Arizona governor sets veto record in first legislative session

PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has broken the record for the most vetoes in a single session of the state legislature.

Hobbs nixed 11 more bills Tuesday to reach the 63 mark, topping Janet Napolitano’s record of 58 vetoes set in 158 days of the 2005 session.

Napolitano was a Democratic governor who was narrowly elected and then faced a Republican-controlled Legislature, just like Hobbs is dealing with in her first year on the job.

“I did not come here to veto bills,” Hobbs said at a news conference last week marking her first 100 days in office. “I came here to solve real issues for Arizonans and I’ve made it clear that I’m not going to support legislation that doesn’t address the real issues we’re facing.”

On Monday, Hobbs vetoed two Republican-backed, school-related weapons bills that she said don't solve gun violence problems.

One proposed bill would have allowed parents with concealed-carry permits to be shielded from prosecution if they brought their firearms into gun-free zones.

“Allowing more guns on campus will not make a campus safer,” Hobbs said in her veto letter. “Firearms on campus have the potential to confuse law enforcement as they arrive at an active shooter situation.”

Another bill would have installed a gun safety program for middle and high school students that has been used by the National Rifle Association for more than 30 years.

“Mandatory firearm safety training in schools is not the solution to gun violence prevention,” Hobbs said. “I promised to deliver sanity, not chaos in the governor’s office and I am delivering.”

State Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope, a Republican, said that “instead of demonstrating diplomacy and bipartisanship, the governor is showcasing her failure to work across the aisle.”