Travis Grantham plans to move forward this week to override a veto of a bill that had received bipartisan support until Gov. Katie Hobbs rejected it.

The Gilbert Republican said he intends to make the motion Tuesday on the House floor to override Hobbs' veto of his proposal to legalize the common but unlawful practice of people selling home-cooked items, including tamales, pupusas, empanadas and more.

On a Twitter post, Grantham wrote: “I can’t wait to make the motion! This is about good policy, not politics. Democrats and Republicans both know it’s the right thing to do!”

If he gets the votes in the House - he needs 10 of the chamber's 29 Democrats to go along - the measure goes to the Senate.

That would provide an opportunity for supporters and foes of the original measure to explain why they will or will not vote to override the veto.

The Republican-controlled Senate, with support of 10 of 14 Democrats supported HB 2509.

However, on Friday following the Democratic governor’s veto, they declined to override it.

Senate Minority Leader Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, said it wasn't until after the vote for the bill that caucus members heard from the state Department of Health Services, which is in opposition.

"This mattered to many people,'' she said, and Democrats balked at the override.

Epstein said there may be room to compromise.

She said that the version the governor vetoed lacked certain safeguards.

For example, Epstein said, there was no definition of a "home kitchen'' in the measure. That, she said, opened it up to larger-scale operations beyond a family trying to make extra money.

And Epstein said the situation might have been different had the measure been amended to include changes sought by Rep. Patty Contreras.

During the debate, the Phoenix Democrat who has more than 15 years as a food service manager spoke about the kinds of disease people can get if food is not cooked at the proper temperature for the necessary time.

She had proposed adding provisions to the measure to require the health department to inspect home kitchens where food was to be prepared before issuing the necessary permit.

But that change was rejected by Grantham, R-Gilbert.

He minimized the risks of home-cooked foods, saying he never got sick from these kinds of items purchased on the street, a statement he said he could not make about eating in restaurants.

While Epstein said there were concerns by some health experts, those foes, however, did not include Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association.

"My gut says HB 2509 would have been a net public health benefit,'' he said. And he suggested that the predictions of dire consequences should be taken in context.

He pointed out that until 2011 it was totally illegal to sell foods not made in a licensed kitchen.

That year lawmakers proposed allowing people to make baked and confectionery foods at home and sell them as long as the food did not facilitate the growth of bacteria. It was approved, Humble said, over the objections of the director at the time of Maricopa County Environmental Services.

What resulted, Humble said, is what Arizonans see at farmers' markets, where breads, sweets, fruits, jams and jellies along with other items can be openly sold.

"The program has been wildly successful and a big public health benefit,'' he said. "It helps families earn extra income and improves the social determinants of health,'' including economic stability.

Humble said he sees HB 2509 as simply expanding on that - with what he believes are sufficient safeguards.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.