AFP-Montana Calls On Governor to Supplement Phased Plan with Clear Health and Safety Standards, Allowing More Businesses to Adapt and Reopen Safely
Bozeman, MT – Americans for Prosperity-Montana (AFP-MT) appreciates that Governor Bullock offered a plan to get Montana safely back to work amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the coming days the group will encourage the governor to take an additional step and establish clear health and safety standards that more industries can adapt to meet rather than specifying certain industries allowed to reopen without a clear standard for how that determination was made.
AFP-MT State Director David Herbst issued the following statement:
“Throughout this crisis we’ve seen communities and businesses come together to continue providing the goods and services we rely on while protecting public health – like The Grand Hotel offering take-out meals and Rosauers or Town Pump placing shields between cashiers and shoppers. We can protect public health and get Montanans safely back to work. We don’t have to choose between a blanket shut down or pre-COVID ways of operating.
We appreciate Governor Bullock’s phase 1 reopen plan as we move from flattening the curve to safely opening our economy. We urge him to take an additional, vital step and provide clear standards so more Montana business owners can innovate to reopen as quickly and safely as possible. If movie theaters and gyms can implement strict cleaning schedules and reduce crowd sizes as effectively as restaurants, schools, and bars they should be allowed to reopen. Any business that can demonstrate they can meet defined standards should be allowed to reopen. The governor has a duty to explain clearly what measurements are being used in his plan and why some businesses are to stay closed while others are now allowed open.”
