Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0
Key Points:
- Gov. Katie Hobbs considers state law to disclose political gifts from companies seeking government contracts
- Hobbs previously vetoed similar legislation, calling it a “political stunt”
- Hobbs denies any personal involvement in the decision to raise rates for Sunshine Residential
By Howard Fischer | Arizona Capitol Times
Gov. Katie Hobbs said she is “looking at proposals” for laws that would ensure the disclosure of political gifts from companies seeking government contracts from Arizona’s governors.
The move comes six months after she vetoed legislation crafted by Sen. T.J. Shope designed to do exactly that. Senate Bill 1612 would have required anyone submitting a bid to also disclose anything of value that the company and its officers or directors donated in the past five years to the governor or any of the governor’s funds.
The governor told Capitol Media Services that the proposal by the Coolidge Republican is “a political stunt, nothing more.”
But Shope said on Nov. 13 that his bill was in direct response to a report that Sunshine Residential Homes, which operates group homes for foster children, had been given an unusual rate increase after the company gave $100,000 to the inaugural fund set up by Hobbs. The company separately also gave $300,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party.
