MAYOR AND COUNCIL APPROVES WORKER HEAT PROTECTION ORDINANCE AND HEAT ACTION ROADMAP

– Mayor and Council last night, June 4, adopted a Heat Action Roadmap and Worker Heat Protection Ordinance, two actions increasing the City’s ability to mitigate and manage extreme heat and build resilience for the future. The Heat Action Roadmap marks the next step as part of the implementation of Tucson Resilient Together, the City’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. The roadmap includes three goals: informing, preparing, and protecting people; cooling people’s homes and community centers; and cooling Tucson’s neighborhoods. At the urging of Mayor Regina Romero, the Tucson City Council last September gave direction to create an ordinance requiring heat-related illness prevention strategies for City workers and mandatory training for supervisors and managers in all City departments to implement heat-protection protocols. The ordinance also requires City contractors to provide workers with the same heat protections. “Through the Heat Action Roadmap and Worker Heat Protection Ordinance, the City of Tucson is leading with urgency, putting forward concrete actions to protect the public health of our community, our economy, and the Sonoran Desert,” said Mayor Regina Romero.