NE Valley Times

Arizona Rep. Joseph Chaplik utilized platform X to elaborate on his legislative efforts aimed at prohibiting the mandatory use of face masks in specific public environments. These bills were successfully passed in both 2021 and 2022.

"My bills HB2770 and HB 2616, now law, ban businesses from being required to enforce masks and ban school mask mandates (unless parental consent is given for their own children)," Chaplik said.

House Bill 2770, introduced by Chaplik, was approved in April 2021, effectively preventing businesses from imposing mask requirements. While Arizona lacked a statewide mask mandate, certain cities within the state chose to implement such mandates, while others delegated the decision to individual businesses, according to KOLD News.

House Bill 2616, authored by Chaplik, received approval in 2022. This legislation forbids government entities or schools from mandating mask or face covering use for children under 18 years of age unless the parent or guardian provides their consent. Chaplik's stance on masks revolves around considering them as medical devices, thus emphasizing the significance of parental decision-making in medical matters, according to the Daily Independent.

Chaplik secured his position as a representative of Arizona House District 3 in the November 2022 elections and officially took office in January 2023. His professional background includes roles such as the President of Joseph Bernard Investment Real Estate, Vice President, and General Manager at XO Communications and Allegiance Telecom, Inc., along with other management positions. He won the election with 51.7% of the votes.

“This is a bill to return the right to make medical decisions for their children to the parents, which I expect to become the law in Arizona," said Chaplik in 2022, referring to HB 2616. “This is a win for parents, students, and schools who have been forced by their district leadership to mandate masks.”