COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR ORDINANCE NO. 210902
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Rescinding Committee Substitute for Ordinance No. 210903; requiring face coverings or masks at schools and on school buses with certain exceptions; appropriating $1,000.00 from the Unappropriated Fund Balance of the Health Levy Fund; designating requisitioning authority; and recognizing this ordinance as having an accelerated effective date.
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WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, a proclamation of a state of emergency was issued to allow the City of Kansas City to take measures to reduce the possibility of exposure to COVID-19 and promote the health and safety of Kansas City residents; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 spreads between people who are in contact with one another or present in shared spaces and a gathering of individuals without necessary mitigation for the spread of infection will pose a risk of the spread of infectious disease; and
WHEREAS, the share of COVID-19 cases in Kansas City of those under 12 years old rose from just 4% of all cases in January 2021 to 15% in September 2021, and those 18 and under now comprise 25% of all new COVID-19 cases. Children under 12 years old cannot be vaccinated. In the absence of vaccines, the best method left to protect the children of Kansas City in public is by requiring the wearing of face coverings and masks; and
WHEREAS, on October 29, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 and on November 2, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11; and
WHEREAS, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas signed Order 21-01 on July 30, 2021, requiring face coverings or masks at indoor places of public accommodations in Kansas City with certain exceptions, effective at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, August 2, 2021, and expiring Saturday, August 28, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. unless rescinded, extended, modified or amended pursuant to applicable law; and
WHEREAS, on November 1, 2021, the Mid America Regional Council (MARC) confirmed 225,942 total cases of COVID-19 in Kansas City metro-wide, with over 3,000 deaths from COVID-19 in Kansas City metro-wide. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed 246,024,349 total cases and 5,000,100 deaths world-wide; and
WHEREAS, on November 1, 2021, approximately 49% of all Kansas Citians were fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and approximately 57% have had at least one vaccine dose; and
WHEREAS, the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Kansas City has decreased steadily since the height of the Delta variant; and
WHEREAS, on July 30, 2021, Kansas City Interim Director of Health Frank Thompson, pursuant to RSMo Section 67.265, submitted a report to City Council, attached hereto as Exhibit A, outlining and recommending a need for Order 21-01; and
WHEREAS, on August 18, 2021, Kansas City Interim Director of Health Frank Thompson, pursuant to RSMo Section 67.265, submitted an updated report to City Council, attached hereto as Exhibit B, outlining and recommending a need for continued mask requirements; and
WHEREAS, on August 19, 2021, the Kansas City Council passed Committee Substitute for Ordinance 210694, attached hereto as Exhibit C, rescinding Order 21-01 and requiring masks in indoor locations in Kansas City with specific exceptions until September 23, 2021; and
WHEREAS, on September 16, 2021, Kansas City Interim Director of Health Frank Thompson, pursuant to RSMo Section 67.265, submitted an updated report to City Council, attached hereto as Exhibit D, outlining and recommending a need for continued mask requirements; and
WHEREAS, on September 23, 2021, the Kansas City Council passed Ordinance No. 210853, attached hereto as Exhibit E, requiring masks in indoor locations in Kansas City with specific exceptions until October 7, 2021; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to RSMo. Section 67.265, on September 28, 2021, Kansas City Interim Director of Health Frank Thompson submitted a COVID update report, attached hereto as Exhibit F, and on October 5, 2021, submitted an updated report, attached hereto as Exhibit G, to City Council containing information supporting the need for continued mask requirements; and
WHEREAS, on October 7, 2021, the Kansas City Council passed Committee Substitute for Ordinance No. 210903, attached hereto as Exhibit H, requiring masks in indoor locations with specific exceptions until November 4, 2021; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. That Committee Substitute for Ordinance No. 210903 is hereby rescinded.
