Key Points: 

• Gov. Hobbs is five vetoes short of the state record for governor

• She blames Republic legislators for passing large numbers of bad bills

• Many of the rejected bills were concerning education, food stamps and immigration enforcement

Katie Hobbs is hurtling toward a new record in Arizona for the number of bills vetoed in one year.

But the Democratic governor insists it’s not because she cannot work across the aisle with Republican legislators.

Hobbs told Capitol Media Services, the fault lies with them. According to Hobbs, if they stop sending her bad bills, she’ll stop putting her veto stamp on so many of them.

“I have made it clear that I’m not going to sign legislation that is a solution in search of a problem. That takes away people’s freedom,” the governor said.

What is virtually certain is that when lawmakers return from their break they will resume approving measures that advance the GOP policy agenda. And there’s still a host of bills in the pipeline that are virtually certain to meet with the governor’s displeasure, from changes in election laws and cuts in the state income tax rate to easing some groundwater regulations.

And that all but guarantees she will set a new record for total bills vetoed.

As of right now, Hobbs has vetoed 138 bills since the Legislature convened in January — five short of her first year in office. 

House Republicans aren’t taking kindly to her effort to blame them.

“Gov. Hobbs has made vetoing good policy her full-time job, rejecting bipartisan solutions supported by the elected representatives of the people of Arizona,” said Andrew Wilder, spokesman for House Speaker Steve Montenegro and the GOP caucus. “Instead of governing, she’s cementing a record as an ineffective obstructionist whose only accomplishments cater to the extreme fringe of her party.”

Not everything that Hobbs has rejected have been strictly partisan affairs. There have been a few bills that she has rejected that have had some support from legislative Democrats.

One, for example, would have ensured that parents are entitled to a minor child’s medical records, regardless of whether parental consent is required for treatment. There are exceptions under existing law to the need for that consent such as emergency situations, including those that might involve a drug overdose, and instances where a minor may have contracted a venereal disease.

Hobbs said the proposal by Rep. Julie Willoughby, R-Chandler, would create “legal ambiguity” for health care providers with existing obligations to patient privacy.

Several Democrats also supported a proposal to pave the way for “small modular nuclear reactors” in Arizona.

Still, the vast majority of what met with the governor’s disapproval were Republican-only affairs ranging from major policy issues to minor regulatory affairs.

Take the measure, also by Willoughby, to mandate employment and training requirements for food stamp recipients. Hobbs said lawmakers should instead use their efforts to support an existing voluntary program for recipients to get jobs and training.

The governor also rejected a requirement for the state’s Medicaid program to provide a “conspicuous link” on the agency’s website to information on adoption and support for pregnant women. Hobbs saw it through the lens of efforts to attack reproductive freedom in the wake of voters putting a right to abortion in the Arizona Constitution.

Only Republicans supported a proposal by freshman Sen. Carine Warner, R-Scottsdale, to make all school board elections into partisan affairs.

Hobbs said she doesn’t understand why Republicans are surprised at her decisions.

“Some of these vetoes are bills that have been sent to me multiple times, even in one session,” she said. “It’s ridiculous, quite frankly.”

One of those returning bills was a proposal by Sen. Wendy Rogers to allow those with state-issued permits to carry a concealed weapon onto college campuses.

And then there were a pair of bills from Sen. John Kavanagh. The Fountain Hills Republican wanted to ban teachers from referring to students by a first name or pronoun that did not match their gender at time of birth and prohibit students from using a restroom other than the one based on their biological sex.

Then there were the measures sent to Hobbs to score political points, with little belief they would be signed, like the proposal by Rep. Teresa Martinez, R-Casa Grande, to ensure that Arizona schools were aligned with the orders of President Trump when referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Hobbs lumped that in with other measures that she rejected, saying they take away attention from what she believes should be the focus of lawmakers.

“I would like the Legislature to prioritize lowering costs, addressing our housing crisis, securing our water future, securing the border,” she said.

On that last point, Republicans have advanced measures designed to do just that.

One of those was crafted by Senate President Warren Petersen. The Gilbert Republican sought to ensure state and local law enforcement cooperate with federal immigration officials and, specifically, that they honor requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain people sought by the federal agency.

The governor recognizes public sentiment on that, with voters in November having approved Proposition 314 on a 63-37 margin. It allows state and local police to arrest those who are not citizens who enter the country at other than a port of entry.

So Hobbs, in her veto message of the Petersen bill, said she has worked with the federal government to secure the border, cited efforts to stem fentanyl smuggling and sought to keep border communities safe.

That explanation left Petersen cold, responding to the veto by calling it “another slap” at Arizonans who “suffered greatly” from the open border policies of the Biden administration.

But Petersen, who is running to be the Republican nominee for attorney general in 2026, declined to discuss what he thinks of the governor’s overall veto record and her explanation of why so many GOP-sponsored bills have wound up being returned with veto stamps.

Hobbs said she still believes there are areas of accommodation with the Republican majority. All they need to remember, she said, is what she told them when the session started in January.

“I made it really clear in my State of the State that I wanted to work with the Legislature to advance opportunity, freedom and security for Arizonans,” the governor said. “to achieve these goals and address the needs that Arizonans have.”