Arizona Republican lawmakers are demanding a fresh investigation into Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs after Attorney General Kris Mayes declined to prosecute an alleged bribery scheme involving state contracts, political donations, and Arizona Democrats.

The controversy centers on Sunshine Residential Homes, which reportedly donated about $400,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party and a dark money organization connected to Hobbs inaugural festivities.

The company later received state rate increases that potentially produced millions of dollars in additional revenue.

The sequence raised obvious questions about whether political money influenced government decisions.

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Yet Mayes, also a Democrat, closed her investigation after roughly two years and announced that criminal charges would not be filed against Hobbs or others connected to the matter.

Hobbs did not personally sit for an interview with investigators.

Instead, she provided two written statements through attorneys, an arrangement that hardly inspires confidence among taxpayers expecting elected officials to answer direct questions about the handling of public money.

Former Department of Child Safety officials provided investigators with information about internal concerns surrounding Sunshine Residential Homes.

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Former Deputy Director Shalom Jacobs said she saw no justification for granting the company a special rate increase outside the regular schedule in May 2023.

Jacobs also supported claims from former agency director Mike Faust, who said he was offered a bribe to approve a rate increase for the company’s group homes.

Despite the seriousness of those accounts, statements from Faust and Jacobs were reportedly omitted from the attorney general’s final report.

That omission has fueled Republican demands for an investigation conducted without political conflicts.

Lawmakers also want Mayes and Hobbs to support stronger disclosure and record preservation requirements designed to expose possible political influence over state contracts.

Arizona Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope called on Mayes to support legislation requiring companies seeking state contracts or certain grants to disclose political donations.

The proposal would also require agencies to retain records used while evaluating contract bids and proposals.

Hobbs previously vetoed two bills containing similar protections.

Shope accused Mayes of remaining silent while lawmakers had opportunities to enact reforms, only to acknowledge the need for changes after the legislative session had ended.

“That’s not leadership. It’s political damage control,” Shope said.

His criticism reflects the growing suspicion that Arizona Democrats are more interested in containing the scandal than establishing safeguards that could prevent another politically connected contracting mess.

Other reviews have not disappeared simply because Mayes closed her case.

“A separate investigation led by the Arizona Auditor General, with assistance from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, remains open, along with an independent investigation commissioned by the Arizona House.”

Questions also remain about internal communications within the Department of Child Safety.

The legislative release said agency messages acknowledged Sunshine’s political connections and discussed keeping its special rate increase quiet from competing providers.

State Senator David Farnsworth said the lack of prosecution does not settle the broader issue of government accountability.

“The absence of criminal charges does not answer whether taxpayer money was wasted, whether financial safeguards failed, or whether the process was fair.”

Hobbs dismissed the renewed scrutiny as election season politics.

“With just 35 days until voting starts, it’s no surprise partisan extremists are launching desperate political stunts,” her office said in a statement.

Her office also claimed, “As has been made abundantly clear multiple times by public reporting and the Attorney General’s report, there was no wrongdoing by Gov. Hobbs, the Governor’s Office, or the Hobbs campaign.”

That declaration is convenient, especially when the investigation was run by a fellow Democrat who participated in the inauguration ceremony connected to the controversy.

Sunshine Residential Homes likewise rejected the allegations and pointed to the attorney general’s decision.

“We understand this is a campaign season, and we respect that reasonable people can debate state contracting policy, as they should.”

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Republican lawmakers are not arguing that Mayes alone gets the final word on every ethical question.

They contend that taxpayers deserve to know whether political donations opened government doors, whether agency officials faced improper pressure, and why significant witness statements were left outside the public report.

For Hobbs and Mayes, the political problem is not going away through carefully drafted statements.

Arizona voters have watched enough insiders investigate insiders, declare everything acceptable, and expect the public to move along without asking who benefited and who paid the bill.

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