PHOENIX — Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed 15 bills Tuesday, and more could be on the way.
Senate Bill 1164, known as the Arizona ICE Act, landed on her desk this week. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego sent Hobbs a letter Tuesday, asking that she veto the bill, which would mandate state and local cooperation with immigration enforcement. And Legislature on Tuesday passed additional measures related to immigration and DEI practices.
The 15 House bills Hobbs nixed brought her veto total this year to 19. This week’s vetoed bills include legislation on groundwater, elections, gender identity and SNAP benefits.
Seven of the bills, all sponsored by state Rep. Gail Griffin, related to water issues.
“Disappointingly, none of these bills make a difference in solving the water policy challenges that Arizona residents and communities are facing today,” Hobbs wrote in a joint veto letter.
Hobbs also vetoed a “Make America Healthy Again” bill praised by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. House Bill 2165 would have prohibited the use of food stamps to purchase soda.
The governor said the bill would have relegated Arizonans in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program “to a new underclass of grocery shoppers.”
Lawmakers on Wednesday passed additional bills that are likely to meet Hobbs’ veto stamp.
The Arizona House passed Senate Bill 1256, a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion employment programs in state government, and Senate Bill 1610, which would require county detention facilities to send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement information on anyone arrested on suspicion of shoplifting, burglary, theft, larceny, assault of an officer and serious assault charges.
State Rep. Teresa Martinez, a Republican who represents Legislative District 16, said both parties want to pass good policy, but they often have different ideas about what that means.
“It is not my goal to be a notch on her veto belt,” she said. “It is my goal to create good policy for the people of Arizona.”
“It feels like we waste a lot of time here at the State Capitol, knowing that the bill is not going to get signed,” said state Rep. Cesar Aguilar, a Democrat from Legislative District 26.
Aguilar, who has sponsored and co-sponsored some bipartisan legislation this year, said bills are more likely to become law if lawmakers from both parties meet in the middle.
“I think legislators on the majority party need to come to the realization that they need to work with the other side to get bipartisan legislation signed,” he said.
Martinez said vetoes aren’t necessarily a partisan issue, noting that the previous governor, Republican Doug Ducey, would also veto bills.
“We still have to have communication with the ninth floor, whether it's a Republican governor or a Democrat governor,” she said.
Hobbs has signed 54 bills so far this year. And she signaled her support for a bill that passed this week with broad bipartisan support: a measure that toughens penalties on stolen valor.
“We should do everything we can to honor their service and provide them with the support they need and make sure that the stolen valor issues don't happen,” she said.
