Hobbs Vetoes Legislation, Undermining the Civil Rights of Children in Arizona

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                 

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Hobbs Vetoes Legislation, Undermining the Civil Rights of Children in Arizona

PHOENIX, ARIZONA—Senator Mark Finchem is expressing outrage after learning Governor Hobbs callously vetoed legislation that would have protected the safety and civil rights of children in Arizona's family court system.  

"This commonsense measure would have safeguarded Arizona's vulnerable youth from the horrors of court-ordered reunification programs and the financial burdens they pose on parents after divorce proceedings," said Senator Finchem, Chairman of the Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on Family Court Orders. "It is unconscionable that the governor chose to uphold a system that silences victims, strips them of their rights, and allows for abuse under the guise of justice."

With the adoption of a strike everything amendment from Senator Finchem, HB 2256, sponsored by Representative Rachel Keshel, would have prohibited a court from ordering payment, without the appropriate party's consent, for therapeutic intervention in specified proceedings. The bill also established requirements for expert testimony in these proceedings.

"Parents are bankrupt. Children are being raped, abused, and mutilated. However, the so-called unlicensed therapeutic interventionists are reaping benefits off the continuous abuse and flow of money through the family court system. You'd think after the family court committee this week, where hundreds of people attended and 1,200 people viewed online, Hobbs would realize the significance of this crisis impacting children and think twice before vetoing the bill. With Hobbs being a social worker herself, and someone who was a member of the Domestic Relations Committee at the state courts, I'd expect more from her. Sadly, I'm not surprised with her decision to supply her friends with dirty money over the health and wellbeing of Arizona's vulnerable children population. It is clear her veto action protects the profit motive and self-dealing facilitated by family court orders."

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov