As the COVID-19 situation continues to develop, the Arizona State Legislature has had to decide on a plan regarding the remainder of the session. The initial decision was to adjourn sine die on May 1st, however, the Legislature has since changed their plan. Adjourning for the year would have killed many bills. A significant number of Legislators found fault with this, which ultimately led to leadership announcing that they will not adjourn sine die on May 1st and will likely resume work shortly after the stay-at-home order is through. While it seems that legislators would like to see priority bills continue in the process, it is unclear whether the bill would have to be past a certain stage.

In addition, Governor Doug Ducey held a press conference to discuss the re-opening of the state. Any actions going forward will be based on up-to-date data and readiness, mitigates risk of resurgence, protects the most vulnerable and implementable on a statewide basis. The current stay-at-home order expires April 30th. There are three options going forward that the Governor may take: let the order expire, extend it in its current form or modify it with changes and improvements that reflect the situation on the ground. During the conference, the Governor announced the he is issuing an executive order authorizing hospitals and outpatient surgical centers who can demonstrate adequate capacity, to resume elective surgeries beginning May 1st.