Kavanagh, Olson Lead GOP Against Hobbs’ Veto History

PHOENIX — Republican lawmakers are moving to reintroduce dozens of bills previously vetoed by Arizona’s Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs. This strategy is already colliding with a separate, high-stakes fight over the state’s tax conformity with federal tax standards after Hobbs’ recent veto of House Bill 2785.

The Republican-led House reintroduced 87 bills this session that were previously vetoed by Hobbs, underscoring what both parties describe as a hardened dynamic at the Capitol: Republicans repeatedly advancing measures Hobbs has rejected, and the governor’s office accusing the Legislature of wasting time on proposals unlikely to become law. It has become emblematic of the growing rift between Hobbs’s Democrat administration and the GOP-led Legislature.

“It’s beyond frustrating to see Republicans recycling the same vetoed bills, fully aware they’ll be rejected again,” Hobbs press secretary Liliana Soto said in a recent statement, calling the effort “political theater.”

Republicans argue the move reflects unresolved disputes over policy priorities and, in some cases, a deliberate effort to take issues directly to voters through ballot referrals.

Sen. John Kavanagh offered an example in the form of Senate Concurrent Resolution 1006, which addresses a crucial determination for transgender students. It would require schools to offer “reasonable accommodations” rather than allowing transgender students to use the gendered restroom of their choice, and would prohibit teachers from using a student’s preferred pronouns without parental consent. In its new form, it would bypass Hobbs and run as a ballot measure.

“The two concepts … were run as separate bills vetoed by the governor, which is why they’re going as a ballot initiative,” Kavanagh stated.

The broader standoff unfolded as lawmakers and the governor’s office disputed how to handle tax conformity following changes to federal law under President Donald Trump’s new IRS tax code. Hobbs just vetoed House Bill HB2785, a measure Republicans said would align Arizona tax statutes with federal provisions already embedded in Arizona’s tax forms and filing process.

House Speaker Steve Montenegro said in a press release on February 11, 2026, that the veto creates uncertainty for filers. “Arizona taxpayers did exactly what the government told them to do, and the Governor left them exposed.”

Rep. Justin Olson, the sponsor of HB2785, told news station ABC15 that the issue is urgent because “tax season has already begun.” He said Arizonans “deserve certainty,” and described the proposal as a vehicle to “apply all of the Trump tax cuts to the Arizona tax code” while conforming to the forms taxpayers are already using.

Hobbs had stated that her objections centered on the scope and financing of the conformity changes. In her veto message, she reiterated her position that lawmakers should send her a narrower package.

“My position on tax conformity remains clear: Send me the Middle Class Tax Cuts Package,” Hobbs wrote on February 12, 2026, urging lawmakers to “stop the partisan political theater” and arguing that broader tax changes should be negotiated through the budget process.

She also made it known she would not support a conformity measure without a funding plan. “The entire tax conformity bill is a non-starter if we don’t have a way of how we’re going to pay for all those tax cuts,” Hobbs said in an ABC15 follow-up interview.

Republicans and the governor’s office have not signaled an imminent compromise. Meanwhile, the Legislature’s decision to reintroduce vetoed measures is expected to keep Hobbs’ veto pen, and her record-setting veto history, central to the 2026 legislative session as lawmakers press forward on bills they argue are popular with voters and that the governor insists are unlikely to survive without bipartisan negotiation.