Hobbs vetoes bill to bar rejecting non-college grads for state jobs

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday vetoed legislation which would have barred state agencies from rejecting an applicant simply because he or she does not have a college degree.

In her veto message, her 38th of the year, the governor said there’s nothing wrong with the goal of SB1166. Where it comes up short, she said, is that the mechanism it sought to set up is overly complex and cumbersome.

But Hobbs did ink her approval to HB 2225 which is instead simply requires the state to review all of its job requirements and decide which can be filled by people who have experience or training but simply lack that piece of paper saying they’ve graduated from college.

Strictly speaking, SB 1166 would not have eliminated all degree requirements. But it put the burden on state agencies to justify them for each job.

Public employers could still have mandated a degree if they “clearly demonstrate” that a job requires one. And in that case, each job description would have to explain not only the necessity for that degree but “explain why a postsecondary degree is the best measure to determine if an applicant possesses the specific skills necessary” or that there is a requirement for advanced accreditation or licensure available only to those with specific degrees.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, was pushed by Cicero Action which describes itself as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for government policy reforms.

Lobbyist Jim Norton told lawmakers that the legislation comes with the intersection of two issues.

One, he said, is that the job market is tight in Arizona, meaning employers — including the government — are having a hard time filling certain positions. The other is that just 31% of adults in Arizona 25 or older have a college degree, meaning 69% of Arizonans are automatically disqualified from applying for jobs when a degree is a requirement.

“These are people that may have relevant work experience,” Norton said.

“And yet the state policy is, if you check this box, you’re in, if you don’t, you’re out,” he said. “We can’t allow that to happen.”

Norton said a similar plan enacted in Maryland eliminated degree requirements in 10,000 positions.

“Most of us know we know people that we would hire tomorrow for any job that lack formal training and education,” he said, but have equivalent work experience.

The plea struck a bipartisan accord.

SB 1166 was approved unanimously by the state House. And two Democrats joined with Republican senators to support the concept.

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Hobbs said she understands the goals.

“Ensuring that employment with the state of Arizona is available to as many talented individuals as possible is of great importance to me,” she wrote. “The state’s employees provide invaluable support to all Arizonans and it is my belief that we should ensure that all those who want to enter public service should have the opportunity to do so.”

But SB 1166, she said, is not the cure.

“This bill, while working towards those goals, misses the mark and creates more problems than it solves,” the governor said, saying it creates an “unnecessary and unworkable administrative burden.”

And the legislation is complex.

For example, it would have required public employers to provide written notice to each applicant who is eliminated from consideration to spell out why that person did not meet the baseline requirements.

Any applicant who got such a notice could have appealed to the State Personnel Board. And that board would have had the power to order the agency to reopen the hiring process, modify the job posting or take “take any other actions as necessary to comply with this section.”

What Hobbs did do Friday is sign a similar — and less complex — proposal she said can achieve the goals of SB 1166 “in a less burdensome manner.”

That is HB 2225.

Sponsored by Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, it requires the Department of Administration, the state agency involved in most personnel matters, to evaluate all state employee positions which have degree requirements that are suitable to be filled by those who are “skilled through alternative routes.”

That is defined as someone who has developed skills through job training, community college, military service of apprenticeship and who has a high school diploma or equivalent and is active in the workforce.

The legislation requires a report by Oct. 1. But there is no mandate to reclassify any particular job nor a process for those who lack degrees for one where is remains listed as a requirement to appeal.