Arizona House Republicans are calling on Gov. Katie Hobbs to pursue a federal data-sharing agreement intended to help investigators identify Medicaid and other public-benefit fraud by finding connections between government benefit payments and complex business records.
House Majority Leader Michael Carbone (R-LD25) and House Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Selina Bliss (R-LD1) issued the request Monday following the Justice Department’s announcement of new cooperation agreements with several southeastern states.
✅House Republicans Call on Governor Hobbs to Join Federal Anti-Fraud Data-Sharing Partnership Six states have already agreed to help federal investigators uncover fraud
“Arizona families work hard and pay their taxes, and they have every right to expect that not one dollar of… pic.twitter.com/y0L8vKPchx
— Arizona House Republicans (@AZHouseGOP) August 3, 2026
The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division announced the agreements July 30 as part of a wider federal-state initiative involving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Secretaries of state from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina entered data-sharing agreements giving the division access to publicly available corporate-registration and public-benefit payment information held by their agencies. State treasurers from Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina also joined the agreements.
Federal investigators plan to use the data to identify patterns connecting business entities with public-benefit payments and trace financial activity through shell companies, layered business structures, and related entities. The department encouraged other states to pursue similar partnerships.
“Arizona families work hard and pay their taxes, and they have every right to expect that not one dollar of their money ends up in the pocket of a fraudster,” Carbone said. “Six states have already signed up to help catch the criminals stealing from taxpayers and from the people these programs are supposed to serve. There is no good reason Arizona should not be next, and no good reason for Governor Hobbs to wait.”
“Arizona’s most vulnerable families should not pay the price for fraud and inaction,” he added. “Arizona taxpayers have already lost billions of dollars, and the Justice Department has given states a practical way to identify suspicious payments and business connections earlier. Governor Hobbs should begin the process today.”
Carbone proposed that Arizona begin with a two- or three-year memorandum of understanding that would preserve state control over the information and allow officials to evaluate the partnership’s results.
“Every dollar siphoned off by fraudsters is a dollar that does not reach an Arizona family who needs it,” Bliss said. “We have seen billions lost to sober living scams and phantom behavioral health clinics right here in our state, and Arizona has been named one of the riskiest states in the country for this kind of abuse.”
The Republican lawmakers did not specify which Arizona agencies would enter the agreement or which categories of public-benefit information would be shared.
Unlike the participating states, Arizona’s Secretary of State’s Office does not register corporations or limited liability companies. Those records are maintained by the independently elected Arizona Corporation Commission, while public-benefit payment information is held by executive agencies including AHCCCS and the Department of Economic Security.
The request comes as Hobbs remains under investigation over allegations involving Sunshine Residential Homes, a Department of Child Safety (DCS) contractor. Sunshine donated $300,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party and $100,000 to Hobbs’ inaugural fund before DCS approved a 30% rate increase, though no other group homes received rate increases and over a dozen contracts were terminated.
Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office has sought an interview with Hobbs as part of its ongoing criminal investigation, while the Arizona House has retained outside counsel to conduct a separate inquiry. Hobbs has denied wrongdoing and maintained that she did not influence the contracting decision. As of July 30, no date had been set for her interview with investigators. KJZZ reported that Mayes expects to make an announcement regarding the investigation before the November 3 election.
The Justice Department established a West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force in April covering Arizona, Nevada, and the Northern District of California. U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said federal investigators and prosecutors had disrupted fraud schemes representing more than $1 billion in Arizona alone.
In announcing the strike force, the Justice Department cited the prosecution of two wound-graft company owners in a $1.2 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme and the indictment of Farrukh Jarar Ali, a Pakistani national accused of directing an approximately $650 million fraud operation involving at least 41 Arizona substance-abuse treatment clinics.
Federal prosecutors allege Ali’s company helped enroll clinics as providers with AHCCCS before submitting approximately $650 million in fraudulent claims for services that were unnecessary, substandard, or never provided. AHCCCS paid approximately $564 million on the claims, according to the Justice Department.
Hobbs’ administration has separately promoted Arizona’s existing efforts to prevent Medicaid fraud. In May, the governor’s office said the state’s enforcement campaign had targeted as much as $2.5 billion in suspected fraud, produced more than 364 payment suspensions based on credible allegations, and contributed to more than 100 indictments. AHCCCS also began deploying the Alivia 360 analytics platform this summer to identify potential improper claims before payment.
Carbone said the federal agreement could add another investigative tool by allowing authorities to identify suspicious connections between public payments and corporate records earlier.
“Arizona has already paid an enormous price for fraud,” Carbone said. “Governor Hobbs can act now to help prevent the next scandal. If she chooses to leave Arizona on the sidelines, she should explain why.”
