Arizona governor halts bill signing over funding dispute

PHOENIX — Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs on Thursday vowed to veto all bills not already on her desk amid a standoff with the Republican-controlled Legislature over funding for a state agency that provides services for some of Arizona’s most vulnerable residents.

Hobbs is demanding that lawmakers find a bipartisan compromise that would guarantee funding through the end of the fiscal year for the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, which supports close to 60,000 people with autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down syndrome and other cognitive and intellectual disabilities.

Before signing off on a funding package, Republicans want to establish guardrails for the program, such as reducing the number of paid hours that parents who care for their children with disabilities can receive per week. Democrats want to approve funding first and discuss reforms later.

The strategy of holding back on signing bills isn’t new. Hobbs’ Republican predecessors also withheld their signatures over budget disputes.

Republicans became frustrated after learning that Hobbs was requesting about $13 million more in supplemental funding for the Division of Developmental Disabilities, despite having already released her executive budget proposal.

Republicans contend that Hobbs has mismanaged the funds — going so far as to convene an ad hoc committee earlier this month to discuss “executive budget mismanagement.” Rep. David Livingston, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said during a hearing earlier this week that it was unacceptable for programs within the division to be shut down in early May because of a lack of funding.

House Speaker Steve Montenegro in a statement called the governor’s veto threat “political blackmail.”

Hobbs, who is up for reelection in 2026, claims that Republicans are leveraging the crisis for “political warfare.” The governor is willing to even veto legislation she supports so long as a bipartisan compromise is not reached, said her spokesperson Christian Slater.

“We have been waiting for far too long,” Slater said in an interview. “Families are at the brink.”

——-

Govindarao covers Arizona government and politics for The Associated Press, with a focus on women in state government. She is based in Phoenix.