AZ Governor Hobbs Vetoes Second Bill Requiring Hospitals to Record Patient Citizenship Status

Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed Senate Bill 1051, a measure that would have required Arizona hospitals that accept Medicaid-related payments to include a patient’s citizenship or immigration status on admission forms and report aggregated data to the Arizona Department of Health Services. The veto was announced by the governor’s office in a legislative action update released Feb. 20, 2026. 

SB 1051, sponsored by Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-LD07), passed the Arizona Senate on a party-line vote earlier this month after advancing through committee and floor action. The bill would have mandated that hospitals track whether patients are U.S. citizens, lawfully present noncitizens, not lawfully present, or declined to answer when completing intake paperwork. It would also have required hospitals to submit quarterly reports to the Department of Health Services and required the department to produce an annual summary of admissions classified by patient-reported status and associated data. 

🚨VETO ALERT🚨

Senator @WendyRogersAZ' SB 1051, which would require a person's citizenship status on patient admission forms, was vetoed by Hobbs on Friday evening, proving yet again her support for illegal immigrants over US citizens. pic.twitter.com/2agmLAlong

— AZSenateRepublicans (@AZSenateGOP) February 23, 2026

The legislation specified that the question would not affect patient care and that responses would not be reported to immigration authorities. Supporters said the intent was to provide lawmakers with data on uncompensated care and hospital utilization related to patients without lawful status. 

Opponents in hearing testimony and reporting argued that even voluntary immigration-related questions on intake forms could discourage some people from seeking medical care, potentially affecting public health outcomes. Similar concerns were cited previously when a related measure was considered. 

Gov. Hobbs previously vetoed a similar bill in 2025. In her veto message for SB 1051, she echoed opposition from business groups and health-care stakeholders, saying immigration enforcement matters are best handled by federal authorities rather than health-care providers.

In her latest veto letter, she wrote that her veto “should come as no surprise,” given her previous veto.  “Undocumented people are not eligible to enroll as AHCCCS members. Federal law recognizes that everyone gets sick, requiring American hospitals to provide emergency stabilization care to every person who needs it, regardless of where they are from or their ability to pay.”

She then pivoted to criticize both the Republican-led legislature and the Trump Administration, writing, “As Arizonans brace for the deep Medicaid cuts inflicted on us by out-of-touch Washington politicians, the legislature continues to show a troubling inability to grasp some of the most basic functions of Medicaid, policies that have been federal law for decades.”

Federal law enacted in July 2025 — H.R. 1, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — includes several provisions affecting the Medicaid program. Among them are work or community engagement conditions imposed on certain adult Medicaid enrollees, limits on retroactive coverage, and expanded eligibility verification procedures. While analysts have projected that these eligibility conditions and administrative requirements could lead to enrollment declines over time, the law does not eliminate mandatory Medicaid benefit categories established under federal statute.

Arizona SB 1051 could be revived through a legislative override requiring a two-thirds vote in each chamber, meaning any successful override would require bipartisan support. No override vote has been scheduled as of this report.