Capitol roundup: Hobbs vetoes second GOPbill in tax conformity fight
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Gov. Katie Hobbs once again vetoed a GOP tax conformity bill that state Republicans claim is necessary to streamline the filing process for Arizonans.
State of play: Hobbs rejected legislation Thursday that would've adopted into state law changes made last year at the federal level by President Trump's "big beautiful bill."
Catch up quick: Hobbs and GOP lawmakers opened the legislative session by touting competing tax conformity bills that adopted some but not all of the federal changes.
- Hobbs vetoed the first Republican bill, urging lawmakers to instead pass her plan and then negotiate other changes later as part of the 2026 fiscal year budget.
- Republicans instead sent her a new bill that simply fully conformed state tax law with the federal changes.
The intrigue: Hobbs ordered the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) in November to include the federal changes in state tax forms.
- If those changes aren't ultimately included in state law, some Arizonans will have to file amended tax returns later this year and potentially pay additional taxes, Republicans have repeatedly warned.
Given that people are already filing taxes using the ADOR forms, full conformity is a necessity, said Rep. Justin Olson (R-Mesa), who sponsored the vetoed bill.
- Vetoing the bill is "just prolonging the ultimate adoption of these statutes while creating a significant amount of unnecessary confusion and uncertainty for taxpayers," he told Axios.
In other legislative news this week:
🚘 The Senate Appropriations, Transportation and Technology Committee advanced a bill limiting how law enforcement agencies can use automatic license plate readers, though critics argued it needed additional restrictions.
🎗️ A Senate committee advanced a bill that would authorize monuments at Wesley Bolin Plaza to two assassinated Arizonans, journalist Don Bolles and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and would rename the space Wesley Bolin and Charlie Kirk Freedom Plaza.
- The bill's sponsor, Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), blocked Bolles monument bills as Senate Government Committee chair several times over the past few years.
- David Bolles, the slain journalist's oldest son, told the Arizona Agenda he wasn't happy about Hoffman linking his father to a Kirk monument.
🗓️ Arizona's primary elections, which were just moved to the second-to-last Tuesday in July, would be held on the last Tuesday of May starting in 2028 under a bill approved by the Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee.
🗺️ Legislative candidates would have to be residents of their districts, instead of their counties, for at least one year before their elections under a proposed ballot measure advanced by the House Government Committee.
🗳️ Voters would decide whether to ban people from dropping off early ballots on Election Day under a proposal approved by House Republicans.
- The measure now goes to the Senate.
💻 Public schools would be required to offer courses on the "ethical, moral and educational uses" of AI beginning in the 2027-28 academic year under a bill passed by Republicans in the new House Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Innovation.
🖥️ The House unanimously approved a bill requiring companies to disclose to customers if their downloads or streams of movies and video games aren't permanent copies.
- The bill now goes to the Senate.