Judge Gives Green Light: Az Gov. Hobbs Set to Appoint New State Agency Leaders

In a significant legal development, a judge has approved an agreement between Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and Republican legislative leaders. This pact allows Hobbs to nominate directors for various state agencies early next year.

This agreement comes in the wake of a lawsuit initiated in December by Senate President Warren Petersen, a Republican from Queen Creek. Petersen accused Hobbs of bypassing legislative approval hearings for 13 agency appointments, claiming it violated state law. In a ruling on June 5, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney sided with Petersen, determining that Hobbs had indeed evaded the Senate approval process.

The backdrop to this conflict lies in Hobbs’ attempts to secure her director nominees amidst a newly established Republican-led Senate confirmation committee. After struggling with this committee, she sought an alternative by appointing deputy directors—individuals who function as directors without the official title. Senator Petersen objected to this strategy, prompting legal action.

The court found Hobbs had mismanaged the appointment process by designating “de facto” directors without complying with necessary Senate approval procedures. An initial agreement between Hobbs and Petersen was reached on August 12 but rejected by Blaney for contradicting his ruling.

The revised agreement mandates that Hobbs must submit her nominations for the open director positions to the Senate by the first week of January during the regular legislative session. Should the Senate not approve these nominations within a year, Hobbs will be required to propose new candidates, again subject to Senate approval.

Christian Slater, a spokesperson for Hobbs, indicated that the governor, while disagreeing with the Senate’s interpretation of the law, pursued this agreement to ensure continuity for agencies lacking formal leadership. Following the ruling, Hobbs sought an appeal which was denied.

Slater emphasized that the agreement would provide essential stability for Arizona’s veterans, small business owners, and families relying on state agency services. However, Jake Hoffman, leading the Senate’s nominations committee and affiliated with the Arizona Freedom Caucus, indicated that rigorous vetting would persist for the new nominees, raising concerns over their political affiliations.

In earlier hearings, nominees faced questions regarding their stances on contentious political issues, which, Hobbs’ attorney noted, were unrelated to their qualifications for agency leadership. For instance, during the confirmation process for Martín Quezada, former Democratic state senator and Hobbs’ nominee for the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, committee members posed questions about issues such as race, border security, and gun control—topics deemed irrelevant by Hobbs’ legal team.

Ultimately, the committee maintained party-line votes against several nominations, leading to some withdrawals, as Hobbs re-evaluated her approach to agency leadership.