April 13, 2026

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It might seem there's not much for our legislature to do these days. At least, that's what it might look like from the outside. Just 8 days remain until the 100th day of session — what is designed to be the ending point for this "part-time legislature" — and budget talks remain at a standstill.

However, you'd be wrong to think our lawmakers have nothing to do. To fill the void, Republican legislative leaders are dusting off many of the spectacularly bad ideas we fought against earlier this session, scheduling floor votes for them, and sending them to Gov. Hobbs for her signature or veto.

Bottom line: It's that time of year when we must push against bills we'd hoped were dead, but aren't. We've got one for you as our main ask in the Spotlight section: HB2133. We're keeping our ear to the ground, and as issues swirl and arise, we'll undoubtedly have more in the weeks to come. Stay ready to act quickly!

⏰ If you have 5 minutes: Contact one or more of the House lawmakers listed in this week's Spotlight (below) before Monday, April 13 at 1pm and ask them to OPPOSE HB2133 when it comes back up for a final vote. This is especially important if any of them is your lawmaker!

⏰⏰ If you have 10 minutes: Also contact Gov. Hobbs' office to request she veto HB2133 when it reaches her desk (which will almost certainly happen this week). Call her at 602-542-4331 or email engage@az.gov.

⏰⏰⏰ If you have 20 minutes: Also contact your own Senate lawmakers directly about HB2133. Thank those who voted no, and express your disappointment to those who voted yes.

⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 30 minutes: Also contact Gov. Hobbs' office by calling 602-542-4331 or emailing engage@az.gov, and request she veto the 14 bills on her desk that we find concerning. See "Veto Watch" below for more.

⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 45 minutes: Choose one or more of the 28 (!) ballot referrals we are still tracking, and contact your own lawmakers to voice your opinion. Choose from the full list of referrals here, then reach out to your state representatives on bills starting with SCR, your state senator for bills starting with HCR. You’ll likely get an assistant on the phone, not the legislator. State the bill number and topic, and one reason you oppose, then thank them and move on. You can also try leaving a voice mail after hours, or writing individual emails with the bill number and your opposition in the subject line. Be personal, polite and brief.

⏰⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 60 minutes: Join us on Zoom for our CEBV Happy Hour conversation, packed with political analysis, conversation and community. Happy Hour meets every Sunday at 4 PM through the end of legislative session. We're looking forward to seeing you! 

Several weeks ago, we warned you about HB2133, a Project 2025-inspired bill which would set up politically motivated censorship in the guise of “protecting children.” The bill's overbroad, subjective language would require written consent from anyone digitally depicted in a cartoon or AI-generated video before that material can go on the internet, including on social media.

This bill passed the House with 9 Democratic votes, but a slightly modified version has since passed the Senate along partisan lines with only Republicans in support. Now, the House must reapprove the bill as a final step before it can reach Gov. Hobbs — and they're voting on it Monday. We have the opportunity to change the minds of those 9 Democratic House lawmakers, but not much time: they need to hear from us by 1pm.

👎 Cesar Aguilar (D-26) • caguilar@azleg.gov • 602-926-3953
👎 Seth Blattman (D-9) • sblattman@azleg.gov • 602-926-3996
👎 Lupe Contreras (D-22) • lcontreras@azleg.gov • 602-926-5284
👎 Alma Hernandez¹ (D-20) • ahernandez@azleg.gov • 602-926-3136
👎 Consuelo Hernandez (D-21) • chernandez@azleg.gov • 602-926-3523
👎 Lydia Hernandez (D-24) • lhernandez@azleg.gov • 602-926-3553
👎 Elda Luna-Nájera (D-22) • eluna-najera@azleg.gov • 602-926-3881
👎 Stacy Travers (D-12) • stravers@azleg.gov • 602-926-3917
👎 Myron Tsosie (D-6) • mtsosie@azleg.gov • 602-926-3157
👎 Kevin Volk (D-17) • kvolk@azleg.gov • 602-926-3498

Gov. Hobbs has repeatedly said she won't sign bills that don't have bipartisan support. Since she has also reportedly been working behind the scenes to get HB2133 to her desk,² it's critical that her Democratic legislative colleagues drop their support of this bill. Contact them with the following points:

1️⃣ Greenlights politically motivated censorship. In committee, the sponsor said a South Park scene of Trump in bed with Satan would require the president’s written consent if anyone were to upload the clip online. Satiric political cartooning is as old as our country, a part of the contentious politics we've always had — and a right the First Amendment explicitly protects. Free societies don't require their leaders to pre-approve content that's critical of them; banning us from criticizing our politicians is as un-American as it gets.

