Gov. Katie Hobbs to appeal Arizona court ruling on agency appointments

Gov. Hobbs to appeal agency appointment ruling

On June 5, the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled that Governor Katie Hobbs cannot appoint the heads of 13 state agencies under the title of 'Executive Deputy Directors' without Senate confirmation.

PHOENIX - Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs says she will appeal a ruling by a state superior court over a workaround that was implemented for agency appointments.

The court ruling, which was issued on June 5, came after Hobbs withdrew all 13 of her agency nominees in 2023, citing political theater in trying to get them confirmed through the State Senate. Instead, the 13 nominees were appointed as "Executive Deputy Directors" as a way to circumvent the nomination process.

Per court documents, the agencies where Executive Deputy Directors were nominated include the Department of Administration, the Department of Economic Security, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), and the Department of Child Safety, among others.

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In their ruling, the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled that based on the plain language of relevant state laws, the state's governor is "precluded from appointing directors for these 13 agencies without first obtaining the Senate's consent to the particular nominee."

"The Governor's frustration with a co-equal branch of government - even if that frustration was justified - did not exempt her director nominees from Senate oversight," read a portion of the ruling.

Days after the ruling was issued, Gov. Hobbs said she will appeal the ruling while talking about the matter with reporters.

"Arizonans want sanity, not the chaos that indicted fake elector Jake Hoffman is creating with his sham committee he's using to shove his radical political down Arizonan's throats," Gov. Hobbs said. "We believe we're right legally, and we're gonna appeal the decision."