GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Dedicated to tackling the unique challenges facing Arizona agriculture. ARIZONA GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
The 2023 Arizona Legislative session was unique. For the first time in 15 years, Arizona experienced split governance, with the Governor and Legislature from different parties. Adjourning on July 31, at 204 days the 2023 session was the longest legislative session in state history. (Arizona does not have a set time frame for its legislative sessions.) 1,675 bills were introduced, with 305 passing. Gov. Katie Hobbs established herself as willing to buck trends, setting a record number of vetoes at 143 bills, even some that reached her desk with bipartisan support. With substantial surplus revenues, a $17.8 billion compromise budget passed with a plethora of one-time expenses and increases to numerous programs. The session also saw the expulsion of Liz Harris from the House, only the fifth Legislator in history to be expelled. Perhaps the biggest drama of the session was over Hobbs’ nomination of Department heads. Republican leadership created the Senate Committee on Director Nominations with the purpose of evaluating Hobbs’ nominees for department director positions. Only five of the Governor’s nominees won full Senate confirmation. The committee did not vet the vast majority of the Governor’s nominees during session and was supposed to meet over the summer to hear the remaining agency director nominations. Committee meetings were canceled, and the Legislature adjourned without getting to the list of nominees, leaving most directors in limbo for the foreseeable future.
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