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As Texas courthouses reopened this month from COVID-19 shutdowns, many of their operating plans required anyone coming to court to wear facial coverings, or be turned away.

But now the Lone Star State's biggest county is questioning whether the government has legal authority to make people wear masks to enter the courthouse and other county-owned buildings.

The Texas Office of the Attorney General announced in an opinion request bulletin Monday that Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan had asked for an attorney general opinion about facial coverings in courtrooms and courthouses.

"We thought there were two conflicting orders," said First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard, who noted that Harris County courthouses reopened June 1, and have required face masks to enter.

In a letter from the county attorney's office to the attorney general's office, Ryan noted that one order by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged Texans to wear face coverings, but prohibited local governments from imposing civil or criminal penalties for refusing to wear masks.

A different emergency order by the Texas Supreme Court authorized Texas courts to take reasonable actions to avoid exposing court proceedings to COVID-19, the letter said. The Supreme Court directed courts to follow guidance from the Texas Office of Court Administration. Part of the guidance said courts should require people to wear face coverings while in the courthouse.

The Supreme Court and administrative office's requirements seem to be at odds with Abbott's executive order, the letter said.

Ryan asked the attorney general's office for an opinion about whether a county judge could use emergency powers to require visitors to courthouses and county buildings to wear masks, and if they failed to wear one, whether the county could prohibit them from entering or make them leave.

The letter said that commissioners courts have authority to regulate the use of county buildings, and asked if commissioners could make courthouse visitors wear facial coverings. Ryan also wanted to know—if people wouldn't wear masks—if there were other things the county could do to protect others' health and safety.

The power of judges was another topic of Ryan's letter. He asked if a court could require people entering the courthouse to wear a mask, or whether the judge's authority was limited only to his or her own courtroom. If a judge could order facial coverings, the letter asked what the judge could do if a person refused to wear a mask.

The letter asked, "If a person declines to wear a facial covering and is then either barred entry or directed to leave the courthouse, and refuses to do so, may that person be arrested, jailed or fined for criminal trespass or other crime?"

Soard said the county is trying to offer government services in several scenarios.

"We are trying to create avenues for people who don't want to wear a face covering to still get the services," he said. "For example, videoconferencing services, maybe curbside-type services."