Masks required, COVID-19 tests encouraged for opening day in the Texas House next month
If a House member tests positive for the virus, he wrote, "arrangements will be made ... to allow them to take the oath of office." "The duration of the ceremony will be shortened," he wrote, "and there will be a significant reduction in the number of people admitted to the House floor and gallery." Access to the House floor will be restricted to lawmakers, essential staff, ceremony participants, temporary officers and approved guests, according to Geren. Each lawmaker or incoming member will have two guest seats for family or friends either on the chamber floor or in the gallery. That spacing, coupled with the requirement of a face mask, "is acceptable to medical professionals consulted by the House," he wrote.