Katie Hobbs Admits to Violating State Law by Circumventing Senate Confirmation Process, Agrees to Nominate New Directors After Court Ruling

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                   

Monday, August 12, 2024 

Katie Hobbs Admits to Violating State Law by Circumventing Senate Confirmation Process, Agrees to Nominate New Directors After Court Ruling

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— After a legal battle with the Arizona Senate, Governor Katie Hobbs admits she violated state law through her scheme to circumvent the Senate confirmation process for director nominations and has agreed to submit new candidates for consideration, as required by law.

Senate President Warren Petersen spent the last several months working to hold the Governor accountable in Arizona State Senate v. Katie Hobbs. In September of 2023, after a Senate committee recommended a nominee accused of plagiarism not be confirmed, Hobbs sent a letter to President Petersen notifying him that she was going to evade the senate-confirmation process for agency directors, mandated by A.R.S. § 38-211. Under her ill-advised plan, blessed by Attorney General Mayes, Hobbs withdrew 13 director nominations still pending before the Senate. She then re-installed these same individuals with a fake title of "Executive Deputy Directors." Based on flimsy legal reasoning, which Hobbs' own attorney later described as "strange," Hobbs claimed these fake directors had the same power and authority as Senate-confirmed directors. After months of discussions, she continued to insist she was above the law.

In June of this year, a superior court judge confirmed Governor Hobbs violated state law with her illegal scheme and affirmed that state law requires her to submit nominees to fill the supposed "vacancies" created by her now-debunked strategy. The court rightly recognized that "the Governor willfully circumvented th[e] statutory process and eliminated the Legislative branch from its oversight role." 

Consistent with the United States Constitution and the laws of states across this nation, Arizona law requires its agencies to be led by Senate-confirmed directors, under A.R.S. § 38-211. This requirement exists to preserve the liberties of Arizona's citizens. Just as the Governor's veto serves as a check on legislative power, Senate confirmation of agency directors serves as a necessary check on the Governor's power.

"We continue to see a disturbing trend unfolding, where Democrats are weaponizing the government in an attempt to force unlawful and extreme agendas upon our citizens," said President Petersen. "No elected official is above the law, and the Governor's manipulative scheme to circumvent Senate confirmation demonstrates the crucial role the Legislature serves in holding the executive accountable against abuses of power. I'm grateful we can move forward from the insanity and chaos our state agencies and our citizens have been experiencing due to the Governor's actions, and I look forward to reinstating the confirmation process so that we can properly vet director nominations in an effort to ensure only the most qualified candidates are serving in these critical roles."

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov