Norman City Council To Discuss Possible Amendments To Face Mask Ordinance

The Norman City Council plans to discuss possible changes to the cities face mask ordinance Tuesday night.

Most of these changes are surrounding private and public gatherings, and fines. Overall making them more lenient or clarifying them.

One of the biggest updates is the wording surrounding fines.

Currently, the ordinance says people in Norman who refuse to wear a mask in a public setting "shall be subject to a fine of $50 to $500" along with the possible prosecution for multiple other violations. The amendment will changes the ordinance to say "may be fined."

The amendment also clarifies what's considered a public setting. This would be changed to include indoor and outdoor social gatherings on public or private property exceeding 25 people.

Also private homes where social gatherings are less than 25 people are exempt from the face mask requirement. Before, the ordinance did not give a specific number of people.

Finally, the city is looking to add face mask violations under what could be considered part of a nuisance party. This will be alongside things like fire code and noise violations.

Norman's City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the amendments.