By The Mohave Insider

ARIZONA — Hundreds of bills have reached Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs' desk since she took office in January 2023. Some became law. Hundreds of others did not.

Through the end of Arizona's 2026 legislative session, Hobbs had vetoed 541 bills and signed 993 bills, according to an Arizona Capitol Times analysis. In 2026 alone, the Arizona Legislature reports that 151 bills were vetoed — 83 House bills and 68 Senate bills. (Arizona Capitol Times)

With 541 vetoes covering everything from children and schools to fentanyl, immigration, firearms, property rights, abortion and elections, it can be difficult for the average voter to know exactly what was rejected.

The Mohave Insider reviewed a selection of those bills and organized them by subject.

This is not a list of all 541 vetoes. It is a look at some of the measures Arizona residents may not have heard about, what the legislation would have done and, where available, why Hobbs opposed it.

Children, Parents & Schools

Parental rights and education have repeatedly created disagreements between Arizona's Republican-controlled Legislature and the Democratic governor.

SB 1002 — Pronouns, Biological Sex & Parental Permission

In 2025, SB 1002 would have generally prohibited public-school employees from knowingly referring to a student under 18 by a pronoun inconsistent with the student's biological sex, or by certain names different from official school records, without written parental permission.

The legislation would also have prevented schools from requiring employees to use pronouns contrary to their religious or moral convictions.

Hobbs vetoed the legislation, saying it would not increase "opportunity, security or freedom" for Arizonans. (Arizona Legislature)

HB 2600 — Parental Permission for Middle-School Clubs

In 2026, HB 2600 would have prohibited public schools from allowing students in grades six through eight to participate in a student club or organization without first obtaining written parental permission.

When asking for permission, schools also would have been required to give parents information about the club's purpose and activities. (Arizona Legislature)

The bill was vetoed.

HB 2830 — Fetal & Prenatal Development Education

HB 2830 would have directed the Arizona State Board of Education to establish science standards covering fetal and prenatal human development.

The legislation called for age-appropriate instruction on fertilization, early cellular development, stages of prenatal development and major developmental milestones.

The House-engrossed version also contained restrictions involving abortion providers supplying certain health-education instruction or materials in public schools.

Hobbs vetoed the measure in 2026. (Arizona Legislature)

Abortion, Pregnancy & Reproductive Policy

Abortion and pregnancy-related legislation has produced some of the most significant disagreements between Hobbs and Republican lawmakers.

SB 1600 — Infants Born Alive

In 2023, SB 1600 would have required an infant born alive — including an infant born during an attempted abortion — to be treated as a legal person under Arizona law with the same rights to medically appropriate and reasonable care.

It also required health professionals present when an infant was born alive to take medically appropriate actions to preserve the infant's life and health.

Hobbs vetoed the measure. (Arizona Legislature)

HB 2502 — Child Support Beginning During Pregnancy

Another 2023 proposal, HB 2502, would have allowed a court to consider retroactive child support beginning on the date a pregnancy was positively confirmed by a licensed health-care professional.

The court also would have considered temporary or voluntary support already provided during the pregnancy.

Hobbs vetoed the legislation, with the official legislative summary stating that she believed the proposal threatened Arizonans' reproductive rights. (Arizona Legislature)

HB 2439 — Pregnancy & Adoption Information

In 2025, HB 2439 would have required AHCCCS to provide a prominent link on its website directing users to information about support for pregnant women and adoption resources.

Hobbs vetoed the bill. (Arizona Legislature)

Arizona's 1864 Abortion Law — A Different Action

One important distinction needs to be made.

Hobbs did not veto Arizona's 1864 abortion law.

Instead, in 2024 she signed HB 2677, legislation passed by lawmakers that repealed the state's Civil War-era abortion prohibition.

Hobbs publicly supported the repeal and described it as part of her administration's effort to protect reproductive rights in Arizona. (Arizona Governor's Office)

That action was a bill she signed, not one of her 541 vetoes.

Public Safety, Fentanyl & Crime

Public safety legislation has also been among the measures rejected during the Hobbs administration.

SB 1027 — Fentanyl Crimes Involving Children

In 2023, SB 1027 targeted fentanyl, carfentanil and similar drugs.

Among its provisions, the legislation would have classified knowingly manufacturing certain fentanyl substances under circumstances causing physical injury to a child under 15 as a Class 2 felony and a dangerous crime against children.

It also proposed tougher sentencing provisions for several serious narcotics offenses.

Hobbs vetoed the legislation. According to the Arizona Legislature's summary, she said the proposal undermined the purpose of Arizona's Good Samaritan Law and encouraged lawmakers to pursue narrower legislation focusing on fentanyl manufacturing. (Arizona Legislature)

For communities dealing with fentanyl and drug-related crime, this is one of the vetoes likely to generate considerable discussion.

Property Rights, Homeowners & Squatters

SB 1129 — Removal of Unlawful Occupants

In 2024, lawmakers passed SB 1129, legislation addressing people unlawfully occupying residential property.

The measure would have allowed a property owner or authorized agent, under specific conditions, to submit a sworn affidavit requesting that law enforcement immediately remove an unlawful occupant.

The legislation specifically excluded legitimate current or former tenants and contained procedures intended to address wrongful use of the removal process.

Hobbs vetoed the bill. (Arizona Legislature)

The veto became part of a larger statewide debate over how Arizona should balance property-owner protections against due-process protections.

Border Security & Immigration

Few issues affect Arizona politics as consistently as border security and illegal immigration.

SB 1055 — Notification of ICE or Border Patrol

In 2026, SB 1055 would have required law-enforcement officials or agencies to immediately notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection when they arrested a person determined to be unlawfully present in the United States.

