Kemp To Withdraw Lawsuit Against Atlanta, Issue Updated Order On Masks

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Gov. Brian Kemp at the beginning of a statewide tour urging Georgians - but not requiring them - to wear a mask.

Credit: Stephen Fowler / GPB News

Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday said he is withdrawing a lawsuit against Atlanta's mask ordinance and "Phase One" rollback after a weekslong feud with Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. 

The governor also indicated he will sign a new executive order this weekend that could prevent local governments from enforcing mandates on private property. 

In a written statement, Kemp said –  without mentioning the word "mask" at all – that he was ending the suit after the mayor agreed to acknowledge the voluntary nature of the city's "Phase One" reopening guidelines that encouraged people to stay home and after negotiations over mask restrictions reached a stalemate.

“I sued the City of Atlanta to immediately stop the shuttering of local businesses and protect local workers from economic instability," Kemp said. "Unfortunately, the Mayor has made it clear that she will not agree to a settlement that safeguards the rights of private property owners in Georgia.”

The lawsuit sought to bar Bottoms from making statements to the press that she had the authority to enact measures that were more or less restrictive than the governor's order, including the mask mandate that several cities across the state have also approved.

Georgia continues to see an elevated level of coronavirus cases and deaths, including two straight days of 100-plus reported deaths, and cases have disrupted back-to-school plans in systems across the state.