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PHOENIX — It’s going to become a state crime for protesters, and others, to set up encampments at state universities, despite some concerns a new law is unnecessary.

Gov. Katie Hobbs penned her approval Wednesday to legislation that will require school administrators to order campers to “immediately dismantle the encampment and vacate the campus.” Violators will be subject to arrest on charges of trespass.

Gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater said the new law is necessary.

The Democratic governor’s signature came after bipartisan support — as well as bipartisan opposition — to the proposal by Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson.

Hernandez said she introduced the measure in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests last year, not just the ones that got national attention like at Columbia University but also what happened at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. She said Jewish students felt harassed and were forced to take alternate routes through campus.

All three Arizona incidents were broken up by police; tear gas and pepper balls were used on the Tucson campus.

But no one from either university or the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s three public universities, signed in in favor of the legislation or testified that they supported or needed the change in law.

Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed legislation that requires administrators at Arizona universities and colleges to order protestors who set up camps on campus, like this one at the University of Arizona in 2024, to "immediately" dismantle them and vacate the campus. Violators will be subject to arrest on charges of trespass.

During Senate debate last month, Hernandez got support from lawmakers including Sen. John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican.

“These people are taking public university land and appropriating it, seizing it for themselves so other people can’t use it,’’ Kavanagh said during discussion of the measure. He said there have been cases elsewhere where antisemitic groups “are intimidating Jewish students and removing their right to free movement around the campus.’’

Others, like Tempe Democratic Sen. Lauren Kuby, however, questioned the need for the restrictions.

“These spaces are long-standing spaces for public discourse, academic inquiry and political dissent,’’ Kuby said. “Public education has to remain a robust space for dialogue, not a testing ground for censorship and retaliation.’’

There’s also the fact that already-existing state law appears to give universities and community colleges the power to limit such demonstrations. It spells out that the schools can impose “reasonable viewpoint and content-neutral restrictions on time, place and manner of expression’’ that are necessary to “achieve a compelling institutional interest.’’

Aside from making encampments a crime, the legislation will also require that disciplinary action be taken against students who refuse to leave.

Rep. Anna Abeytia questioned the wisdom of such legislation. “As an activist at heart, this is not a good bill for those of us who are activists and do go out and protest,’’ the Phoenix Democrat said when she voted against the plan in the House.

Pro-Palestinian protestors at the University of Arizona retreat after arrests.

“Encampments are a form of sit-ins,’’ she said. “And sit-ins have a long history, particularly in the Chicano culture.’’

Phoenix Democratic Rep. Quanta Crews said she fears how the proposal could be used to quash other protests.

“There are young people who are not trying to intimidate other people ... who are not trying to provide a fearful environment,’’ Crews said.

She said it would be one thing if the legislation was needed to give police more power to deal with those who intimidate others. But this measure is overly broad, she said.

“I feel like it could be weaponized against different groups that are not intending to harm other students and are just trying to exercise their First Amendment right,’’ Crews said.

Foes also had a technical concern.

The new law will ban not just any overnight temporary shelters or tents but also such items if they stay up “for a prolonged period of time.’’

Gov. Katie Hobbs

Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, called that unconstitutionally vague, saying it could apply not just to protesters in tents but even to sun shades set up by civic groups.

That language also caught the attention of Rep. Alexander Kolodin, a Scottsdale Republican.

He said it could include tables and shades set up by conservative groups such as Turning Point USA seeking to register voters on campus, or “pro-life organizations when they’re handing out literature.’’

And he made no secret of his belief that enforcement will end up being based on who is affected.

“Let’s not fool ourselves about who runs these universities,’’ Kolodin said. “Is this bill really going to be used against Students for Justice in Palestine? Probably not. It is going to get used against Turning Point and pro-life organizations? Far more likely.’’

During debate, Hernandez defended the scope of the bill. She said Students Against Apartheid, which set up encampments a year ago at the UA, refused to leave, presenting the school with a “ridiculous list of demands,’’ such as divesting from certain companies profiting from the war between Israel and Hamas, halting surveillance of student organizers, publicly condemning “Israel’s genocidal campaign’’ and defunding the UA police department.

“These people had no intention of leaving,’’ she said.

The new law is expected to take effect early in the next school year, with the specific date depending on when the legislative session ends.

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Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, Bluesky, and Threads at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com.