Key Points:

• Bill would have banned photo radar enforcement of traffic law

• Some believe the measure was sabotaged in committee

• Legislators can still push the measure to voters next year

Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would prohibit law enforcement agencies from using photo enforcement systems to issue tickets, but Republican lawmakers have a chance next year to bring an identical measure to voters. 

The governor’s veto of Senate Bill 1019 was no surprise for the many Republicans who anticipated the outcome after Hobbs vetoed a similar bill in 2023. 

During the House’s vote on June 24, several Republicans expressed disappointment that they were voting on Senate Bill 1019 rather than an identical measure in Senate Concurrent Resolution 1002, which would have been referred to voters in 2026 instead of going to Hobbs. 

“This bill attempts to remove the ability of local law enforcement to keep our streets safe by eliminating a tool used to enhance roadway safety,” Hobbs wrote of the bill in her veto message. 

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, introduced both measures as a way to try to get around Hobbs’ veto, but the resolution was held in the House until the day before lawmakers adjourned sine die, leading to frustration among Republicans after some members were absent ensuring that the resolution didn’t have enough votes to make it out of the House. 

One House Republican accused chamber leadership of playing “games” with the measure and intentionally delaying the resolution until a day when Republicans couldn’t pass it because they lacked the necessary numbers. 

“It’s almost as if we’re more interested in making a show of solving the problem than actually solving the problem when actually solving the problem is within our power,” said Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale. 

The resolution was double assigned to committees in the House earlier in the session. It passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee but never received a hearing in the House Government Committee, chaired by Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, who spent part of the session criticizing Rogers for not holding a hearing on his bill that criminalized impersonating a veteran.

A measure must get a do pass recommendation from a majority of members in each committee it’s assigned to, and multiple committee assignments have typically been a method to keep a bill from advancing in the Legislature. 

Rep. Justin Wilmeth, R-Phoenix, noted the resolution was double assigned during his vote for SB1019. 

“This is what majorities are about, and on this issue, we are wasting our opportunity,” said Wilmeth. 

House Republicans waived chamber rules to introduce the resolution for a floor vote on June 26, but it failed 29-27, with four Republicans absent. 

Speaker Steve Montenegro said the House and Senate have always had an agreement to wait until the budget is passed before voting on measures that would go to the ballot, which is what the House did with SCR1002.

The Senate waited to pass House Concurrent Resolution 2021, which would cap municipal food taxes at 2%, on the same day it first passed the budget on June 20. Montenegro also sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 2055 (drug cartels; terrorist organizations), which the Senate approved the day it passed the budget in a final read.

The only other ballot referral the House passed this session was Senate Concurrent Resolution 1004, which would prohibit government subdivisions in the state from imposing a tax based on vehicle miles traveled. That measure passed the House on June 13 before it passed the bipartisan budget, but, on the same day, House Republicans passed their first budget proposal, which was vetoed by Hobbs and not supported by Senate Republicans.

There is still time for Republicans to get the resolution to voters. If an identical resolution passes the Legislature next session, it would appear on the 2026 ballot. Rep. Teresa Martinez, R-Casa Grande, said she expects to see the resolution next year.