Section 2. Community Health Guidance
A. All persons are encouraged to limit exposure by obtaining a federally-approved vaccine and properly wearing a face covering or mask when applicable and maintaining social distancing when indoors at a place of public accommodation. The use of face coverings or masks is recommended in indoor private settings and crowded outdoor settings where there is close contact with other people who may not be fully vaccinated.
B. As used herein, the terms below shall have the following meanings:
1. A “face covering or mask” means a uniform piece of cloth, fabric, or other material that securely covers a person’s nose and mouth. It is properly worn when it remains affixed in place without the use of one’s hands.
2. “Social distancing” is maintaining at least six-feet of distance from others.
Section 3. Schools
A. To ensure that schools may operate as safely as possible, persons inside a public or private school building where any students from kindergarten up to and including 12th grade are attending class shall wear face coverings or masks, unless eating or drinking. All persons must wear a face covering or mask when riding on a school bus.
1. As used herein, schools shall not include those owned or operated on behalf of a religious corporation, association, or society.
2. The following individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings or masks:
a. Persons under 5 years old;
b. Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition or disability that prevents wearing a face covering or mask that, other than in the case of an emergency, have provided documentation of such condition or disability that has been approved by appropriate school officials pursuant to school guidelines. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could obstruct breathing or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance, as well as those who are unconscious or incapacitated;
c. Persons communicating with a person who is deaf or hard or hearing, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication; and
d. Persons who are alone in a separate room or office, or on the bus.
Section 4. Violation of any provision of this ordinance constitutes an imminent threat and immediate menace to public health. It shall be unlawful for any person to fail, neglect or refuse to comply with this ordinance, or for any person to otherwise violate or in any manner aid, assist, encourage, or support the commission or perpetration of a violation of this ordinance; and any such person is subject to the general penalty provision of Section 1-17 of the City’s Code of Ordinances.
Section 5. The Interim Director of Health, the Director of Regulated Industries, the Chief of the Kansas City Police Department, and the Chief of the Kansas City Fire Department, or their designees (“Directors”) are, under the Constitutions of the United States and Missouri, the Kansas City Charter and this ordinance, subject to applicable law, authorized to enter all property necessary to enforce laws relating to public health and to provide for the avoidance, suppression or mitigation of disease, and abatement of nuisances and other unhealthy conditions. Upon complaint, or whenever the Directors deem an action carried on or engaged in by any person in the City detrimental to the public health, the Directors shall notify that person to show cause to the City at a time and place to be specified in the notice, why the trade or profession should not be discontinued or removed. The notice shall be served before the time specified therein as provided by law.
Section 6. Violation of any provision of this ordinance may result in the suspension or revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy and/or any license or permit issued by the City in accordance with Section 18-23 of the City’s Code of Ordinances.
Section 7. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person, entity, or circumstance is determined to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such determination shall not affect or impair the validity of the other provisions of this ordinance or its application to other persons, entities, and circumstances.
Section 8. That the sum of $1,000.00 is hereby appropriated from the Unappropriated Fund Balance of the Health Levy Fund to the following account:
22-2330-502400-B Communicable Disease Prevention $1,000.00
Section 9. That the Interim Director of the Department of Health is designated as requisitioning authority for Account No. 22-2330-502400 and is hereby authorized to expend the sum of $1,000.00 in funds heretofore appropriated to the account.
Section 10. That this ordinance, appropriating money, is recognized as an ordinance with an accelerated effective date as provided by Section 503(a)(3)(C) of the City Charter and shall take effect in accordance with Section 503 of the City Charter.
Section 11. That this ordinance shall expire on December 2, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. unless rescinded, extended, modified or amended pursuant to applicable law.
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I hereby certify that there is a balance, otherwise unencumbered, to the credit of the appropriation to which the foregoing expenditure is to be charged, and a cash balance, otherwise unencumbered, in the treasury, to the credit of the fund from which payment is to be made, each sufficient to meet the obligation hereby incurred.
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Tammy L. Queen
Director of Finance
Approved as to form and legality:
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Eluard Alegre
Assistant City Attorney