Highlights
- Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed SB 1058, which would have barred government and payment networks from tracking firearm purchases through merchant category codes.
- She also vetoed SB 1237, which would have required the secretary of state to consult with county recorders and legislative leaders before updating the Elections Procedures Manual.
- Hobbs signed SB 1294, allowing county assessors to hold a destroyed property's tax classification for up to five years after a fire, flood, or other disaster.
- SB 1294 applies retroactively to Sept. 13, 2024, affecting property owners still rebuilding from recent disasters.
Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed two Republican-backed bills on May 26, one that would have restricted firearm purchase tracking through payment networks and one that would have added procedural steps to updates of Arizona's Elections Procedures Manual, while signing a property tax relief measure that carries direct implications for owners of disaster-damaged real estate.
The firearm bill, SB 1058, would have banned government registries of privately owned firearms or firearm owners and prevented card networks such as Mastercard and Visa from requiring or encouraging the use of a merchant category code that identifies firearm retailers separately from other businesses. Banks, payment processors, and other businesses also would have been barred from assigning gun-specific merchant category codes. Supporters argued the bill protected the data privacy of legal gun owners. Hobbs rejected that framing, writing in her veto letter that merchant category codes are tools law enforcement uses to identify illegal gun trafficking to transnational criminal organizations. She noted she had vetoed the same legislation the prior year.
"This recycled proposal would make it harder for law enforcement to catch violent criminals," Hobbs wrote in her veto letter.
The elections bill, SB 1237, would have required Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to consult with county recorders and the leaders of the Legislature's elections committees before making changes to the Elections Procedures Manual, the document that governs how county election officials carry out Arizona election law. Under current law, Fontes submits the manual to the governor and attorney general for approval. Hobbs said the additional consultation requirement was unnecessary, noting that all legislators may already submit comments during the public comment period she established when she held the secretary of state office.
The signed bill, SB 1294, gives county assessors the option to hold a destroyed property's existing tax classification for up to five years after a fire, flood, or other natural disaster, or until the property's use clearly changes. Because a property's classification affects how it is taxed, the measure is designed to prevent owners from facing an immediate reclassification while they rebuild or decide what to do with the land. The law applies retroactively to Sept. 13, 2024.
Hobbs has separately vetoed a 16-bill Republican budget package that would have incorporated tax cuts from the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act into Arizona's tax code, according to ABC15. Arizona's new fiscal year begins July 1.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- ktar.com retrieved 26/05/2026 16:36
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 26/05/2026 16:36. Every claim traces to a source.
