Senator Finchem Holds Hobbs Administration Accountable with Audits to Boost Transparency of Taxpayer Spending

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                             Thursday, February 20, 2025

Senator Finchem Holds Hobbs Administration Accountable

with Audits to Boost Transparency of Taxpayer Spending

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senator Mark Finchem is calling for government transparency with legislation to broaden the scope of audits, granting the Auditor General the permission to conduct performance audits on state agencies who collect taxpayer dollars to ensure the money is spent as intended.

In line with President Trump's promise to eliminate government waste and reform the bloated federal bureaucracy, Senator Finchem is following suit with SB 1323. This bill exposes the weaponization of the Hobbs Administration for questionable and unethical practices using taxpayer dollars. Arizonans expect their elected officials to make decisions based on what's best for the state and its citizens; not what's best for their own personal agendas and political bank accounts.

SB 1323 empowers the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) to direct the Auditor General in conducting performance audits on state agencies that collect taxpayer dollars. JLAC is responsible for overseeing all audit functions of the Legislature and state agencies. Operating independently of the Governor's Executive Cabinet, JLAC is composed of five members from both the House and Senate. If enacted, the bill would provide JLAC with the statutory authority to initiate performance audits on agencies, run by unelected bureaucrats, to ensure that taxpayer money is spent in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth by the Legislature. SB 1323 is the catalyst to ensuring fiscal accountability of state funds provided by Arizona taxpayers. Despite haphazard testimony from progressive democratic lawmakers, SB 1323 passed through the Senate today and heads to the House for consideration.

"Performance audits, and audits in general, have no animosity, conscience or allegiance to a political objective. They are fact base assessments of performance, and a vital part of the Legislative oversight on recipients of taxpayer funding," said Senator Finchem "The Joint Legislative Audit Committee exists to provide a window of visibility on how government units are functioning and the public policies they're implementing. It's time the Legislature digs deep on wasteful spending and bureaucratic inefficiency that has plagued Arizona, thanks to Governor Hobbs."

                                                   ###

For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov