Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed 22 bills on May 28, including measures relating to election integrity and critical race theory, arguing that lawmakers need to focus on passing a budget.
“Today, I vetoed 22 bills. Some are good policy, but with one month left until the end of the fiscal year, we need to focus first on passing a budget. That should be priority one. The other stuff can wait,” Ducey wrote on Twitter.
The governor, a Republican, said he won’t sign any more bills until a budget is passed.
Republicans in the state, including Arizona GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward, noted that some of the bills that were vetoed include an election integrity measure and a bill that would prohibit entities from using taxpayer funds to promote the quasi-Marxist critical race theory (CRT).
According to the Arizona Legislature’s website, House Bill 2792—which would bar the mass mailing of ballots to residents who didn’t request them—was vetoed on May 28 by the governor. The measure would make it a felony for an election official to send a ballot to a voter who hadn’t requested it.
Another bill that was vetoed by Ducey, Senate Bill 1074, would prohibit the critical race theory training of government workers that “presents any form of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex,” reported the Arizona Mirror.
Ducey also vetoed Senate Bill 1514, which would have made the state’s Department of Housing provide emergency shelter for homeless senior residents in Maricopa County, among other pieces of legislation.
The governor also vetoed measures proposed by Democrats in the legislature, including two bills that would establish new testing and inspection requirements for marijuana dispensaries, the Mirror reported.
House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican, described Ducey’s May 28 executive actions as disappointing.