The Arizona Senate's bill summary stated that the requirement would apply when such an individual was arrested for violating state or local law.

Hobbs vetoed the measure. (Arizona Legislature)

Other immigration-enforcement proposals have also been among Hobbs' vetoes during her time in office, making border policy one of the recurring points of conflict between the Legislature and governor.

Firearms & Second Amendment

SB 1058 — Firearm Purchases & Merchant Codes

In 2026, lawmakers sent Hobbs SB 1058, titled the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act.

The legislation would have prohibited government entities from maintaining certain registries of privately owned firearms or firearm owners except in specified circumstances such as criminal investigations.

It also sought to prevent payment networks and other covered entities from using merchant category codes in a manner that specifically distinguished firearm retailers from other retailers.

Hobbs vetoed the legislation. (Arizona Legislature)

Other firearm-related proposals vetoed during her administration have addressed issues ranging from concealed carry to firearm suppressors.

Elections & Voting

Arizona's elections have remained the subject of intense legislative debate since the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.

One notable veto came in 2025 with legislation intended to change Arizona's early-ballot procedures and speed up election results.

HB 2703 would have moved up deadlines affecting when some early ballots could be dropped off.

Supporters argued the change could help Arizona report election results more quickly. Hobbs argued that the proposal could make voting more difficult and said potential compromises intended to preserve voter access had been rejected. (AP News)

Election legislation has remained one of the major categories of Hobbs' vetoes.

Taxes, Groceries & Cost of Living

SB 1063 — Grocery Tax Ban

In 2023, SB 1063 would have prohibited Arizona cities, towns and other taxing jurisdictions from imposing a municipal transaction privilege tax on food intended for home consumption.

In simpler terms, the legislation sought to prevent local governments from taxing groceries.

Hobbs vetoed the proposal.

Her veto concerns included the financial impact on municipalities, including the possibility that cities could reduce services or increase other taxes to compensate for lost revenue. (Arizona Legislature)

For Arizona families dealing with grocery costs, this veto is likely to be one of the more recognizable examples in the tax category.

Bathrooms, Locker Rooms & Student Privacy

Another recurring legislative battle has involved whether public-school bathrooms, locker rooms, showers and sleeping accommodations should be separated according to biological sex.

Hobbs has vetoed multiple versions of legislation addressing the issue.

SB 1040 — School Bathrooms & Changing Facilities

In 2023, SB 1040, known as the Arizona Accommodations for All Children Act, would have required public schools to provide reasonable accommodations — such as a single-occupancy or employee restroom — to someone unwilling or unable to use a multi-occupancy restroom designated for that person's sex.

Under the legislation, those accommodations generally would not have included permission to use a multi-occupancy bathroom or changing facility designated for the opposite biological sex while people of the opposite sex were or could be present.

The bill also created certain legal remedies involving students encountering a person of the opposite sex in a sex-designated facility after a school permitted that access.

Hobbs vetoed the bill, calling it discriminatory against LGBTQ+ youth. (Arizona Legislature)

SB 1182 — School Showers

Lawmakers returned with SB 1182 in 2024.

That legislation focused on multi-occupancy school shower rooms and would have required separate reasonable accommodations while generally preventing the accommodation from being access to a shower room designated for the opposite sex.

Hobbs vetoed that legislation as well. (Arizona Legislature)

SB 1003 — Bathrooms, Changing Facilities & Sleeping Quarters

A similar proposal returned in 2025 as SB 1003.

It would have provided single-occupancy or employee facilities as reasonable accommodations while establishing protections involving multi-occupancy bathrooms, changing facilities and sleeping quarters designated according to biological sex.

Hobbs again vetoed the measure. (Arizona Legislature)

These bills are sometimes summarized politically as legislation concerning whether "boys can enter girls' bathrooms." The actual legislation was more specific: it addressed public-school policies involving biological sex, transgender students, multi-occupancy facilities, alternative accommodations and potential legal remedies.

That distinction matters when discussing exactly what Hobbs vetoed.

Water, Agriculture & Rural Arizona

Water policy is especially significant for rural Arizona and communities throughout Mohave County.

Hobbs has vetoed several pieces of legislation dealing with groundwater, development and water management, including measures addressing agricultural groundwater rights and assured-water-supply requirements.

Those disputes have often centered on a larger question facing Arizona: how much control should remain with local communities and property owners, and how much regulation is necessary to protect the state's long-term water supply?

For rural residents, farmers, ranchers and property owners, these vetoes deserve particular attention because water legislation can directly affect development, agriculture and the future of rural communities.

541 Vetoes — But 541 Different Stories

541 vetoes is a substantial legislative record, and Arizona voters have a right to know what was contained in the legislation that never became law. (Arizona Capitol Times)

For voters, the important questions are not simply:

"Did Hobbs veto a bill?"

The questions should also be:

What would the bill have done?

Who supported it?

Who opposed it?

Why did the governor veto it?

And would Arizona be better or worse off if it had become law?

Those are questions voters can answer for themselves after seeing the legislation.

The Mohave Insider will continue reviewing Arizona's legislative record, including bills affecting children and parents, public safety, property rights, border security, firearms, elections, abortion, taxes, water and rural Arizona.

Editor's Note: This article highlights selected legislation and does not represent a complete list of all 541 vetoes. Bill descriptions are based primarily on Arizona Legislature summaries, legislative records and gubernatorial veto information. Readers are encouraged to review the complete bill text and official veto letters when evaluating individual legislation.

The Mohave Insider — Stay Informed. Stay Involved.

From parental rights and public safety to property rights, border security, firearms, elections, abortion, student privacy, taxes and water — The Mohave Insider takes a closer look at some of the Arizona bills that reached the governor’s desk but never became law.

Read the full article to see what these bills proposed and why they were vetoed.

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