by Jonathan Eberle | May 9, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
A bill aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in Arizona’s Medicaid contracting process has been vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs, prompting strong criticism from Republican lawmakers who say the governor is shielding her administration from scrutiny.
The legislation, SB 1612, was sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope and would have implemented a series of oversight measures affecting how the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) — the state’s Medicaid agency — awards contracts and handles procurement.
In a statement released late Friday, Hobbs vetoed the bill without an accompanying public explanation, though her office has generally opposed what it characterizes as politically motivated legislation. Shope, however, called the veto “an alarming example of the fox guarding the henhouse.”
“I drafted this legislation in response to potential wrongdoing revealed from a probe on how the Hobbs administration provided an unfair advantage when awarding $15 billion worth of state Medicaid contracts,” Shope said. “She appears to be providing favoritism to her friends, allies, and donors using taxpayer dollars.”
The legislation comes in the wake of a 2023 ruling by an administrative law judge that found AHCCCS had improperly awarded contracts related to the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS), which provides care for roughly 26,000 elderly and disabled Arizonans. The judge cited violations of procurement statutes, flawed bid evaluations, and evidence that contract decisions were made based on the interests of the agency rather than the public. Compounding concerns, a June 2023 local media investigation revealed that Sunshine Residential Homes, a state-licensed group home with a record of deficiencies, received millions in contracts from the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) after making campaign donations to Governor Hobbs and the Arizona Democratic Party.
SB 1612 would have removed a statutory exemption allowing AHCCCS to use its own procurement code, requiring adherence to statewide rules; prohibited destruction of internal documentation during request-for-proposal (RFP) evaluations; and required vendors responding to RFPs or applying for state-administered grants to disclose political donations made to the governor or associated campaign committees.
Critics of Hobbs say these measures were a direct response to growing concerns about transparency in her administration. “Had she signed this bill into law, she would have given the citizens of Arizona greater confidence in state government acting in their best interests — not the best interests of political campaign coffers,” Shope said.
Hobbs’ veto is one of more than 100 since taking office in 2023. With Republicans controlling both chambers of the Arizona Legislature and Democrats holding the governorship, partisan tensions over issues like procurement, immigration, and education have dominated the political landscape.
Supporters of SB 1612 say it was a common-sense effort to address documented problems in contract awards that affect the lives of thousands of vulnerable Arizonans. As scrutiny intensifies over both AHCCCS and DCS procurement decisions, it remains to be seen whether lawmakers will revisit the bill in another form or pursue an independent investigation into the allegations.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Jonathan Eberle | May 8, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed a Republican-sponsored immigration enforcement bill, drawing sharp criticism from Senator John Kavanagh and other GOP lawmakers who say the legislation was a necessary step toward protecting public safety.
SB 1610, introduced by Kavanagh, would have required county detention facilities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities by providing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with access to information about non-citizen individuals arrested for certain serious crimes, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, burglary, and offenses resulting in serious bodily injury or death.
Governor Hobbs vetoed the bill, saying it would have undermined trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement and could have led to racial profiling. Hobbs has previously said that Arizona should not be in the business of enforcing federal immigration law — a view aligned with many Democrats who argue that local entanglement in immigration enforcement can have unintended legal and social consequences.
Senator Kavanagh sharply disagreed, framing the veto as a dereliction of duty.
“Hobbs continues to give her veto stamp more attention than the citizens she’s required to protect,” Kavanagh said in a statement. “People are fed up with the massive tsunami of dangerous criminals who have entered this country illegally.”
He added that the bill was a way to align Arizona with federal deportation efforts and referenced the recent Laken Riley Act, a congressional proposal with bipartisan support that also centers on deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes.
The bill comes at a time when immigration remains a political issue in Arizona, a border state that has long wrestled with foreign nationals attempting to enter illegally into the U.S. Republican lawmakers have increasingly advocated for state-level legislation to fill what they see as gaps in federal immigration enforcement. Democrats, however, claim that such bills often cast too wide a net and risk violating constitutional protections.
Governor Hobbs has issued more than 100 vetoes since taking office in 2023 — a record-setting pace that reflects the divided government in Arizona, where Republicans control the Legislature and Democrats hold the governor’s office.
With the latest veto, the clash between state lawmakers and the governor over immigration policy is likely to continue into the next legislative session and could become a focal point in upcoming elections.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 8, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
A Maricopa County man was indicted for falsifying signatures for last year’s ballot petition to legalize abortion.
53-year-old Anthony “Tony” Lee Harris — who appears to be registered as a Democrat per voter records — was charged with two felonies and eleven misdemeanors for falsifying the signatures: one count of aggravated taking identity of another, one count of fraudulent schemes and practices, one count of circulator registration violation, and ten counts of petition false signature.
Harris falsified the signatures to help qualify Proposition 139 for the November ballot, or the Arizona Abortion Access Act (AAAA). The proposition passed with over 61 percent of the vote (over two million voters for the measure versus over 1.2 million against).
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell clarified in a press release issued Tuesday that the “dozens” of falsified signatures submitted by Harris weren’t large enough to disqualify the initiative from the ballot.
AAAA activists submitted over 823,000 signatures to qualify the petition for the ballot last July. The secretary of state’s office verified about 578,000 of those signatures. The initiative required just shy of over 384,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Harris was ineligible to work as a petition signature gatherer “despite past convictions,” per the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO). Yet, last April, Harris registered as a circulator for AAAA.
Past arrest records show another individual with the same name and birth date as Harris previously faced charges for armed robbery and kidnapping over a decade ago.
Arizona law prohibits individuals from registering as a circulator if they: have a civil or criminal penalty imposed for violating petition circulation law; have a conviction for treason or a felony and have not had their civil rights restored; or have a criminal offense conviction involving fraud, forgery, or identity theft.
