PHOENIX — Newly sworn-in Gov. Katie Hobbs did something on her first day in office on Tuesday that hasn’t been done since the last time Arizona had a Democratic governor: shield more Arizonans from discrimination — at least in state government.
But a provision extending its reach to entities that contract with the state could end up being challenged as illegal discrimination against faith-based organizations.
In a new executive order, Hobbs directed state agencies under her control of eliminate all barriers that “artificially restrict” employment actions that are “not directly related to the performance of the job.”
