Hillsborough EPG members hold regularly-scheduled meeting after chairman calls for group to dissolve

The Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group, where members have made critical decisions in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, could be on the way out.

The EPG has ordered curfews and mandatory masks, but there have been legal challenges and Chair Les Miller is calling for them to disband.

Along with three county commissioners, the group includes the sheriff, the mayors of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant city, and the chair of the school board. During the pandemic, they have heard from health officials in instituting curfews and requiring masks. 

Miller argues there is a conflict of interest when a member of the EPG has to vote on matters that later come under their enforcement responsibility. For example, he asks how the sheriff can be asked to enforce something he may have cast a vote against, such as the mask ordinance or a curfew.

The EPG is also facing a challenge in court, from lawyer Patrick Leduc, who said not only does the group cross lines between branches of government, but that their orders are unconstitutional. 

He asked how they can require business owners to insist on people wearing things, like masks, in their store?

"COVID-19 is a deadly virus,” Leduc said. “The last thing COVID-19 should kill is our civil liberties and our Civil Rights."

RELATED: Hillsborough facemask order unlawful, attorney claims

Kimberly Overman, who serves on the EPG and county commission, has said the EPG is better-designed for more short-term problems, like hurricanes.

"I wish there were a lot of things would have decided on much earlier," Overman said. "It does seem to take three or four weeks before the questions I have posed are able to find enough consensus to move forward. That does not work well with an escalating virus."

Temple Terrace Mayor Andy Ross expressed he would be worried his city won't have the same voice, especially because he considers himself a bit more conservative than most  members of the board of commissioners. 

Ross said he would want the group to stay in place for hurricanes.

The mayor of Plant City, Rick Lott, said it is the wrong time to make a big change. He said he would want a longer discussion on how to form a more cohesive group when it comes to fighting future pandemics.

Next Wednesday, Miller is expected to offer county commissioners a chance to vote and take over the COVID-19 responsibilities from the EPG.

However, before that, the group is set to convene Thursday afternoon, one day after Miller's statement.