Before the secretary of state considers a circulator to be properly registered, the applicant must submit a notarized affidavit of eligibility.
According to the secretary of state’s circulator portal, Harris worked as a paid circulator for Fieldworks LLC under circulator ID AZ89842. Harris was one of over 2,300 petition circulators paid by Fieldworks for the AAAA petition.
Per his circulator registration, Harris was added to the system on April 19 of last year. The indictment alleges Harris forged the signatures just days after his registration, between April 22 and 27 of last year.
Harris wasn’t the only one indicted this year for falsifying signatures for the abortion ballot initiative. The MCAO indicted another Democrat, Michele Brimmer, 52, with five felonies and nine misdemeanors in association with her alleged crimes. Again, the MCAO said Brimmer’s signatures didn’t impact the qualification of the proposition for the ballot.
“I want to make it clear that the number of signatures we are talking about would not have made a difference as to whether this proposition got on the ballot,” said Mitchell in the February press release announcing Brimmer’s indictment. “That said, we are talking about a case that involved fraudulent signatures placed on an election petition. That is a crime, and it undermines public trust in elections. It will not be tolerated and those who engage in such conduct will be held accountable.”
Brimmer was also a paid circulator for One Fair Wage Action’s initiative, Raise the Wage AZ. The signatures for this initiative were withdrawn following challenges to their validity in August.
AAAA received and spent over $36 million on their initiative, respectively. Over $9.2 million went to Fieldworks for signature gathering.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | May 8, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen announced on Wednesday that Arizona and fifteen other states are celebrating a legal win over the State of California. The victory came over costly regulation under the ‘Advanced Clean Fleets’ mandate, which required trucking firms to purchase electric trucks to replace all diesel models. The states reached a settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday.
The “radical” rule, as Petersen described it, would have particularly impacted Arizona trucking companies who operate large fleets in California. It would have imposed costs of over $100,000 per vehicle, “dramatically raising costs for local trucking companies and their customers,” according to a Senate release.
A report from the International Council on Clean Transportation noted that in response to the regulatory change, the Port of Oakland purchased 10 Peterbilt 579EVs at a cost of $5.1 million, or approximately $510,000 per semi-truck, not including maintenance.
“For years, California has operated with near impunity as its leaders passed unconstitutional regulations that brought great harms to Arizona consumers,” Petersen said in a statement.
Petersen offered a direct criticism of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes for her “absence” on the matter.
“In the absence of our Attorney General holding California accountable to the rule of law, the Arizona Legislature gladly stepped up to protect our citizens from this egregious abuse of power and emerged victorious. We are grateful for the coalition of attorneys general who helped force California to capitulate from its misguided position on this illegal mandate, and we vow continued vigilance on behalf of the citizens we serve.”
According to the AZ Senate GOP Caucus, California’s regulators have pledged to launch rulemaking proceedings to officially strip the new rule from the state’s regulations. They conceded that California’s 2036 ban on the sale of internal-combustion trucks is unenforceable unless and until the ban receives a Clean Air Act preemption waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Citing an “absence” of action from AG Mayes and the Hobbs administration, Petersen stated that he has led and/or joined over 60 legal efforts in state and federal courts “to defend the rule of law on behalf of the Arizona Legislature.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | May 7, 2025 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The latest job report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) shows that 34% of small business owners (seasonally adjusted) reported that despite having open positions in April, they could not find employees to fill them. Chad Heinrich, state director for NFIB in Arizona, offered some suggestions for Arizona lawmakers to address the situation and urged the passage of AZ Senate Bills 1069 and 1215.
“Arizona’s small businesses are the foundation of our economy, and our state has a chance to lead the way in empowering them,” Heinrich said in a statement. “Lawmakers have already done good work keeping taxes and regulations in check. Now, I urge them to pass Senate Bills 1069 and 1215. These two measures will lift a significant recordkeeping burden from Arizona’s smallest businesses and safeguard legal proceedings from foreign entity involvement.”
Senate Bill 1069 sponsored by AZ Senator JD Mesnard (R-LD13) would, if enacted, increase the Business Personal Property Tax exemption to $500,000 per taxpayer, relieving the tax burden on small business owners and “reduce record-keeping and compliance costs enormously,” according to the NFIB.
The bill was passed by the Senate 17-9 with four Senators not voting and passed the House Ways and Means Committee on March 5th.
The second measure, Senate Bill 1215, proposed by AZ Senate President Pro Tempore Vince Leach would require the disclosure of third-parties sponsoring predatory lawsuits against Arizona small business owners and was passed by the House Judiciary Committee on March 26th and is pending consideration by the House Rules Committee. The bill is also supported by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Arizona Manufacturers Council, the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association, and the Arizona Trucking Association.
Courtney Coolidge, executive vice president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry said in a February statement, “Third party litigation funding has grown to an estimated $15 billion industry in the U.S. Essentially what happened is funders pour money into lawsuits in exchange for the settlement. This is a simple transparency bill to ensure transparency in our courts, protect litigants and safeguard against foreign influence. This is not just an Arizona issue; several states have passed this with bipartisan support.”
Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg explained the NFIB report’s findings saying, “Small business owners remained open to hire and grow their workforce in April. While the percent of open positions decreased a bit, Main Street firms are still struggling to find qualified applicants for their plentiful open positions.” Per the NFIB report, the percentage of unfilled job openings spiked in 2021-22 and have returned to the lowest level observed since January 2021.
Per the NFIB report, the percentage of unfilled job openings spiked in 2021-22 and have returned to the lowest level observed since January 2021 with the largest concentration of openings in construction, transportation, and manufacturing.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
