PHOENIX – The Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday that it has determined the City of Tucson’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public employees does violate state law for purposes of S.B. 1487, and also is in direct conflict with the Governor’s Executive Order 2021-18.
Today’s decision stems from a S.B. 1487 complaint filed by Senator Kelly Townsend under A.R.S. § 41-194.01, which authorizes a legislator to request the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (AGO) investigate a county, city, or town alleged to be in violation of state law.
“I continue to be amazed and appalled at the audacity of people like Tucson Mayor Regina Romero who think they are above the law and can legislate according to their own whim, and to the detriment of the people they are supposed to be serving,” Townsend told the Arizona Daily Independent. “I hope that anyone who went and received a vaccine against their will in order to maintain employment, or someone who was suspended due to refusing to accept a vaccine, hold her fully accountable. Let this be a message to despots everywhere: You shall not usurp the rights of the people of Arizona. Period.”
The finding requires Tucson to rescind or amend the ordinance to come into compliance with state law, or lose millions of dollars in state funding.
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During the 2021 legislative session, Arizona lawmakers passed S.B. 1824 that statutorily forbids city governments from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates on employees. However, on August 13, 2021, Tucson adopted an ordinance requiring public employees to provide proof of vaccination for COVID-19 by 4:00 p.m. on August 24, 2021, or face a five-day suspension without pay. The AGO determined Tucson city council was exploiting a loophole in S.B. 1824 that delayed the law from going into effect until September 29, 2021.
To stop what the AGO describes as “the city’s manipulative move,” Governor Ducey issued an Executive Order 2021-18 to stop cities from implementing COVID-19 vaccine mandates until the law went into effect. However, Tucson refuses to rescind its ordinance, forcing employees to either get the COVID-19 vaccine or face a five-day suspension without pay.
The AGO found the legislature’s intent was “clear when it passed S.B. 1824 earlier this year – government entities from the local to state level cannot mandate COVID-19 vaccines. This law was further supplemented by the Governor’s Executive Order 2021-18 (E.O. 2021-18) in August 2021.In the AGO’s opinion, Tucson public employees could rely in good faith on E.O. 2021-18 and state law to refuse the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”
The AGO officially notified the City of Tucson that its COVID-19 vaccine ordinance is in violation of state law and must be rescinded or amended today.
The AGO believes the City of Tucson could subject itself to potential liability claims if it were to take adverse action against an employee who relies on E.O. 2021-18 and state law to refuse the vaccine.