Arizona high court upholds ruling blocking school mask bans

Nov 2, 2021 1:56 PM

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that 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.

Tuesday's ruling from the state’s high court came less than two hours after the court heard arguments in the state’s appeal of a trial court judge’s ruling.

The justices questioned the Republican-controlled Legislature’s inclusion of policy as different as dog racing and secure ballot paper in one of the budget bills. The trial court judge sided with education groups that argued lawmakers violated the state constitution’s requirement that subjects be related and expressed in the title of bills.