Some Republican lawmakers have set their sights on limiting the government’s power during states of emergency in the upcoming legislative session.

Rep. Mark Finchem (R-Oro Valley) wants to prevent governors from mandating vaccinations, which Gov. Ducey has not done. He claims falsely that vaccines change a person’s DNA. State law does allow a governor to mandate vaccines for someone who has been exposed to a highly contagious or fatal disease.

Meanwhile, Sen. Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) wants to block local officials from closing businesses during states of emergency, which Ducey did do in some cases by temporarily closing gyms.

Rep. Walt Blackman (R-Snowflake) compared vaccination requirements at private firms to Jim Crow laws.“That’s better!”

“I don't believe that we need to fire people from their jobs or hold their jobs over their heads as a condition to having the vaccination or to having a passport,” Blackman said.

These measures are part of the larger debate of a governor’s powers to declare emergencies.

Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) wants to limit emergency declarations to 30 days and says governments have gone too far. 

“If anything's been clear over the last year and a half, it's that governors, whether they're Republican or Democrat, are all too willing to abuse their emergency declaration powers,” Ugenti-Rita said.

While most of the restrictions Ducey imposed in 2020 have been rescinded, Arizona is still in a state of emergency.

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