Tempe Reaffirms Mask Mandate

TEMPE, AZ — The Tempe City Council voted to reaffirm its existing mask mandate on Thursday night, in rebuke of Gov. Doug Ducey's order prohibiting localities from having such orders.

The mandate, which was put in place on June 18, was deemed to still be enforceable by the council after considering the city's charter authority, state law and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich's opinions on other city's mandate extensions.

The council voted unanimously on Thursday to continue enforcing the city's mandate at all businesses, in addition to public transit and city facilities.

Mayor Corey Woods commended the council for extending the mask mandate in a statement on Thursday.

"Given the discussion amongst the Tempe City Council, City Manager Andrew Ching will work with city staff and outside entities such as Arizona State University and the Arizona Department of Health Services to establish science-based, objective thresholds for Tempe so that we will have indicators about when to responsibly end our city mask mandate," Woods said.

Tempe will continue its education-before-citation approach to enforcing its mandate, in compliance with Gov. Ducey's requirements, the city said.