Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) on Monday issued an executive order aimed at assisting the state in pushing back against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.
The governor’s order provided the state government’s executive branch with directives geared toward benefiting the Alabama Attorney General’s office in legally combatting the mandate’s enforcement within the state.
Additionally, the executive order issued protections for state executive branch employees and contractors who choose not to comply with the Biden administration’s vaccine decree. The order also shielded businesses from state penalties should employers opt against forcing mandated vaccinations upon their workforce.
However, businessman Tim James, who is widely considered to be a potential gubernatorial candidate, indicated that he believed Ivey’s order did not go far enough. James had called upon the governor to include addressing the issue of vaccine mandates within the ongoing special session of the Alabama Legislature.
“Yesterday morning, I called on Governor Ivey to expand the call of this week’s special session to include adopting legislation to protect Alabamians from vaccine mandates,” said James, the son of former Gov. Fob James. “The Governor responded by issuing an Executive Order to direct state government entities to push back on the federal mandate.”
James reiterated his opinion that for the state to effectively combat the vaccine edict, it must act legislatively to halt the mandate’s enforcement.
“However, the Executive Order reads more like a ‘resolution’ which expresses an ‘opinion or will’ more than a force of law,” he added. “The teeth of this Executive Order wouldn’t bite through a stick of butter as evidenced by Auburn University’s disrespectful response today. We need a legislative act of law passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor against any employer mandate, both public and private.”
James stated his belief that members of the legislature would act on addressing the issue should the governor call upon the body to do so.
“Our attorney general is preparing for litigation with the Biden administration, but we need to pit codified state law against Biden’s executive order,” continued James. “The Alabama legislature has signaled it is poised to pass strong anti-mandate legislation if the governor will simply expand the agenda for the special session. Gov. Ivey must do this.”
The businessman concluded by expressing that he believed vaccine mandates to be antithetical to the principles upon which the nation was founded.
“Any government that would force its citizens to take a vaccine against their will and under the threat of being FIRED and pushing them into bankruptcy or poverty is vile. It is contrary to every basic constitutional principle and liberty that undergirds the foundation of this nation,” concluded James.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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