PHOENIX โ Two Republican lawmakers are moving to trim the powers of government during an emergency.
Rep. Mark Finchem of Oro Valley wants his colleagues to rescind statutes that allow the governor to mandate vaccinations.
Thatโs not something Republican Gov. Doug Ducey โ or for that matter, any governor in recent history โ has done. But Finchem said just having such laws on the books is dangerous.
โDo you think the government should have the power to force you to take any โmedicationโ against your will?โโ he asked.
Sen. Warren Petersen of Gilbert has his eyes on powers that Ducey has, in fact, exercised: ordering certain businesses shuttered during part of the pandemic.
He wants to spell out in law that neither Ducey nor any local official has such a right.
The two measures are expected to be just the tip of a larger debate, when the Legislature convenes on Jan. 10, about when governors can declare emergencies, what powers they can exercise and how long they can unilaterally keep them in place.
Right now there is no time limit. In fact, the pandemic emergency that Ducey declared in March 2020 is still in effect.
โIf anythingโs been clear over the last year and a half, itโs that governors, whether theyโre Republican or Democrat, are all too willing to abuse their emergency declaration powers,โโ said Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale.
She has introduced Senate Bill 1009, which would limit emergency declarations to 30 days, with the possibility of three extensions. Anything after 120 days would require the concurrence of the Legislature.
Ducey does not comment on legislative proposals, said gubernatorial press aide C.J. Karamargin.
While Ducey has voluntarily rescinded most of the restrictions he imposed in 2020, he retains the right to reimpose them.
Current law says that, during a state of emergency or war, the governor may mandate treatment or vaccination of someone who has been exposed โ or may reasonably be expected to be exposed โ to any highly contagious and highly fatal disease, including smallpox, plague, viral hemorrhagic fever or any diseases with similar transmission characteristics.
Finchemโs House Bill 2022 would repeal that language.
โNo one has the authority to force you to accept something into your body that cannot be reversed,โโ Finchem said.
Specific to COVID, he said, there are alternative treatments, though he did not specify them.
Pfizerโs pill, Paxlovid, and Merckโs molnupiravir were recently authorized by regulators. In high-risk patients, both were shown to reduce the chances of hospitalization or death from COVID-19.
And monoclonal antibodies had been a useful therapy during the delta wave.
Vaccination and booster shots, however, remain the most effective way of preventing severe illness, the vast majority of medical officials say.
Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, has a related measure that is even broader. His HB 2029 seeks to bar state and local governments from requiring someone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or any variant, or to possess any sort of โimmunity passportโโ or other evidence of vaccination or immunity.
It goes beyond what government employers can do. The legislation would forbid state and local governments from entering into contracts with any company that imposes a vaccine mandate on its own workers, whether or not there is a declared state of emergency.
โMy goal is more to protect the employees from discrimination for not having the shot or having to carry a passport,โโ Blackman said.
He compared this to the Jim Crow era where there were laws and policies in some states that enforced racial segregation. โFolks were discriminated against because of their color,โโ he said. โIโm saying this is the same thing.โโ
He said thatโs why he wants to expand protections against mandatory vaccinations to workers at private firms. โI donโt believe that we need to fire people from their jobs or hold their jobs over their headsโโ for refusing to get vaccinated, he said.
One potential sticking point could be the ban on the state doing business with those firms.
That might not be a problem when deciding, for example, to buy office supplies from a different firm. But it would get trickier when the state is dealing with the bank that handles its checks or the utility that provides electricity or gas.
โI hope it doesnโt go to that,โโ Blackman said. But he said he remains steadfast in his belief that no oneโs job should be placed at risk for refusing to get inoculated.
Petersenโs proposal also deals with private business, but in a different way.
Arizona law allows mayors and the chairpersons of county boards of supervisors to declare local emergencies. His SB 1048 would specifically rescind their ability during such an emergency to order the closing of any business.
Petersen said his intent is to limit all levels of government โ including the state โ from forcing any business to shut down.
Ducey closed all bars and restaurants in March 2020. That followed decisions already made by the mayors of Tucson and Flagstaff.
Subsequent orders by the governor shut down gyms and water parks. Ducey separately banned gatherings of more than 50 people, though he exempted churches and political rallies. Swimming pools, including public pools at hotels and semi-private ones at apartment complexes, were limited to 10 guests.
Petersen said all that is beyond the role of government.
โPeople have a fundamental right to work and to earn a living,โโ he said. โItโs entirely possible to stay safe and keep businesses open. And if people feel unsafe going to a business, they can choose for themselves to stay away.โโ
