Gov. Hobbs on track for veto record after rejecting 4 Republican-backed bills

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed four more Republican-backed bills Monday, putting her on pace to smash the record for the number of legislative proposals rejected in a single year.

Former Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano set the record 17 years ago with 58 vetoes while working with a Republican-controlled legislature. Hobbs has already killed 24 pieces of legislation since January, and this looks like it could just be the beginning. The governor started the session with a clear message to lawmakers: don’t send legislation based on agendas and conspiracies.

Republicans appeared undeterred by that warning and her growing list of vetoes and continue to push bills that appeared destined to get rejected. “Just because the governor may veto a bill is no reason for us not to attempt to get it through,” Sen. John Kavanagh, a Republican from Fountain Hills said. “I came here to represent my constituents who believe in a lot of the things we’re pushing, and if it gets vetoed it gets vetoed.”

As Hobbs issued her latest list of vetoes on Monday, the GOP-led Senate was expected to hear a number of bills related to election security, which critics claim restrict voting. A Senate committee approved another bill that would bar schools from addressing most students by a pronoun that differs from the gender on their birth certificate. Given the governor’s prior comments and actions, it’s unlikely Hobbs will sign those election and gender-related bills.

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