Gov. Katie Hobbs signs bills to 'free the tamales,' make Pluto an official state planet

The tamales will be freed.

Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a new version of the cottage food industry bill she vetoed last year, much to the disappointment of many people in her own party.

Many types of homemade perishable foods can soon be legally sold and ordered online in Arizona, as long as the makers follow rules and precautions.

Hobbs rejected last year's "tamale bill" in April 2023, writing in her veto letter it would "significantly increase the risk of food-borne illness" and could stymie the state from investigating outbreaks of food poisoning.

Her decision to veto it steamed supporters from both sides of the aisle, who attempted to garner a two-thirds majority vote to overturn it. Vendors who hoped to start selling tamales and other foods protested at the state Capitol with signs stating: "Free the Tamales!"

Senate President Warren Petersen signaled he supported an override try in the Senate, but the House attempt narrowly failed. A successful override would have been the first in more than 40 years, and represented a significant embarrassment for the governor.

Putting the bill back in the legislative kitchen involved a bargain between Hobbs and lawmakers after months of work on food safety regulations.

The rules require obtaining a food-handler license, labels for food made in home kitchens, a two-hour limit on the transport of "potentially hazardous" foods and other stipulations would-be home chefs will need to study up on. Perishable foods must come from a source in compliance with certain federal rules.

"Hopefully this makes it easier for those who produce cottage foods for resale in their home," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert. "In today's economy, people need all the help they can get to make ends meet."

Rep. Melody Hernandez, a Tempe Democrat who serves as the House Democratic whip, received numerous calls from constituents last year after Hobbs' veto. She struggled with her decision to support the override attempt, finally deciding to proceed with it despite her leadership position.

After Hobbs signed the bill, she said she was grateful the governor "was able to successfully negotiate an improved bill in a divided government."

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Pluto gets recognition in Arizona

Pluto will soon be Arizona's official planet, even if it's not officially a planet.

The Pluto bill's sponsor, Phoenix Republican Rep. Justin Wilmeth, hoped his idea would showcase the discovery of Pluto in Flagstaff's Lowell Observatory. Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the small, icy world on Feb. 18, 1930, marking the first discovery of a planet in United States history.

It was long considered the ninth planet in the solar system, despite its off-kilter orbit. But it was downgraded by the International Astronomical Union to a "dwarf planet" in 2006, following the discovery of similar planetoids even farther from the sun.

Wilmeth said he's thankful to Hobbs for signing the bill and downplayed Pluto's 2006 redesignation. He said while many astronomers now consider it a dwarf planet, "others in the astronomical community still view it as a planet."

"Whatever the case, all I wanted to do with this bill is celebrate Arizona's important achievements in space and astronomy," he said, adding that the discovery is something that every Arizonan should be proud of.

42 other bills signed by Gov. Hobbs

Hobbs signed dozens of other bills Friday.

One adds organic natural processes as a legal type of cremation. It will allow people to choose to have their remains turned into compost or mushroom food in what's officially called a "contained, accelerated conversion of human remains."

The new laws include letting homeowners amend their property records if such records contain unlawful restrictions. Some deeds contain remnants of Arizona's racist past, like now-illegal exclusions of sales of a home to Black people or other ethnic groups.

Another will allow officials at correctional facilities in cities and towns to request a licensed practitioner to X-ray inmates in a search for suspected illegal contraband, or body-scan an inmate without a practitioner.

Hobbs rejects 1 bill

One bill didn't make the cut in Friday's list: House Bill 2100 would have required state agencies to put a "comprehensive list" of steps needed for some applications to be considered administratively complete. That would have allowed the public to know exactly what might be required to pass muster by the state, avoiding the frustration that bureaucratic processes sometimes present.

Hobbs was expected to release a veto letter about the bill. It was only her third veto of the year.

In 2023, the Democratic governor and Republicans who dominate legislative power by only one vote in the House and Senate were more at odds, and Hobbs ended her first year in office with a record 143 vetoes.

New laws take effect 90 days after the last day of the legislative session. The date is still uncertain, with the Legislature still just getting started on budget negotiations.

But June 30 is the deadline for the budget, meaning the laws will likely take effect no later than the end of September.

Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hobbs signs bills to 'free the tamales,' make Pluto the state planet