Gov. Doug Ducey/Wikimedia Commons
By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services
Two Republican lawmakers are moving to trim the powers of government during an emergency.
Rep. Mark Finchem of Oro Valley wants colleagues to rescind statutes that allow the governor to mandate vaccinations.
That’s not something Gov. Doug Ducey — or for that matter, any governor in recent history — has done. Finchem told Capitol Media Services, though, that just having such laws on the books is dangerous.
“Do you think the government should have the power to force you to take any ‘medication’ against your will?” he asked.
But Sen. Warren Petersen of Gilbert has his eyes on powers that Ducey has, in fact, exercised: Ordering certain businesses shuttered. So he wants to spell out in law that neither Ducey nor any local official has such a right.
The two measures are expected to be just the tip of a larger debate when the legislature convenes on Jan. 10 about when governors can declare emergencies, what powers they can exercise and, more to the point, how long they can unilaterally keep them in place.
Right now, there is no limit. In fact, the emergency that Ducey declared in March 2020 is still in effect.
“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,” said Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale.
