PHOENIX — In her first 100 days in office, Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed close to 50 bills. One of them would have required registered sex offenders with parental rights to notify their child's school of their status and criminal record.
The move has devastated a victims' advocate who spearheaded the bill.
“I really had hoped that this wouldn't be a political issue," said Kayleigh Kozak.
Kayleigh Kozak is the name behind Kayleigh's Law, a law that gives victims protection from their abusers for life.
READ MORE: 'You don’t ever get to speak to me again': New Arizona law protects crime victims from abusers
Kozak is now devoted to advocating for stronger sex offender laws. She focused on a loophole in the sex offender registry where, under current law, sex offenders notify schools in their neighborhood, which is not always where their kids go.
For Kozak, it hit close to home.
“The man who sexually abused me when I was a child has school-aged children and the school that they were attending had no idea that he was a registered sex offender," Kozak said. “There's lots of charter schools and lots of private schools. And there are sex offenders whose children attend those schools.”
Kozak advocated for the passage of SB 1253 which would have required all registered sex offenders with parental rights to notify the school their child attends.
Some spoke out against the bill in committee hearings.
"This bill suggests people on the registry are lurking on their own child's school grounds looking to re-offend," said Patricia Borden of Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense Laws.
Some Democrats who opposed the bill argued DPS should notify the schools, not the offenders, to prevent the children of offenders from being bullied.
"We never asked that it be publicized in the school. We didn't want it to be on a billboard in the parking lot or a weekly newsletter sent home. It was simply for the administrative staff to be made aware of who these offenders are," Kozak said.
Kozak did not have an issue with DPS being the reporting agency and hoped that could be worked out.
The bill passed along party lines, but Hobbs vetoed it.
In a statement explaining her decision, Hobbs said:
State law already outlines requirements for the registration of sex offenders with the Department of Public Safety and compliance with various ongoing notification requirements, including notifying school districts in which a sex offender lives. The Department of Public Safety remains best-equipped to oversee all community notification.
“I felt disgusted that politics are getting in the way of protecting children," Kozak said.
Kozak took to social media and expressed her reaction.
Her social media comment lead to further fallout.
"Do you regret sending that tweet?" asked 12News reporter Bianca Buono.
"I do not, I stand very firm in my tweet," Kozak said.
Kozak had been invited to speak at an upcoming Arizona Crime Victims' Rights Event later this month. Now, she has been told she is no longer invited.
12News reached out to the governor's office regarding Kozak being pulled from the speaking event but so far, we have not heard back.
“This event that is elevating and lifting survivor voices and as of today, they actually took me off the invitation," Kozak said.
Despite the setback, Kozak is spearheading three other bills before the legislature this session. She's hoping sex offender registry reform can get bipartisan support moving forward.
“Nothing worth doing is ever easy and I know that this is an uphill battle," Kozak said.
RELATED: 'How in the world did this happen?': Survivor demands change to Arizona sex offender registry
Latest Arizona news
Catch up on the latest news and stories on our 12News YouTube playlist here.