State ban on mask mandates faces legal challenge

A hearing was held yesterday on a legal challenge to Arizona’s ban on mask mandates. The challenge claims that, among other things, the ban violates Arizona’s single-subject rule, which requires that laws focus only on one subject. Howie Fischer of Capitol Media Services is covering the story. 

The single-subject rule exists to protect budget bills from being used for items unrelated to the state budget.

“What you cannot do is just take everything else that has nothing to do with the budget and toss it in there, for example obviously the ban on mask mandates for schools, the ban on vaccine mandates for colleges and universities, the question of whether you can teach so-called critical race theory,” Fischer said.

Plaintiffs on the case are seeing these unnecessary additions such as a ban on mask mandates cannot be in the budget bill. Defendants are saying everything even seemingly unrelated affects the state budget. Fischer said this defense is not likely to fly in court.

“If we had a law that said you have to wear underwear on your head on Mondays, well you could say it reflects the budget because the Attorney General might have to prosecute these people and you might need more money, so no you can’t just say everything is budget related,” Fischer said.

Fischer said the judge wants a ruling soon, as the law takes effect on the 29th, because whichever side loses will likely take it to the state Supreme Court.