Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a Republican-backed budget on Thursday afternoon.

The budget was similar to the bipartisan budget signed by former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey last year.

“Unfortunately, despite my call to take on these difficult choices and protect our state’s future, the budget approved by a slim, partisan majority in the Legislature takes another path. An easy path. Rather than tackling difficult choices, this budget presents Arizonans with false choices,” Hobbs said in a statement.

“The purely-partisan budget says that we can’t invest in our state now and invest in our future. It says that we can’t address the challenges of today and save for the challenges of tomorrow. It says we can’t disagree with each other and work together in the best interest of the state,” she added.

The Legislature must return to the drawing board to determine a budget that Hobbs will sign. Her proposed budget called for a rollback to the Empowerment Scholarship Program, and the state’s Border Strike Force, which was a non-starter for many Republican lawmakers, The Center Square previously reported.

“Now that this partisan exercise is over, I am asking the Legislature to genuinely and seriously work with me on a budget that puts people, not politics first. To that end I’m inviting all elected officials–regardless of party affiliation–to sit down at the table to work toward bipartisan solutions, and compromise. The people of Arizona demand it. So let’s get to work,” Hobbs continued in the statement.

As the Legislature has a narrow Republican majority, this will likely be the first of many challenges the divided government will face this session.

House Majority Leader Leo Biassiucci, R-Lake Havasu City, reacted to the governor’s veto Thursday afternoon.

“Governor Katie Hobbs just VETOED the Arizona Bipartisan Budget,” he tweeted. “This budget kept schools open, law enforcement paid, streets maintained, Healthcare in place, & our southern border protected. Instead, she wants $40 million for illegal immigrants to attend Universities.”

Biassiucci noted Hobbs and others in Democratic leadership praised the similar budget enacted last June.

“This was a long, drawn-out process at the (Arizona Legislature) but it resulted in a bipartisan budget that substantially invests in election administration for the first time in years,” then-Secretary of State Hobbs tweeted on June 23, 2022.

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This article was published by The Center Square – Arizona and is reproduced with permission.