2️⃣ Attacks the LGBTQ+ community. Experts warn that broadly written bills like HB2133 can weaponize content against specific groups of people. This is not an idle worry: it's one of the central goals of Project 2025, which conflates pornography with “transgender ideology” and wants to force teachers and librarians to register as sex offenders for stocking books that acknowledge transgender people exist. 

3️⃣ Could shut down everyday content. During Senate floor debate on the bill, Analise Ortiz (D-24) observed that HB2133 creates "a near impossible framework" for companies like Netflix and YouTube, and asked whether these platforms will be forced to stop operating in Arizona. Last September, after Kupper's so-called "online porn" law took effect, many adult content sites simply went dark in Arizona, blocking all users statewide from access. The same thing could happen to regular streaming content — which is probably why the Motion Picture Association, which rarely involves itself in Arizona state legislation, opposes this bill.

On the Governor's Desk

Even if we expect these bills to receive a veto, it remains important to contact the governor’s office to request one. This demonstrates that her vetoes have strong public support. Learn how to write a veto letter by reading our guide here.

SB1058, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would ban banks and credit cards from using merchant category codes that identify gun retailers or the purchase of guns or ammo. The bill appears to be driven by the NRA and other even more extreme groups, which are whining that these codes might lead to the creation of a gun registry. The truth is that not only are these codes an important tool in flagging suspicious gun purchases, which helps curb gun violence, but peer-to-peer banking services (Zelle, Google Pay, Paypal, etc.) don't allow firearms or ammo purchases. Without identifying purchase categories, businesses cannot comply with terms that are being set by the free market (a concept which the sponsor is campaigning on supporting). OPPOSE. 

SB1142, sponsored by Shawnna Bolick (R-2), would make Arizona one of the first states in the nation to irresponsibly sign up for Trump’s federal voucher scam. This  is designed as a tax giveaway for the rich; like Arizona’s ESA and STO vouchers, it's designed to benefit wealthier students already in private schools. The federal voucher program has no cap, meaning it could funnel billions of dollars a year to private schools already receiving state tax dollars via state vouchers, with zero accountability to taxpayers. OPPOSE.

SB1148, sponsored by Mark Finchem (R-1), would take the responsibility of attorney licensing away from the State Bar and give it to the Arizona Supreme Court. It would also ban requiring an attorney to belong to the State Bar to be licensed in Arizona. The sponsor carries a grudge against the Bar; they sanctioned his lawyer for a frivolous, bad-faith suit challenging his 2022 loss in the secretary of state race, and they forced him to repay almost $50,000 in legal fees. OPPOSE.

SB1237, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would require Arizona's secretary of state to consult with county recorders and the chairs and ranking members of the legislature's elections committees before creating Arizona's election procedures manual. Published every two years, the manual details procedures for county elections officials and carries the force of law. It must be approved by the governor and attorney general, both currently Democrats. This politically motivated bill is spurred by Republican sour grapes over Arizona voters electing Democrats to top statewide positions, and comes after two years of failed lawsuits in which Republicans tried and failed to impose their own views on the manual. OPPOSE.

HB2026, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would create a new loophole for developers to get around assured water supply requirements. Arizona simply has less water now than it did 20 years ago; it's time developers accepted that fact instead of trying to destroy consumer protections so they can pump more water than they're entitled to. OPPOSE. 

HB2031, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would give applicants even more time to file for grandfathered rights in the Willcox Active Management Area, which was created two years ago. This is an unnecessary delaying tactic. OPPOSE. 

HB2055, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would dedicate state money to brackish groundwater recovery projects. Though Arizona has plenty of reasons to want new water — prolonged drought, the drying Colorado River, increased demand, and human-caused climate change — more groundwater pumping is not the answer, particularly not when that water sits nearly a quarter-mile below the surface and produces toxic brine as a byproduct. Brackish groundwater is still groundwater, and at this depth is essentially non-renewable. OPPOSE.

