diff --git a/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff.py b/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff.py
index aac1903d46..b0eb623b66 100644
--- a/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff.py
+++ b/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff.py
@@ -39,6 +39,28 @@
 """)
 
 
+def get_affected_tables():
+    """
+    This method gets all the tables that are affected by this cleaning rule which are all the CDM tables
+        except for the person table. The birth date field in the person table will be cleaned in another
+        cleaning rule where all participants under the age of 18 will be dropped. Ignoring this table will
+        optimize this cleaning rule's runtime.
+
+    :return: list of affected tables
+    """
+    tables = []
+    for table in AOU_REQUIRED:
+
+        # skips the person table
+        if table == 'person':
+            continue
+
+        # appends all CDM tables except for the person table
+        else:
+            tables.append(table)
+    return tables
+
+
 class EhrSubmissionDataCutoff(BaseCleaningRule):
     """
     All rows of data in the RDR ETL with dates after the cutoff date should be sandboxed and dropped
@@ -74,28 +96,8 @@ def __init__(self,
                          affected_datasets=[cdr_consts.UNIONED],
                          project_id=project_id,
                          dataset_id=dataset_id,
-                         sandbox_dataset_id=sandbox_dataset_id)
-
-    def get_affected_tables(self):
-        """
-        This method gets all the tables that are affected by this cleaning rule which are all the CDM tables
-            except for the person table. The birth date field in the person table will be cleaned in another
-            cleaning rule where all participants under the age of 18 will be dropped. Ignoring this table will
-            optimize this cleaning rule's runtime.
-
-        :return: list of affected tables
-        """
-        tables = []
-        for table in AOU_REQUIRED:
-
-            # skips the person table
-            if table == 'person':
-                continue
-
-            # appends all CDM tables except for the person table
-            else:
-                tables.append(table)
-        return tables
+                         sandbox_dataset_id=sandbox_dataset_id,
+                         affected_tables=get_affected_tables())
 
     def get_query_specs(self, *args, **keyword_args):
         """
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ def get_query_specs(self, *args, **keyword_args):
         queries_list = []
         sandbox_queries_list = []
 
-        for table in self.get_affected_tables():
+        for table in self.affected_tables:
             # gets all fields from the affected table
             fields = fields_for(table)
 
diff --git a/tests/integration_tests/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff_test.py b/tests/integration_tests/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff_test.py
index 8604dcc439..965ea5b251 100644
--- a/tests/integration_tests/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff_test.py
+++ b/tests/integration_tests/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff_test.py
@@ -43,6 +43,14 @@ def setUpClass(cls):
         cutoff_date = "2020-05-01"
         cls.kwargs.update({'cutoff_date': cutoff_date})
 
+        # mocks the return value of get_affected_tables as we only want to loop through the
+        # visit_occurrence not all of the CDM tables
+        get_affected_tables_patch = patch(
+            'cdr_cleaner.cleaning_rules.ehr_submission_data_cutoff.get_affected_tables'
+        )
+        cls.mock_get_affected_tables = get_affected_tables_patch.start()
+        cls.mock_get_affected_tables.return_value = [common.VISIT_OCCURRENCE]
+
         cls.rule_instance = EhrSubmissionDataCutoff(project_id, dataset_id,
                                                     sandbox_id)
 
@@ -75,16 +83,11 @@ def setUp(self):
 
         super().setUp()
 
-    @patch.object(EhrSubmissionDataCutoff, 'get_affected_tables')
-    def test_ehr_submission_data_cutoff(self, mock_get_affected_tables):
+    def test_ehr_submission_data_cutoff(self):
         """
         Validates pre conditions, tests execution, and post conditions based on the load
         statements and the tables_and_counts variable.
         """
-        # mocks the return value of get_affected_tables as we only want to loop through the
-        # visit_occurrence not all of the CDM tables
-        mock_get_affected_tables.return_value = [common.VISIT_OCCURRENCE]
-
         queries = []
         visit_occurrence_tmpl = self.jinja_env.from_string("""
             INSERT INTO `{{fq_dataset_name}}.{{cdm_table}}`
@@ -133,3 +136,8 @@ def test_ehr_submission_data_cutoff(self, mock_get_affected_tables):
         }]
 
         self.default_test(table_and_counts)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def tearDownClass(cls):
+        cls.mock_get_affected_tables.stop()
+        super().tearDownClass()
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff_test.py b/tests/unit_tests/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff_test.py
index 293aeacb80..56eee06dd2 100644
--- a/tests/unit_tests/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff_test.py
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/data_steward/cdr_cleaner/cleaning_rules/ehr_submission_data_cutoff_test.py
@@ -45,6 +45,13 @@ def setUp(self):
         ]
         self.cutoff_date = str(datetime.now().date())
 
+        get_affected_tables_patch = patch(
+            'cdr_cleaner.cleaning_rules.ehr_submission_data_cutoff.get_affected_tables'
+        )
+        mock_get_affected_tables = get_affected_tables_patch.start()
+        mock_get_affected_tables.return_value = [common.VISIT_OCCURRENCE]
+        self.addCleanup(mock_get_affected_tables.stop)
+
         self.rule_instance = data_cutoff.EhrSubmissionDataCutoff(
             self.project_id, self.dataset_id, self.sandbox_id)
 
@@ -58,11 +65,7 @@ def test_setup_rule(self):
 
         # No errors are raised, nothing will happen
 
-    @patch.object(data_cutoff.EhrSubmissionDataCutoff, 'get_affected_tables')
-    def test_get_query_specs(self, mock_get_affected_tables):
-        # Pre conditions
-        mock_get_affected_tables.return_value = [common.VISIT_OCCURRENCE]
-
+    def test_get_query_specs(self):
         table = common.VISIT_OCCURRENCE
 
         sandbox_query = {