Arizona’s Democratic Governor vetoes 10 bills, including anti-squatting and election security measures

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed 1o bills passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature Tuesday, including bills aimed at keeping non-residents of Arizona from voting in the state and prohibiting state funds from being invested in counties the U.S. Secretary of Commerce has labeled a “foreign adversary.”

The vetoes brought Hobbs’ total to 52 for this legislative sessions, the Arizona Daily Star noted.

Radio station KJZZ, which has been keeping a running tally of Hobbs’ vetoes,  said that Hobbs “shattered” the previous record for number of vetoes by a governor in 2023 and was “showing now signs of stopping” this year.

“Hobbs, a Democrat, denies accusations that her office refuses to work with Republicans,” the station reported.

“I’ve shown over and over again that I’m willing to work with anyone on real solutions,” she said, according to KJZZ. “I ran on sanity versus chaos and I’ve said over and over again that I’ll work with anyone but I’ll also be the backstop.”

The outlet added that Hobbs had categorized the 10 bills she vetoed this week as “extreme.”

One of the “extreme” measures she vetoed this week included a bill that attempted to protect school children from being forced to shower with individuals of the opposite gender who claimed to identify otherwise.

“It is inappropriate for a 15-year-old female high school co-ed to have to stand next to a 20-year-old biological male who identifies as female in the same shower,” Sen. John Kavanagh, the bill’s Republican sponsor, said from the Senate floor during the vote.

It was at least the third bill on the topic Kavanagh had sponsored over the last 10 years, according to the Daily Star. Hobbs vetoed his most recent previous attempt last year.

“As I have said time and time again, I will not sign legislation that attacks Arizonans,” she said this time around.

Rep. John Gillette crafted a bill that sought to define a resident of Arizona as anyone who was present in the state for at least 181 days and intended to remain.

“This bill creates additional, unnecessary barriers for individuals registering to vote,” Hobbs objected, according to the Daily Star.

Hobbs also vetoed a bill designed to prevent Arizona from investing in companies headquartered in counties considered unfriendly to the United States.

“SB 1340 prohibiting the investment of public funds in any state-owned or company domiciled within a ‘foreign adversary’’ as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce under federal law. That includes China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuelan politician Nicolas Maduro,” the Daily Star reported. “It also would bar putting money into a bank that has a principal place of business in a foreign adversary.”

Other bills she rejected would have made it easier for homeowners to eject squatters from their property, increased penalties for individuals convicted of “organized retail theft,” and allowed food trucks in residential areas when given permission by the property owners.

While Republicans hold both houses of the state legislature with slim, two-vote majorities — 16-14 in the Senate and 31-29 in the House — an override of any of the vetoes, which would require a two-thirds vote — is considered highly unlikely.

Hobbs also signed 12 bills into law Tuesday, including one to form the Arizona-Ireland Trade Commission.