HB2102 and HB2103, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would create new infrastructure to enable water hauling in active management areas, parts of the state that need aggressive groundwater management to ensure they don't run dry. Rural Arizona has real, significant water concerns, and residents need help protecting their wells and properties from industrial agriculture, data centers, etc. These bills do nothing to solve those problems. OPPOSE. 

HB2132, sponsored by Quang Nguyen (R-1), toughens the threshold for mandatory sentencing of people who sell fentanyl to 100 grams (from 200). Those convicted would be required to serve 5 to 15 years in prison, 10 to 20 years for repeat offenders. Tougher mandatory sentences won't do anything to curb the fentanyl crisis (which is trending downward as it is). Arizona already has the seventh-highest incarceration rate in the nation. OPPOSE. 

HB2167, sponsored by Lupe Diaz (R-19), would stop Arizona's attorney general from filing a “public nuisance action” or penalize her for doing so. Benson residents are suing to stop an aluminum smelting plant from being built in the middle of their community and have asked AG Mayes to intervene; she says nuisance law (which she famously used against Saudi company Fondomonte) is the strongest tool she has to help them. Diaz supports the smelting plant. OPPOSE.

HB2600, sponsored by Matt Gress (R-4), would require public schools to keep students in grades 6-8 out of student clubs and organizations unless they have written parental permission. This would dampen participation in clubs such as Gender & Sexuality Alliance, a student-led safe, supportive space for LGBTQ+ youth. These are often legally protected under the Equal Access Act. The bill would also exclude kids whose parents are unable to be as involved in their lives, worsening inequity. OPPOSE.

HB2787, sponsored by Lupe Diaz (R-19), would ban Arizona and its cities and counties from cooperating with the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program, ignoring the federal Endangered Species Act. Mexican gray wolves are the most endangered wolf subspecies in the world, and they belong in our ecosystem. The Mexican gray wolf, whose most recent population is estimated at around 286, has long been the target of cattle ranchers, who have been actively lobbying the Trump administration to delist the species. OPPOSE. 

🐟 HB2811, sponsored by John Gillette (R-30), is a version of a previously vetoed bill that would criminalize attempts to “obstruct” ICE officers’ arrests. The bill is so vague as to be potentially unconstitutional; speaking loudly, yelling, or following ICE agents as they drive around could suddenly land peaceful protesters a minimum sentence of 6 months in prison. Meanwhile, the racial profiling by ICE agents, both in Arizona and across the country, is well documented. ICE has detained hundreds of US citizens and has killed at least 9 people so far in 2026. OPPOSE.

This past week, Gov. Hobbs exercised her power to protect Arizonans from the following harmful, CEBV-opposed legislation. Contact her office to say thank you at 602-542-4331 or engage@az.gov.

The Veto Queen is back: Every bill Gov. Katie Hobbs rejected in 2026

Katie Hobbs is adding to her vetoes record in 2026, swatting down SNAP crackdowns and Charlie Kirk-related bills.

Phoenix New TimesZach Buchanan

Vetoed: Tuesday, April 7

• HB2040 (Keshel, R-17) would have required university campus health clinics to bring up adoption whenever a student asks for contraception or is tested or treated for an STI.
• 🐟 HB2903 (Montenegro, R-29) would have banned the state from requiring banks to consider social or environmental values when lending. See our explainer on this practice, called ESG.

2026 Session Timeline

Tuesday 4/21: 100th Day of Session (the purported end goal; can be changed)
Tuesday 6/30: Constitutionally mandated deadline to pass a state budget

Committees & Contacts

Here's a handy list of lawmaker contact info, committee chairs and assignments.

CEBV Action Linktree

Want other ways to take action? Need to stay informed? Looking for our social media, inspiration, or self-care tips? Look no further than our Linktree.

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Congratulations, you made it to the end! 🎉 As part of our CEBV crew, please enjoy this video of NASA's Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch discussing what the term "crew" means to her.

1. Alma Hernandez was absent the day of this vote, but she almost always votes in lockstep with her sibling Consuelo, which means she needs to hear from us.
2. Unfortunately, we can't depend on Gov. Hobbs to veto HB2133. She has already signed 10 Project 2025-inspired bills, and has been actively pushing to get this one to her desk. She needs to hear from us.