Overview
- Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday vetoed SB 1439, saying the Charlie Kirk specialty plate would insert politics into a government function that should stay nonpartisan.
- The plate would have cost $25 annually, with $17 directed to a nonprofit described in the bill in ways that match Turning Point USA’s profile, including a 2012 founding and campus activism.
- Design materials showcased a photo of Kirk beside the TPUSA logo over an American flag with the words "FOR CHARLIE" beneath the plate number.
- Bill sponsor Sen. Jake Hoffman, a close ally of Kirk, condemned the decision as partisan, and TPUSA figures also criticized the veto.
- Separate measures to honor Kirk remain active, including a Senate-passed plan to rename Loop 202 and a bill authorizing statues at Wesley Bolin Plaza that cleared the Senate on March 4.