Arizona capital lifts mask requirement for lawmakers

Today in the legislative update, we talked with State Sen. Martin Quezada, a Democratic from District 29, and Rep. Domingo DeGrazia, a Democrat from District 10.

We talked about having no mask requirement at the capital for lawmakers. Quezada said that Senate President Fann decided to change the rule and make it recommended. He thinks this is not a good move. Quezada said Republican members did not want to wear them and that Senate President Fann gave in to the pressure. Quezada said everyone is interacting with each other on the floor with and without masks.

DeGrazia said wearing a mask in the house is recommended and not required or enforced. DeGrazia said that other policies have also been loosened like the number of people who are allowed to be in the gallery. He said a lot of the barriers are coming down and that everything is changing quickly.

One Republican representative is saying that America is all about allowing people to make decisions for themselves. We ask if they have a point. Quezada said that they do but that they have to also consider the impact that the decisions have on the people around them. He said that not wearing masks puts everyone that works in the building in danger.

In the city of Tucson, they are keeping everything in place regardless of what the governor says. DeGrazia that the state should be making decisions in Arizona based on medical advice and not based on politics. He believes it was premature to lift the mask mandate and will not be beneficial in the long run.

DeGrazia said other countries and other states in the United States have rising COVID cases based on the amount of exposure and the amount of time that people spend indoors. He said these are considerations that we need to have. He explains that it is not always about leaving it up to the individual to make the choice.