T.J. Shope, the Republican senator who represents Maricopa in Legislative District 16, is backing a new transparency bill aimed at tightening oversight of state contracts following controversies under Gov. Katie Hobbs’ administration.

Senate Bill 1186 would require companies seeking state contracts or certain state grants to disclose anything of value provided within the previous five years to the governor, campaign or inauguration-related entities, and outside organizations supporting or opposing the governor politically.

A forthcoming committee amendment would extend those disclosure requirements to companies with existing state contracts, applying the transparency standards both before and during taxpayer-funded agreements.

The proposal also requires disclosures before contracts are awarded, preserves evaluation records created during the Request for Proposals process and allows contracts tied to destroyed records to be re-solicited.

Shope, who serves as Senate president pro tempore, said a prior version of the bill was vetoed last year and criticized the governor’s alternative proposal.

“After vetoing our bill last year, the governor came back this session with her own proposal, but it still leaves the biggest gap untouched,” Shope said today. “Her plan focuses on releasing information after contracts are awarded. Our bill requires transparency before decisions are made, when it actually matters.”

According to the Senate Republican Caucus, the legislation follows concerns surrounding the Sunshine Residential Homes controversy and issues tied to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, where a multibillion-dollar Medicaid contract award faced legal challenges after an administrative law judge identified flaws in how proposals were evaluated and scored.

SB 1186 is scheduled to be heard tomorrow in the Senate Regulatory Affairs & Government Efficiency Committee.