Arizona Gov. Ducey says COVID-19 state of emergency is over: 'The state is wide open'
PHOENIX - Many states have started to let their COVID-19 emergency declarations expire over the last few months, and it appears you can officially add Arizona to that list.
Speaking about his flat tax efforts and the state's efforts to hire more veterans in a one-on-one interview with FOX 10, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said that the state is no longer under a COVID-19 emergency.
As of March 30, he announced the state of emergency is officially over.
In a statement, he said, in part, "This virus isn’t completely gone, but because of the vaccine and other life-saving measures, today we are better positioned to manage and mitigate it. COVID-19 challenged us in ways we never could’ve imagined. No corner of our state – no corner of our country or the world - was spared. But we met that challenge head on by prioritizing lives, livelihoods and individual liberties. The time is right to move forward."
Q: Uninsured Arizonans can no longer get a free COVID-19 test. Anything thing you can do at the state level that you're considering in regards to that?
Ducey: Of course we’re looking at the dollars in our general fund right now. How do we continue to fund K-12 education? Make sure we stretch and strengthen the social safety net and make sure we've got a well-financed public safety arena as well. I’m talking with the Department of Health Services as necessary to address what remains of COVID-19.
Q: Any plans to end the state of emergency?
Ducey: Yes. The emergency is over, look around. The state is wide open. I think we had record number of people out for the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Spring training in full bloom and people are coming here from around the country and around the world to watch the games, so we’re excited about it. We’re winding down a number of things that are purely administrative. We’re working with the legislature, the general fund and federal authorities to bring an end to all of that.
So are we a couple of weeks away from that ending? Months? Days? "It's coming," Ducey remarked.
Well, ending a state of emergency will have some important effects.
Being under one allows a governor to create policies and fight through red tape much easier to shift funds and resources. That will come to end now.
You can watch the full one-on-one interview where he addresses the election, the resignation of Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel, and talks in-depth about what he’s considering in his future plans after office.
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