouse staff upon entry to the building and be screened for symptoms of COVID. But Sergeant-at-Arms Janet Miller told members of the Committee on Joint Rules on Monday that the rule was only followed for “a couple weeks” into the legislative session because there were not enough staff to enforce it.
The old policy had also allowed members of the public to request rapid tests from the sergeant-at-arms. Miller said no one has asked for those tests since the system was put into place.
In addition to recommending vaccines, the new policy also requires signage to specify that people with symptoms of COVID should refrain from entering legislative spaces.
The new motion passed unanimously. Only one member appeared to question its efficacy: Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin, said government buildings post signs all the time and “no one reads” them.
“Government buildings have signs everywhere; you’d go blind if you try to read all the signs,” he said. (Brock ultimately voted in favor of the new policy.)
The current mask policy at the Statehouse, which the committee did not discuss on Monday, recommends that everyone entering legislative spaces dons a high-quality mask. It also requires masking when the federal government rates the area as having high COVID levels.
It’s unclear how much that policy, approved in March, is being followed. None of the committee members were wearing a mask at the in-person meeting on Monday. (COVID levels in Washington County are currently rated “low” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
While most COVID restrictions in the building have now been lifted, capacity limits remain in certain poorly ventilated and often crowded areas. For example, the Cedar Creek Room on the second floor, once a popular location for gatherings and press conferences, remains limited to a capacity of about 30 people due to air quality concerns, Miller told the committee.
The sergeant-at-arms said the state Department of Buildings and General Services is taking a look at air quality concerns around the building, adding that ventilation issues likely wouldn’t be resolved until the summer of 2024.
In the meantime, the committee voted that the Cedar Creek Room would be closed to large gatherings and press events.