Voters will not be seeing a debate occur in the Arizona governor’s race between Gov. Katie Hobbs and Rep. Andy Biggs.
Hobbs announced formally on Tuesday that she wouldn’t be debating Biggs, though many speculated for months beforehand that would be the case regardless of who won the Republican primary.
The Democratic governor even stonewalled reporters for days after the primary before finally opening up to 12News reporters Brahm Resnik and Craig Harris on the subject.
Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont told the outlet that the governor doesn’t find debates important.
DeMont said Hobbs’ time was better spent convincing constituents of her work through a statewide “Arizona First” tour with more than 100 open-press events and interviews.
“We respectfully decline debate invitations in this campaign because face-to-face engagement with Arizonans is more effective than a stage designed for short soundbites and political theater,” said DeMont.
DeMont’s statement confirmed what Hobbs appeared to indicate in media interviews in recent years: that she doesn’t believe debates hold much value with voters anymore.
Some have expressed concern that Hobbs engaging voters unchecked by opponents serves as a calculated echo chamber. They pointed to claims made in a recent Hobbs campaign ad, which were later characterized across the political spectrum as misleading or false.
The governor claimed in the ad to have reduced electricity bills, though utility rates have increased; cut red tape to build more affordable housing, though her administration imposed a housing moratorium that may cost taxpayers millions; and balanced the budget, though the multibillion-dollar surplus flipped into a deficit under her and it was the Republican-led legislature that convinced Hobbs to sign on after months of stalling and a legislative moratorium.
It will have been 8 years since Hobbs engaged in a debate.
In the past, the governor had fled from reporters when pressed on her willingness to debate opponents, and once claimed to have COVID-19 when expected to appear for a debate.
Although Hobbs won’t show, Biggs does plan to appear on the stage for the Clean Elections Debate in October. Drew Sexton, Biggs’ campaign senior advisor, said Hobbs’ continued rejection of debates was less about principle and more about fear of confrontation.
Sexton also said that Hobbs’ avoidance indicated moral failings that would explain the multiple rejections by lieutenant governor picks and the years-long criminal corruption investigation. Sources told The New York Times that both Jimmy McCain, John McCain’s son, and John Giles, former Mesa mayor and Republicans for Harris leader, turned Hobbs down for the role.
“The independent and persuadable voters up for grabs in Arizona deserve to hear from statewide candidates in a traditional debate setting, one that was held in every Arizona gubernatorial race since 1954 until Katie Hobbs ran for the position in 2022,” said Sexton. “Katie Hobbs can avoid the debate stage but she won’t get to avoid voters in November.”
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The federal government expects Arizona to do more to conserve its water in the ongoing Colorado River supply crisis while other basin states face far lower restrictions.
Arizona’s elected leaders responded that the state has done more than its fair share to conserve water throughout this historic multi-decade drought, and that they would not accept this federal directive. They indicated that they may challenge the directive in court.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement on Colorado River operations, released by the Bureau of Reclamation on Friday, would require Arizonans to cut water usage by up to 77% in 2027 and 2028.
Arizona, California, and Nevada had proposed water usage reductions that would have reduced Arizona’s supply by about 31%, but the federal government rejected that proposal.
The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) said the federal decision would “devastate” Arizonans and the state’s economy. ADWR criticized the federal framework for not including reductions to the Upper Basin or sufficient use of water in those upper reservoirs.
The Colorado River Basin provides drinking water and power for more than 40 million people, and irrigation water for more than five million acres of agricultural land. A 26-year drought has reduced the basin to historically low runoff and reservoir levels.
Arizona, California, and Nevada rely on water from the Lower Basin, while Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico rely on the Upper Basin.
Gov. Katie Hobbs expressed hope that the Department of the Interior (DOI) would still accept the Lower Basin alternative plan, but acknowledged the federal restrictions contained “unacceptable options” that included having Arizona take on the majority of water cutbacks, which Hobbs called “draconian.”
As Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Republican nominee for governor, mentioned in his appeal to Congress for Colorado River emergency funding, Hobbs cited Arizona’s unique position as a power player in the agricultural and defense industries.
“Arizona provides the agricultural produce, critical minerals, weapons defense systems and cutting-edge semiconductors that feed America, protect America and fuel America’s high-tech economy. No other state in the Colorado River basin can say the same,” said Hobbs.
The DOI has been unsuccessful in its attempts the past six years to reach consensus with Arizona and the six other basin states concerning long-term operational guidelines. The lack of consensus didn’t stop the federal release of the environmental impact statement, since current operational guidelines expire this year and the government must begin new operations on October 1 of this year.
