Hobbs vetoes bills on explicit materials, psychedelics, gender detransition

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs isn’t going to allow teachers and librarians to be locked up if they provide sexually explicit materials within a public school or public library.

Legislation to do so was one of three measures the Democratic governor vetoed Tuesday.

“This legislation is an attack on public schools and public libraries, and does nothing to protect minors,’’ Hobbs wrote, her entire veto message on that bill.

Other bills vetoed Tuesday by Hobbs include:

Subjecting public entities to lawsuit losses in certain cases where employees committed sexual offenses against minors;

Requiring the state health department to license out-patient facilities where individuals could get psilocybin-assisted therapy;

Mandating that any doctor, health care institution or anyone else who performs gender transition procedures pay for “detransitioning.’’

All this came as the governor, as expected, penned her approval to legislation to balance the state budget for the current fiscal year. The new $17.2 billion spending plan ensures the state has a positive cash balance on June 30 as required by the Arizona Constitution.

Hobbs also signed the documents making up the $16.1 billion spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1. The package was narrowly approved Saturday by the GOP-controlled Legislature despite opposition from some Republicans who said it still contained too much spending and some Democrats who objected to cuts being made in what they said are needed programs.

That budget plan also seeks to sweep $195 million during a four-year period out of a $1.14 billion settlement the state made with opioid manufacturers and pharmacies to settle claims they are responsible for addiction. The money would be funneled into the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.

But the future of that allocation remains in doubt as Attorney General Kris Mayes insists the settlement agreement, approved by a federal judge, restricts how those dollars can be spent. She rejected claims by the governor, her fellow Democrat, and GOP legislative leaders that the money is needed to provide treatment to inmates who are addicted to various drugs.

Mayes, arguing that it is just a scheme to balance the state budget and the funding shortfall in the prison system, said she is weighing legal options.

School, library materials

Bill sponsor Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican, had said the measure on sexually explicit materials was necessary to put some teeth into existing laws on access by minors to certain materials.

State law makes it illegal for a public school to use or refer students to any “sexually explicit material.’’ That is defined as text, visual or audio materials that depict sexual conduct, sexual excitement or “ultimate sexual acts.’’

There are exceptions for materials that possess “serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.’’ But even then, a student needs written parental consent on a per-item basis.

The problem, Hoffman told colleagues, is that these materials are showing up in school classrooms as teachers can bring in their own materials. He said school librarians pretty much make their own decisions on what to put on shelves.

As evidence, he brought a copy of a book called “It’s Perfectly Normal’’ to a committee hearing, which he said was promoted as being for ages 10 and older. He showed lawmakers drawings included of youths masturbating and two teens having sex.

The legislation was not limited to classrooms — or even schools.

His measure sought to make it a Class 5 felony, with a presumptive 18-month term in state prison, for any violation done with criminal negligence.

Hoffman also sought to apply the felony charge to any employee or independent contractor at a public library who referred a minor to any sexually explicit material or facilitated that child’s access.

Hobbs did not get into the merits of any of that in rejecting the bill in her one-sentence veto message.

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Liability

The measure on public entity liability was designed to close what Sen. Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix, considers a gap in the statutes.

Current law generally immunizes those entities from being sued for the actions of employees, even in felonies, unless the entity knew of the worker’s propensity to take that action.

Bolick’s legislation would have eliminated that immunity if it was a sexual offense on a minor if the public employer did not do a background check, or if the entity failed to reasonably investigate or take action on alleged violations of written policies.

Gretchen Jacobs, the mother of a special needs child, told lawmakers the change would be appropriate.

“The application of immunity provides the perverse incentive of a reward for public entities of immunity for willful blindness,’’ she said.

Jacobs pointed to one case where an employee was fired for sexually violating a patient. He then was hired by a school district.

She said child pornography was found on his computer, which included nude photos of a nonverbal, non-ambulatory special needs student in his care. But a lawsuit by the parents on behalf of their daughter was thrown out when a judge said there was no evidence the school district knew of his propensity because there was no evidence the district contacted the prior employer.

Hobbs, in her veto message, said the measure is flawed.

“Legislation that expands public entity liability needs to be carefully tailored and thoughtfully executed,’’ she wrote. “This legislation does not meet that standard.’’

Psychedelic mushrooms

The proposal on psychedelic mushrooms was pushed by Sen. T.J. Shope. The Coolidge Republican said it would not legalize the drug for recreational purposes but instead would be a way of providing treatment, in a clinical setting, for those struggling with things like post-traumatic stress disorder and other health issues.

Shope said he has heard multiple stories from individuals, particularly those who were in the military, who found themselves still suffering with mental trauma.

Hobbs noted the state formed a psilocybin research advisory board last year. And she said the panel, in its first report, concluded that while it may be a promising treatment, “we do not yet have the evidence needed to support widespread clinical expansion.’’

“Arizonans with depression and PTSD deserve access to treatments that may be seen as outside the mainstream,’’ Hobbs wrote. “But they should not be the subject of experiments for unproven therapies with a lack of appropriate guardrails.

Gender detransitioning

The legislation on gender detransitioning was brought by Sen. Janae Shamp. The Surprise Republican said there are individuals who, after having someone perform gender reassignment surgery, change their minds only to find the health-care providers won’t reverse the procedures.

Shamp said she had no idea how many would be affected but quoted a 2022 study saying there are 53,000 adults from Arizona who are on a web discussion page for transgender adults and another 7,000 ages 13 through 17.

Hobbs vetoed the measure, saying it is unnecessary “and would create a privacy risk for patients.’’

The veto drew a sharp response from Shamp.

“If doctors are going to block the natural puberty process of children and surgically alter the genitalia of people struggling with gender dysphoria, they must be prepared to undo the damage — as much as possible,’’ she said in a written statement.

Her legislation would have imposed the same mandate on insurance companies, saying if they cover gender reassignment surgery they must also cover detransition surgery.