By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs refused Wednesday to limit those digital signs above and adjacent to state roads to only traffic safety messages.
In wielding her veto stamp again, the Democratic governor said she could not agree to the proposal by Rep. Neal Carter that it's inappropriate to display anything beyond warnings about accidents ahead, driving times to certain points and just general "drive safe'' advisories. His HB 2586 sought to limit messages to those "directly related to transportation or highway safety,'' calling anything else "a little bit distracting.''
But the San Tan Valley Republican acknowledged he was concerned that the signs could also be used to promote other messages.
Exhibit No. 1 was a decision two years ago to have signs spell out the message, "Want to return to normal? Get vaccinated.''
But even Doug Ducey, who was governor at the time, defended that as appropriate.
C.J. Karamargin, who was his press aide, said the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which is the guidebook for all devices and signs on roads, does allow "homeland security messages.'' And he pointed out that the president had declared a national emergency due to the COVID outbreak.
Carter's bill would have precluded that.
Also gone would have been signs advising motorists of "no burn'' days during periods of high pollution. So, too, would have been messages the Arizona Department of Transportation now posts for state and national parks as well as the U.S. Forest Service related to wildfires.
And there would have no longer be signs, usually displayed on the day a police officer or firefighter who had died in the line of duty was buried, with a message like "rest in peace'' with the officer's name.
Hobbs said she sees no need for additional restrictions.
Nothing in the legislation would have killed the ability of ADOT to display their safety messages in a humorous way. That would have ensured, regardless of Hobbs' action, that Arizona motorists still would have been treated to communications like "Drive hammered, get nailed,'' "Focused driving is the way of the Jedi,'' or "Drive like the person your dog thinks you are.''
The governor also vetoed three other measures on Wednesday, bringing her total this session to 29.
She rejected HB 2535 which would have limited the ability of cities that annex unincorporated areas to regulate private wells that already were there.
"Prohibiting a municipality form requiring even the most basic of safety standards and regulations for groundwater wells threatens the safety and quality of drinking water that public utilities provide to residents and businesses throughout Arizona,'' Hobbs wrote, saying these could impact "our precious drinking water.''
Also meeting with the governor's displease was HB 2437.
Current laws require approval of the Power and Line Siting Committee any time a new transmission line is planned. The measure would have said that isn't necessary if the line is being placed on property owned by at least one owner of the proposed line.
Hobbs said it would exempt an unknown number of projects "while having an uncertain impact on electric generation or Arizona's overall power grid.''
Finally, the governor said there is no reason for HB 2477.
Crafted by Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Goodyear, it had no legal effect. Instead, it simply expressed the opinion of the Legislature -- or, at least the Republicans in the majority who voted for it -- that the Electoral College is the best way of selecting the president because it involves all part of the county in the process.
None of that could be changed by the Legislature.
Instead, it would require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. And Hobbs said if lawmakers want to express their preferences they could do that with a simple resolution, not something put into state statutes.
And there's something else.
Hobbs pointed out that some of the GOP lawmakers who voted for this measure actually had previously been in support of moving to a system where the outcome of the presidential election would be determined by who won the national popular vote.
That includes current Sen. J.D. Mesnard of Chandler.
In 2016 he proposed a measure that, strictly speaking, would not have scrapped the Electoral College. Instead it would have done an end-run around it.
That system assigns electoral votes to each state based on the number of congressional seats. More to the point, the president is elected only when a candidate gets at least half of the 538 electoral votes, regardless of who gets more popular votes nationally.
What Mesnard proposed was requiring Arizona to enter into deals with other states: Once there was agreement by states totaling 270 electoral votes, each would require its electors to cast their vote for whoever wins the national popular vote.
Had that been in effect, Hillary Clinton would have been elected in 2016, not Donald Trump.
So far 15 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 195 electoral votes, already have approved such a plan. But Mesnard could not get traction for the bill in 2016 or again in 2017 when he tried again.