Danny Seiden, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, condemned the DOI decision as placing a “deeply disproportionate burden on Arizona” while failing to provide a cohesive conservation solution for all basin states. Seiden said they would stand alongside state leaders to demand a fairer decision.
“[A] plan that imposes severe, enforceable reductions on Arizona while shielding senior users and allowing other states to avoid comparable mandatory commitments is neither fair nor sustainable,” said Seiden. “Arizona will do its part, as it always has, but we will not accept being treated as the system’s default shock absorber. Any sustainable path forward must recognize Arizona’s conservation record, protect the investments our state has already made, and require measurable contributions from the entire Colorado River Basin.”
Rep. Teresa Martinez, an LD16 Republican whose constituents also hail from Pinal and Pima counties, questioned who in Arizona would be expected to cut water usage, and who would be given the better end of the deal.
Martinez said the federal government is forcing communities and farmers to bail out those beginning to feel the effects of the water crisis.
“Pinal County farmers already lost their Colorado River water. That happened years ago. They took the hit without a bailout, without fanfare, and without much sympathy from anybody,” said Martinez. “Rural Arizona cannot keep being treated like the first place to cut and the last place anyone thinks about.”
Martinez said she plans to speak with LD16 community leaders, especially those within the agriculture industry, to gauge the anticipated impact of this latest decision.
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Approximately 100 wild horse advocates gathered at the Arizona State Capitol last week to urge Governor Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) to pause planned removals of Salt River wild horses until an independent scientific review confirms the remaining herd will remain genetically healthy and self-sustaining.
The “Preserve the Herd — Follow the Science” rally brought together conservation advocates, elected officials, wildlife experts and supporters from across Arizona who argued that the state’s current management plan should be guided by independent scientific analysis before any permanent removals occur.
Under AZDA’s current management plan, the Salt River wild horse population would be reduced from approximately 271 horses today to between 120 and 125 by the end of 2030 through continued fertility control and permanent removals to sanctuaries.
Advocates said they support responsible management of the herd but contend that the proposed population target has not been supported by publicly available, independent scientific research.
“Today was not about opposing responsible management,” stated Susie Bell of Friends of the Salt River Wild Horses. “It was about demanding that irreversible decisions be supported by credible, independent science. Arizona should not remove a single healthy horse until the public is shown that the remaining herd will be genetically viable.”
Wildlife ecologist and author Craig C. Downer, who has studied the Salt River herd and its habitat, cautioned that reducing the herd to the proposed level could permanently affect its long-term health.
“It would be a big mistake for Arizona to reduce this herd to 120 horses without independent science showing that the population can remain genetically healthy and self-sustaining,” Downer said. “The total number of horses does not necessarily reflect the herd’s true reproductive strength. Managers must consider how many unrelated breeding animals would remain, whether family lines are adequately represented, the herd’s age and sex distribution, foal recruitment and the continuing effects of fertility control.”
“Once genetic diversity is lost, it can be extremely difficult — if not impossible — to restore,” Downer added. “Before any removals begin, Arizona should require an independent, transparent scientific review demonstrating that the proposed population target will preserve the herd for generations, rather than merely keeping a small number of horses on the landscape.”
Advocates also pointed to the work of Dr. E. Gus Cothran, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University and a nationally recognized equine population geneticist, who has stated that 150 to 200 horses is generally considered the minimum population necessary to help preserve long-term genetic health.
According to organizers, Cothran has also emphasized that herd viability depends on factors beyond total population size, including genetic diversity, breeding-age animals, age and sex distribution, and mortality and reproductive rates.
As a result, rally organizers are calling for herd-specific genetic testing, a population viability analysis, and an independent scientific review before permanent removals move forward.
Supporters noted that the Salt River herd has already declined by more than 40% over the past five years, dropping from approximately 450 horses to around 271, largely through fertility control and natural attrition.
Organizers argued that maintaining the current management strategy could reduce the herd to approximately 165 to 168 horses over the next five years without permanently removing healthy horses or disrupting established family bands.
“There is no emergency that justifies abandoning a management program that is already working,” said Susie Bell. “The herd is declining, fertility control is working and natural mortality is occurring. Why would Arizona choose removals before completing the science?”
Advocates also questioned how the state’s current population target was established.
According to public records cited by organizers, an initial proposal to reduce the heard to approximately 100 horses originated from what they described as an informal straw poll rather than an independent scientific population study.
Although the target was later increased to 120 to 125 horses, advocates said no independent scientific analysis supporting that figure has been publicly released.
“You should not manage a protected Arizona treasure through a straw poll conducted among cattlemen and other interests within AZDA,” Bell added. “A negotiated number is not a scientific number.”
