The Arizona Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a Lower Court judgment that found the Republican-controlled Legislature violated the state constitution by including new laws banning school mask mandates and a series of other measures in unrelated budget bills.
The swift ruling from the state's high court came less than two hours after the seven justices heard arguments in the state's appeal of a trial court judge's ruling. The justices had hammered Solicitor General Beau Roysden with questions about the Legislature's inclusion of policy as different as dog racing and secure ballot paper in one of the budget bills.
The court upheld a September ruling from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper that blocked the school mask ban and a host of other provisions in the state budget package from going into force on Sept. 29. She sided with education groups that had argued the bills were packed with policy items unrelated to the budget and violated the state constitution’s requirement that subjects be related and expressed in the title of bills.
Cooper’s ruling cleared the way for K-12 public schools to continue requiring students to wear face masks to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. At least 29 of the state’s public school districts issued mask mandates before the laws were set to take effect, and some immediately extended them after Cooper’s ruling.
"I think the bottom line is it was unconstitutional, it was unsafe and it was unpopular. I think the majority of Arizonans supported school districts in making these decisions," said Aaron Marquez. Marquez is a Phoenix Union High School District board member, which was the first Arizona district to announce a mask mandate at their schools after the budget was passed.
Marquez is also a dad to a 6-year-old, who until now hasn't been eligible for the vaccine, so masks were a big mitigation tool. "That's been important for my daughter and all the friends she has that she goes to school with," Marquez said.
Several state lawmakers, education groups and non-rofits sued the state to be able to make their own rules on masks. But this ruling goes beyond just the school mask debate. "The biggest part of the story is that for at least two decades, the Legislature has been culturally allowing this sort of behavior," said political consultant Stan Barnes. "This will be the most significant cultural change at the Legislature because of this ruling that I have seen in 30 years."
Barnes said often unrelated issues that failed earlier in the session were added into the budget bill at the end to get passed. That violates the constitution, but he said this certainly isn't the first time it's happened. "The third branch of government told the first branch of government you can't do that, you're out of bounds," Barnes said.
Of the seven Arizona supreme court justices, Gov. Doug Ducey appointed five of them. "For those critics of Gov. Ducey saying he only appointed folks that would parrot what he wanted, that's absolutely wrong. In this case, the court established its own independence," Barnes said.
The Phoenix Union High School District issued the following statement after the high court issued its ruling:
"Phoenix Union is grateful for the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling this afternoon. Arizona’s classrooms are now safer places for students and educators. School systems with a mask requirement are 3.5 times less likely to have a COVID-19 outbreak. The safety of all staff, students, and families must be the top priority of local and state leaders. We will continue to enforce our mask requirement and provide widespread access to the vaccine, including the soon-to-be-approved Pfizer pediatric formula, at all PXU large campuses weekly."
Arizona cities and counties were also able to enact mask requirements and other COVID-19 rules that would have been blocked by the budget bills.
The Supreme Court's brief order said it did not adopt Cooper's reasoning in its entirety. A written opinion explaining the court's full reasons for upholding her ruling will be issued later.
Gov. Ducey's Office responded to the ruling Tuesday afternoon with the following statement:
"This was a hearing about the legislative process. We are extremely disappointed in the ruling. There are three separate co-equal branches of government, and we respect the role of the judiciary — but the court should give the same respect to the separate authority of the legislature.
As it relates to the provisions protecting Arizonans from burdensome mandates, we believe every Arizonan should have the ability to make their own health decisions with the guidance of their doctor, not because of some government mandate."
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