Union Public House

An outside patio at Union Public House that allows patrons to sit and eat without masks is a measure to protect against COVID-19 transmission.

Gov. Doug Ducey declared the pandemic emergency on March 11. Since then he has issued various orders.

 Josh Galemore / Arizona Daily Star

PHOENIX β€” State lawmakers took the first steps Monday to trim the powers of the governor β€” this one and all successors β€” to enact and enforce unlimited emergency orders.

On a party-line vote, the Republican-controlled Senate Government Committee approved several measures to require governors to get legislative approval once they declare an emergency. In each case, if lawmakers didn’t ratify the action within a certain number of days, the emergency powers would end.

β€œOur government isn’t set up as a monarchy,” said Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa. β€œWe are not subordinate to the executive branch.”

Townsend said she believes Republican Gov. Doug Ducey overreacted with the restrictions he put in place last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said some bars in Scottsdale allowed customers to act recklessly, with people packed in and dancing in a way that would spread the virus. But Townsend said the governor put in place lockdowns that affected everyone from Page to Bisbee.

β€œIt was just an arbitrary and capricious decision that had no input from us,” she said.

But Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai, D-Window Rock, said she’s not convinced that adding 90 legislators to the decision-making process would improve management of the pandemic. She’s particularly skeptical about adding this current group of lawmakers, many of whom she said do not believe there is a pandemic, to the decision-making mix.

β€œAnd a lot of them can’t even keep a mask on their face,” Peshlakai said.

Pima County opened the Kino Sports Complex for drive-thru COVID-19 vaccinations. People who fall into Phase 1B of the vaccination process for the coronavirus disease can register and receive their first shot. Phase 1B includes people over 75 years old, educators and first responders. Video by: Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star Jan. 19, 2021

Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, however, said this is not about stripping the governor of the power to declare an emergency. That would remain.

Instead, it would give lawmakers β€œa seat at the table” when deciding, after the immediate crisis passes, to review what the governor has done and determine whether a different course of action is appropriate.

β€œIt’s bringing back a balance of power,” she told colleagues. β€œI don’t know why you would handicap yourselves.”

Most of the measures would have no immediate impact.

In fact, in a bid to avoid a gubernatorial veto, they were crafted as constitutional amendments that would go on the 2022 ballot. So the earliest the restrictions on future emergencies could take effect, assuming voter approval, would be the end of next year.

But lawmakers also took aim Monday at the current emergency, using the little bit of power they already have to end it.

Under the current law, an emergency continues until the governor decides it is no longer necessary or until both the House and Senate, by a simple majority, decide to override that action. SCR 1001, approved by the panel, would do just that β€” assuming it gets through the full legislative process.

β€œWe have moved past an emergency into a chronic situation that needs to be handled in a different way,” Ugenti-Rita said.

Ducey declared the emergency on March 11. Since then, he has issued various orders dealing with everything from what hours individuals can be on the streets to how many customers certain businesses can serve.

β€œNo one’s articulated when this may end,” Ugenti-Rita said. She said her constituents have had enough. β€œThey don’t want a new normal. They want to go back to the way it was.”

But Democrats on the panel said the action, even if legal, is premature.

β€œWhen did we get over this emergency?” asked Sen. Juan Mendez, D-Tempe.

Peshlakai said the evidence is that the underlying problems still exist.

β€œPeople are dying right now with no one to hold their hands,” she said. β€œWe are burying people at record rates.”

Ugenti-Rita did not dispute the effects of the pandemic and even the possible need for some government action.

β€œBut doing it under an emergency order is no longer the responsible thing to do,” she said. What’s needed, Ugenti-Rita said, is a more β€œholistic” approach, dealing not just with the disease but effects of restrictions β€” and doing it with legislative input and consensus rather than by gubernatorial fiat.

β€œYou cannot handle a chronic situation with short-term solutions,” she said. β€œAnd shutting schools and businesses down is a short-term solution.”

Ducey has told Capitol Media Services he’s willing to listen to ideas to β€œimprove” the laws in light of the fact this is the first time they were invoked due to a pandemic. But the governor drew a line in the sand at ending the current declaration.

β€œWe’re still in that public health emergency,” he said. β€œThat’s why state law and the constitution provide for executive emergency authorities in situations like that.”

However, it doesn’t really matter what Ducey thinks on that point. That’s because SCR 1001, which would terminate the current emergency, needs only a majority vote of both the House and Senate to take effect. There is no possibility of a gubernatorial veto.

Another factor: Arizona law allows cities and counties to declare their own emergencies. But Ducey’s own order declares that they cannot do anything he does not approve.

Ducey, in his State of the State address, warned legislators that as much as they may not like what he’s done, they might be even less pleased if they strip away his authority, which would let each city and county do what they want.

β€œI’ve been entrusted by the people of Arizona with this responsibility,” he told legislators in that speech. β€œI’m not going to hand over the keys to a small group of mayors who have expressed every intention of locking down their cities.”

But Townsend said that might be preferable to having the kind of one-size-fits-all rule that exists now.

β€œI disagree with Tucson,” she said, referring to efforts by Tucson and, later, Pima County, to impose a curfew.

But β€œthe people in that area want that and believe that’s what’s necessary in their area,” Townsend said. She said they should be free to do that, unfettered by a statewide emergency declaration that preempts local control.

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