Arizona AG: Tucson COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates state law
TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Tuesday that Tucson’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees is illegal, giving the city 30 days to repeal it or risk losing millions of dollars in state funding.
Democratic-led Tucson has repeatedly clashed with the state’s Republican leadership over the city’s aggressive efforts to control the spread of COVID-19. A spokesman for Tucson Mayor Regina Romero did not immediately respond to an email and phone call requesting comment on Brnovich’s decision.
Brnovich, who is running for U.S. Senate in a crowded Republican primary, cited a state law approved this summer that bans local governments from mandating vaccines for employees, which doesn’t take effect until later this month. He also cited an August executive order signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.
Tucson’s policy requires employees to get a vaccine "as soon as reasonably possible" or submit a religious or medical exemption. Those who failed to get a first dose by Aug. 24 faced a five-day suspension from work without pay, but it was not immediately clear if the city disciplined anyone for missing the deadline.
The policy also allows the city to charge higher health insurance premiums for unvaccinated workers and requires that they wear masks and be regularly tested.
A Pima County judge last month rejected a request by the Tucson police union to stop the vaccine mandate.
RELATED: Tucson police union challenges city’s vaccine requirement
In an Aug. 30 letter to the attorney general’s office, City Attorney Mike Rankin wrote that Tucson’s employee vaccine requirement doesn’t violate state law and said Ducey’s executive order is meaningless.
The state law blocking cities from enacting employee vaccine mandates was tucked into the state budget in late June, a common practice that is being challenged by Phoenix in a separate case arguing that slipping unrelated policies into the budget violates the Arizona Constitution.
Brnovich’s decision comes under a 2016 law that allows any lawmaker to request the attorney general investigate whether a local ordinance or policy violates state laws.
It was passed amid GOP frustration with policies enacted by Democratic-led cities. If the attorney general decides the local policy conflicts with state law, a city or county has 30 days to repeal it or lose its share of state tax revenue, which is a significant chunk of local government budgets.
The complaint about Tucson’s vaccine mandate was filed by Sen. Kelly Townsend, a Mesa Republican who has been one of the Legislature’s most vocal critics of pandemic restrictions.
Separately, a coalition of educators, parents and advocates has sued to try to undo new Arizona laws that restrict local COVID-19 requirements. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13.
At least 29 public school districts in Arizona have enacted their own mask requirements, accounting for more than 334,000 students and nearly 500 schools.
The Arizona Department of Health Services on Tuesday reported 1,982 new cases of COVID-19 and 54 deaths. About 56% of people in the state have received at least one dose of vaccine.
When Tucson officials adopted the vaccine mandate last month, they estimated about 1,000 city employees were unvaccinated. It was not immediately clear how many still haven’t received shots.
Brnovich last month published a legal opinion saying businesses can require their employees and customers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 but must allow reasonable religious and medical exemptions. He said government agencies are different because the Legislature specifically prohibited them from adopting vaccine mandates.
The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.
More COVID-19 in Arizona news
- Bureau of Indian Education issues vaccine mandate
- Brophy College Prep's COVID-19 vaccine mandate sparks controversy; some are calling for mandate's reversal
- Arizona sheriff goes viral with vow not to mandate vaccines for his officers
Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news:
Get breaking news alerts in the FREE FOX 10 News app. Download for Apple iOS or Android.