Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, in what has become a signature rejection spree, has continued to exercise her veto power extensively throughout 2025. The count has hit 138 vetoes for the legislative session, approaching her own record of 143 from two years prior, as reported by the Phoenix New Times. Among the recently vetoed proposals are bills necessitating hotels to warn guests if they are housing homeless individuals and a measure to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in high school curricula.
Gov. Hobbs struck down the hotel warning sign bill proposed by Rep. Matt Gress, which would have forced accommodations to advise guests of potentially sharing spaces with those experiencing homelessness. Citing the need to not overstep and dictate mandates to local businesses, Hobbs expressed that the legislation sidesteps more impactful housing solutions. "We should not micromanage local businesses who have stepped up to help address our state’s housing challenges," Hobbs stated, as reported by the Arizona Capitol Times. The governor has rejected an attempt to mold geographic nomenclature, dismissing Rep. Teresa Martinez's "Gulf of America" bill as a diversion from real issues facing Arizonans.
While Hobbs is deepening her legacy as the veto-strong leader, some bills have managed to secure her often elusive stamp of approval. Despite opposition from her party members, she sanctioned legislation that allows utilities to issue bonds that could potentially lower consumer costs. The governor's intentions or broader strategy behind approving these select measures, however, remains without public elucidation.
Adding to the list of signed legislation, Hobbs has passed bills focused on internet safety measures, such as verifying user age on pornography sites and ad displays on children's applications. Further regulatory actions include overriding local construction noise ordinances for cooler work hours, and making it unlawful to deploy deceptive computer-generated recordings, with certain exceptions for parody or obvious artistic expression. These glimpses of concurrence suggest a specific line of sight for the governor, where bills seem to align with a distinct, practical vision to truly need to bridge the gap between present challenges and plausible solutions.
The vetoes wielded by Hobbs, informed by an array of reasons, continue to set a tone of governance that places emphasis on addressing immediate concerns over what she perceives as non-priority legislation. With more than half of the year remaining, Arizona lawmakers and the public will likely keenly observe whether the Veto Queen maintains her reign or whether a shift in legislative strategy might emerge to meet her precise approval criteria.
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