Gov. Hobbs adds to record number of vetoes, rejects bills on drag shows, elections

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Gov. Katie Hobbs added to her record number of vetoes. The governor rejected eight more pieces of legislation on Friday, bringing her total number of vetoes this year to 119, more than twice the previous record for a single session of 58.

That shouldn’t come as a big shock, given the Democratic governor is working with a Republican legislature that has vastly different priorities. Heading into the session, Hobbs warned lawmakers that she would not sign legislation based on conspiracy theories or political agendas. Her latest veto list included bills the governor says did exactly that.

Hobbs shot down four bills that originally dealt with drag shows - one of the latest targets in the ongoing cultural war. Lawmakers watered down legislation by removing specific references to drag shows in all but one of the bills. But the governor still felt the proposals attacked the LGBTQ community. “Intolerance has no place in Arizona, despite the legislature’s frequent attempts to pass legislation that says otherwise. SB 1026, SB 1028, SB 1030, and SB 1698 are attempts to criminalize free expression and ostracize the LGBTQIA+ community both implicitly and explicitly,” Hobbs said in her veto letter.

Hobbs also axed a bill that appeared to be rooted in baseless election conspiracies. HB 2722 would have allowed counties to replace the electronic count of ballots with a less accurate and time-consuming hand count. Three other less notable bills were also rejected, including one Hobbs says would have played politics with how the state invests its money.

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