Arizona AG declares Tucson’s COVID vaccine mandate for city employees ‘illegal’

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FIRST ON FOX: The Arizona attorney general states that the city of Tucson’s mandate to vaccinate city employees is “illegal” under state law.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Tuesday morning that his office had determined the city of Tucson could be held responsible for forcing city workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Tucson’s vaccination mandate is illegal and the city could be held liable if it tries to force employees to use it against their belief,” Brnovich said in a press release obtained exclusively from Fox News. “COVID-19 vaccinations should be a choice, not a government mandate.”

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Arizona lawmakers recently passed SB 1824, which prohibits city governments from imposing COVID vaccine mandates on their employees. However, taking advantage of a loophole in the law that is delaying the law’s entry into force until September 29, Tucson announced that public employees must provide evidence of COVID vaccination by August 24 at 4:00 p.m. or be suspended without payment.

Governor Doug Ducey issued an executive order in response to the city of Tucson’s announcement to prevent cities from implementing vaccine mandates before September 29, but Tucson did not lift its vaccination requirement.

The General Public Prosecutor’s Office (AGO) came to the result of an investigation which found that the mandate violated both state law and the governmental order and must be “revoked or changed”.

Brnovich’s office warned, “If the City of Tucson does not lift its policy within the next 30 days, the AGO will notify the Arizona Treasurer, who will withhold the city’s share of the city’s combined revenue until it meets compliance.”

“AGO also believes the City of Tucson could face potential liability claims if it takes adverse action against an employee who relies on EO 2021-18 and state law to refuse the vaccine,” the Attorney General said.

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The announcement comes after weeks of investigation by the Brnovich office.

Tucson City Councilor Steve Kozachik pushed back determination, telling Fox News in an email statement that “Brnovich must put away the political science book and try to read real science.”

“Our local regulation is not illegal, it is recommended by the CDC and is in the best interests of public health,” Kozachik said. “There is a process and we are going to use it to defend what we have. In the meantime, I would like to encourage all of our staff and all of our residents to get vaccinated so we can put it all behind us.” . “

Another councilor, Paul Cunningham, said he was “respectfully not” with Brnovich and stood by the city’s vaccine mandate policies.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and the rest of the Tucson City Council did not immediately respond to Fox News’ requests for comment.

Fox News’ Kelly Laco contributed to this report.

Houston Keene is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find him on Twitter at @HoustonKeene.

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