Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs made waves on Friday signing a total of 44 bills, including the revised "tamale bill", HB 2042, which delineates the legalities surrounding the sale of home-cooked foods like tamales, previously vetoed by Hobbs due to health concerns, now with newly defined regulations and certifications for home cooks, as reported by 12 News.
Amid bipartisan support, the homemade tamales legalization addressed prior resistance by setting forth clear guidelines; including the redefinition of "home kitchen" to prevent commercial evasion of regulations, requirements for cooks to have food handler certifications, and strict labeling with details such as preparer's name ingredient list time of preparation and a disclaimer that it must be packaged at home, although it initially faced opposition over public health risks, this revamped effort passed the House unanimously and scraped through the Senate with a 17-11 vote according to AZFamily.
In another bipartisan move, Hobbs enshrined Pluto as Arizona's official state planet marking it a significant historical emblem of the state's legacy in astronomy and honoring the 1930 discovery at the Lowell Observatory: this simple but profound six-word legislation, "PLUTO IS THE OFFICIAL STATE PLANET," swept through the legislature, reported 12 News.
Adding to her roster of notable legislative approvals, Gov. Hobbs also addressed Arizona's exclusionary past by signing a bill that facilitates the removal of racist restrictions found on home deeds stemming from a time when people of color were barred from owning homes in certain areas; a unanimous vote emphasized the legislature's commitment to erasing these outdated, discriminatory covenants thus clearing a part of the Phoenix area's housing legacy of prejudice, as detailed by 12 News.
All new laws, including these landmark bills, are set to take effect 90 days following the end of the legislative session, sealing Gov. Hobbs's recent legislative endeavors which have drawn both praise and criticism from across the political spectrum and reaffirming the evolving dynamics within Arizona's political and social landscapes.
