Arizona legislators don’t get enough votes for veto override of home-cooked foods bill

PHOENIX — A veto override of a home-cooked foods bill was killed Tuesday as Arizona legislators did not get the necessary votes.

The final tally in the Legislature was 35-23, falling five votes short of the required two-thirds support needed to overturn the veto of HB2509 from Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.

“I am very disappointed in many of my colleagues,” Democratic Rep. Alma Hernandez, who supported the bill, said on the floor. “They are too afraid of voting against the governor.”

Bipartisan support last week had many believing Arizona would override a veto for the first time since 1981, but Democratic leaders from both leaders changed their tune Friday and said they would not supply the votes.

Hobbs said in her veto letter on April 18 the legislation “would increase the risk of food-borne illness” and could make it harder for officials to investigate disease outbreaks linked to food.

Republicans held a sale of tamales, which became the symbol for the bill, at the Capitol on Tuesday afternoon as a rebuke of Hobbs.

Rep. Barbara Parker, a Republican, said the override was needed to help families make ends meet.

The bill would have expanded the types of homemade food Arizonans could legally sell.

“This is not a partisan issue. This is a freedom issue,” Parker said. “This is an American dream issue. This is an Arizona first issue.

“This is an issue for all people who do want to just have their privacy and just to live their lives in peace without overreach of the government. I want to tell all of the cottage industry — bakers and cookers — that I support them in every way.”

Ken Holgate, a salsa and pickles vendor, said the decision will hurt his business.

“I have to jump through a lot more hoops and a lot more money to deliver my product,” Holgate said. “My profit gets to the point where I can’t get profit anymore.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Colton Krolak contributed to this report.

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