Page 37 - The EDGE Winter 2022

Chris Thomas Outlines Capital Funding and Budget Battles

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

groups challenged and won on the mask mandate and Arizona. The Commission issued a statement that
single subject issues. Massive budget reconciliation it has ‘exclusive authority to decide if, when and
bills were passed in violation of the state Constitution to what extent the State of Arizona will adopt the
by jamming in a lot of policy issues, including some OSHA vaccination ETS (Emergency Temporary
completely new ideas and others that failed to pass as Standards)’.”
individual bills, Thomas explained.
Besides, the OSHA rule is temporary, didn’t go
The K-12 budget reconciliation bill had 229 pages through the normal procedures with public hearings,
and 120 sections, including one that prohibited school and is intended to increase the number of people
districts from requiring face coverings by students or vaccinated, Thomas said.
staff during school hours and on school property. It also
prevented schools from requiring Covid vaccinations “Stay tuned, Thomas said. “Way more to this story is
to participate in in-school instruction. coming.”

“The single subject rule in the Constitution is intended Chris Thomas, who for 22 years served as General Counsel/
to keep unpopular issues from getting stuffed into the Associate Executive Director of the Arizona School Boards
budget,” Thomas said. “The Legislature’s response Association, can be reached at: cpt67992@gmail.com
was, ‘We’ve always done it this way – maybe this one
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is a little worse. And by the way, courts shouldn’t be
involved in this. This is our decision.’”
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according to Thomas.
“Despite messaging from OSHA suggesting school
districts need to immediately comply, this is not the
case,” Thomas said. “Arizona is one of 22 states that
has a state OSHA plan with compliance rules that
have to be adopted by the Industrial Commission of

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