Tempe to keep mask rules in place for all businesses
Tempe will require masks in public places, defying an order issued two weeks ago by the governor that sought to strip cities and counties of their power to enforce local mask mandates.
Gov. Doug Ducey lifted most remaining pandemic protocols on businesses and events on March 25 and said local mask mandates could only be enforced in government buildings and on public transportation.
Tempe initially chose to comply to give staff time to study the impact of the order on the city’s mitigation efforts and for City Council to discuss the issue as a group.
But on Thursday, after receiving legal advice during a closed-door session and discussing mask use in open meeting, the council chose to again require masks in businesses, restaurants and other public places when social distancing isn’t possible.
‘This is not a partisan issue’
“This is not a partisan issue,” Mayor Corey Woods said during the meeting. “This decision is about protecting and preserving public health and well-being.”
City staff will work with public health officials and examine COVID-19 case data and vaccination numbers to develop guidelines for when masks can be safely phased out.
Tempe joins Flagstaff, Tucson and Pima County in requiring masks in public. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced on Tuesday that the city would also keep its mask rules in place.
AG opinion gave cities hope
Woods said an informal opinion from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office affirming Pima County’s authority to keep and enforce its mask mandate gave cities and towns hope that they, too, could keep their rules in place.
The attorney general on Tuesday said the state statute the governor
cited in his executive order doesn’t give him the authority to preempt Pima County from enacting stricter protocols than the state because the county regulation was issued under a different statute related to public health and safety. However, Ducey could call on the Arizona Department of Health Services to set statewide policies on masks to prevent the county from maintaining its rules, according to the opinion.
City Attorney Judi Baumann told the council that the City Charter allows the mayor to declare an emergency and rule by proclamation. State law allows mayors to enact and enforce certain measures, such as setting a curfew or ordering businesses to close, during an emergency, she said.
It’s not clear if Tempe’s mandate and other city mask rules would stand up against a legal challenge as cities draw their authority from a different state statute than the county.
The governor’s office has said local leaders’ efforts to require masks are “inconsequential” because cities haven’t cited people for not wearing masks.
An Arizona Republic analysis found that local mask mandates were rarely enforced on individuals or businesses — something Ducey highlighted in his decision to stop cities and counties from enforcing mask wearing.
Local leaders all along have said that enforcement would focus on education.
Woods: Businesses largely in favor
Woods said wearing masks, along with other precautions, will help stave off a COVID-19 surge as people work to
get vaccinated.
He previously called efforts to roll back restrictions “premature” and said there hadn’t been enough time “to get shots in arms” as vaccines had just been expanded to people 16 and older.
“I would’ve liked to have seen that process really continue to play out and more Arizonans get vaccinated before we chose to lift these restrictions in such an immediate and swift fashion,” he told The Republic.
Requiring masks will provide clarity to businesses and allow them to more easily resume normal operations, he said in reaffirming the mask mandate on Thursday.
He said he has spoken to business owners and leaders in the tourism industry in the weeks since Ducey issued his order and most are supportive of mask use. Many businesses throughout the city still require masks, he said.
Having local mask rules make it easier for those businesses to enforce their policies and give businesses a shield to stand behind if customers refuse to comply, Vice Mayor Randy Keating said.
Keating asked that the city pursue an aggressive marketing campaign letting residents and businesses know what the requirements are and to increase enforcement efforts against bad actors.
“We’re not too far off from a return to normalcy here,” he said. “But now certainly is not the right time as we’re starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.”