Supporters additionally pointed to public polling indicating widespread backing for preserving the heard. Organizers cited a 2023 Public Policy Polling survey that found 78% of Arizonans opposed removing Salt River wild horses from their habitat, even when respondents were presented with environmental concerns.
Other horse advocacy organizations have reported public support protecting the herd as high as 88%.
The rally also highlighted the Salt River Horse Act (HB 2340), legislation approved overwhelmingly by the Arizona Legislature and signed into law in 2016 to provide legal protections for the herd. Governor Katie Hobbs voted in favor of the measure while serving in the Arizona Senate.
The law prohibits individuals from interfering with, capturing, or euthanizing Salt River horses without written authorization and specifies that such authorization may be granted only for humane purposes. It also clarifies that the horses are not considered stray livestock subject to standard livestock removal laws.
State Rep. Cody Reim (R-LD3), who attended the rally, said the law’s original purpose was to protect the horses — not to justify reducing the herd.
“The Salt River Horse Act was never intended to justify removing these horses,” said Reim. “It was enacted to protect the herd and prevent exactly this from happening.”
Reim also announced plans to introduce legislation that would require science-based protections for the Salt River herd.
Organizers said they have repeatedly requested meetings with Governor Hobbs and asked her administration to temporarily pause removals while independent experts evaluate the state’s proposed population target. According to advocates, those requests have gone unanswered.
During the rally, supporters displayed more than 50 written requests submitted to the governor’s office seeking meetings or assistance, alongside the response they received which organizers said demonstrated the administration’s unwillingness to engage on the issue.
Friends of the Salt River Wild Horses is asking Governor Hobbs to:
Pause permanent removals of Salt River wild horses.
Order an independent genetic study and population viability analysis.
Require AZDA to publicly release the scientific data supporting the 120 to 125 horse population target.
Continue evaluating fertility control as an alternative to permanent removals.
Allow independent wildlife and genetics experts to review the findings before irreversible management decisions are made.
Advocates said a temporary pause would not end responsible management of the herd but would instead ensure that permanent decisions are based on transparent science and long-term genetic viability.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Gov. Katie Hobbs launched a new attack ad accusing Republican challenger Andy Biggs of driving up costs, but one of the ad’s top financial backers is an insurance company that has imposed significant premium increases and is seeking another double-digit rate hike.
The ad, “No Clue,” accuses Biggs of ignoring inflation and planning to raise sales taxes by 23%.
“Biggs does have a plan to raise prices 23% more, a sales tax on everything: gas, groceries, rent,” stated the ad.
The ad disclosed that much of its funding came from Elevance Health (branded as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield), an insurance company which has instituted massive rate hikes in recent years.
Elevance Health was one of the top single donors last year to the heavily indebted Arizona Democratic Party.
Elevance Health has not donated to the Arizona Republican Party.
Although Elevance Health’s headquarters is in Indiana and its political action committee is in Washington, D.C., the company used the address of its corporate office in Cincinnati, Ohio, to disclose donations to various Hobbs-affiliated entities.
Elevance Health raised its premium rates by up to 24% across its Affordable Care Act and Medicare plans, and is requesting another 17% increase for 2027, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Elevance Health also recently reported a raise to its annual profit forecast. They recently announced a second-quarter net income of more than $1.4 billion.
The company also reported a 1.5% decline in membership year-over-year, declining to less than 45 million members.
Elevance Health has also put more affordable health care options on the chopping block. The company is taking steps to exit Medicaid markets, starting with Washington, D.C., this summer.
The Navajo County Democratic Committee (NCDC) paid for the governor’s latest attack ad. Other top donors besides Elevance Health were Marcia Grand, former leader in the consumer technology publication industry, and Uber, the rideshare giant.
NCDC funds have been alleged to be unlawfully sourced from the millions derived from a commingled campaign funding scheme by Hobbs. This alleged scheme involved the political action committee Copper State Values, which serves as the largest single funding entity to Hobbs’ reelection campaign “Elect Katie Hobbs” and to which Elevance Health reported donating $40,000 last year.
Hobbs’ campaign reported that Copper State Values has contributed more than $400,000 in non-contribution income. The heavily indebted Arizona Democratic Party served as the single largest donor to Copper State Values, having given more than $1.7 million to the political action committee.
Though not identified as a top donor on this latest attack ad, another major contributor for Hobbs benefiting from rate hikes is Arizona Public Service (APS), the state’s largest electric utility.
APS is requesting to increase its rates by more than 14% for its residential customers and more than 45% for large load users like data centers and manufacturing companies. Its 31-day rate case hearing that concluded earlier this month is one of the Arizona Corporation Commission’s longest and more contentious hearings in recent commission history. Most rate case hearings conclude within two weeks.
