Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed a bill that would have required public schools to honor President Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Hobbs told Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro that she vetoed HB 2700 because constituents “want us to work together to lower costs, secure the border, create jobs, and protect public education. Instead of joining with me to do that, this Legislature has chosen to attempt to dictate how teachers refer to geographic features. I encourage you to refocus your time and energy on solving real problems for Arizonans.”
Other bills vetoed by the Democratic governor included SB1002, which would have required public school employees to use a student’s biological pronouns unless they receive parental consent. It also would have protected school employees’ religious convictions to refuse to use a student’s desired pronouns.
Hobbs also stood against SB1088, which would have required state and local governments to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agencies.
Arizona Republican Senator Jake Hoffman criticized Hobbs’ veto of the immigration bill, saying, “There is no logical justification for Hobbs’ veto on this reasonable bill that helps align local and federal government officials with their critical law enforcement duties, but she remains committed to her radical ideology of open borders and appeasement for cartels.”
Hobbs vetoed a similar immigration enforcement bill last month. The bill, backed by Republican lawmakers, would have prohibited local jurisdictions from enacting “sanctuary city” policies that obstruct immigration enforcement. It also would have required local police to notify federal officials about illegal immigrants in custody, honor immigration detainers, and collaborate with the federal government in housing detainees awaiting deportation.
The governor vetoed 36 bills in total.
