Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed bills that would have barred the health department from requiring student vaccinations and another spelling out that hotels and motels cannot be required to accept government-issued vouchers to house homeless people.

On the receiving end of the first veto was HB 2474, a measure sponsored by Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Goodyear.

It would have barred the health department from ever requiring students to get immunized against any ailment to attend school if the vaccine has received only “emergency use authorization” from the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The legislation did not spell out specifics. But that is specifically the category under which the FDA had given approval to vaccines for children against COVID-19.

“Vaccines are vitally important for the health and wellness of our state,” the governor wrote, saying the legislation would “undermine public trust'” in FDA-approved vaccines.

Arizona has some of the broadest exemptions from vaccine requirements.

Aside from allowing people to opt out for medical or religious reasons, parents also can claim a personal or philosophical objection to certain vaccine mandates, though if there is an outbreak their children can be forced to stay home from school.

Hobbs also nixed HB 2379, which would have spelled out in state law that hotels and motels cannot be required to accept government-issued vouchers to house homeless people.

“Hotels and motels in Arizona have never been required to accept a voucher to house someone, and no proposal to do so is under consideration here,” the governor said.

Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, conceded the point when he pushed the legislation. But he said it is happening in Los Angeles, and he did not want the practice to spread.

Hobbs was unimpressed.

“Instead, we should focus on the real problem of housing affordability by making sure housing assistance can be used where it's intended, and that tenants do not face discrimination for using a voucher in the rental market,” the governor said.

That was a reference to former Attorney General Mark Brnovich who had issued a legal opinion voiding a Tucson city ordinance saying that landlords could not refuse tenants based on having Section 8 vouchers or other assistance.

That opinion was rescinded by current Attorney General Kris Mayes, allowing Phoenix to proceed with changes to its city code regarding housing income sources.

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