Good afternoon,
Wednesday afternoon, Governor Cuomo’s office posted Executive Order 202.105, his one hundred and eighth Executive Order during the COVID-19 state of emergency, and his eighth since the law limiting Governor Cuomo’s authority to issue such orders was enacted. Executive Order 202.105, dated April 27, 2021, continues the suspensions and modifications of law, and any directives, unless superseded, modified, or otherwise expired, made by Executive Order 202 and each successor Executive Order to 202, for thirty days until May 27, 2021. Executive Order 202.105 modifies and extends the certain previously issued directive set forth below as well as terminates certain other previously issued directives. Executive Order 202.105 is effective from April 27, 2021 through May 27, 2021. A copy of Executive Order 202.105 can be found here.
MODIFIED DIRECTIVE
- The directive contained in Executive Order 202.17, as extended, that required any individual over the age of two to cover their nose or mouth with a mask or cloth face-covering when in a public place, is hereby extended and modified only insofar as to no longer require individuals who have a completed COVID-19 vaccination series to cover their noses or mouths while outdoors, except in crowded settings and venues.
EXPIRED DIRECTIVES
- The directive contained in Executive Order 202.91, as modified by Executive Orders 202.97 and 202.99, that required certain vaccine providers to prioritize the following groups for vaccination: (1) individuals age eligible; (2) individuals who are P-12 school (public or non-public) teachers, substitute teachers, or student teachers; and (3) individuals with comorbidities; and
- The directive contained in Executive Order 202.86 that provided that any licensed healthcare provider who administers the vaccine to an individual who has not certified to being a member of a priority group or where such provider otherwise has knowledge that the individual is not a member of the priority group may be subject to civil penalties of up to one million dollars per dose administered and/or the revocation of any state-issued license.
Critically, also on Wednesday, the New York State Legislature voted upon three resolutions to terminate certain Executive Orders previously issued by Governor Cuomo. In doing so, the State Legislature exercised for the first time its power to limit Governor Cuomo’s authority to issue Executive Orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TERMINATED DIRECTIVES
- Those directives under Executive Order 202.6 and 202.7 which apply to the Public Officer’s Law and relates to individuals hired or brought in as volunteers to assist with state work during a declared emergency. With the repeal of these directives, individuals who volunteer to take on significant government work during the COVID-29 emergency will be treated as Public Officers under New York Law and thus required to comply with government disclosure and transparency rules.
- Those directives under Executive Order 202.52 which required food sales to occur with alcoholic beverage sales in bars and restaurants, for on premise or off premise consumption. Now, a person purchasing alcohol in a bar or restaurant will no longer be required to purchase food along with the beverage; and
- Those directives under Executive Orders 202.86, 202.89, and 202.89 which relate to vaccine administration and penalties for improper administration. The termination of these directives eliminates unnecessary penalties and prioritization rules that slow down the vaccination process and were determined by the Legislature to be no longer necessary considering current vaccination rates and appointment availability.