Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes began an official investigation into the Yuma County Board of Supervisors on Thursday in response to a request to investigate by Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives.
A letter sent on Tuesday, led by State Representative Laurin Hendrix (R-Gilbert), warned about the decision by Yuma County to give a $30 billion contract to Allo Communications (AC), a Nebraska-based company, which did not have a contractor’s license in Arizona.
Funded with COVID-19 dollars by the Biden administration, Yuma County selected AC to build rural internet infrastructure in a deal lawmakers claim violated both “state law and the Gift Clause of the Arizona Constitution” and claimed it could constitute “favoritism and abuse through a fundamentally flawed and potentially illegal procurement process.”
The lawmakers requested an SB 1487 investigation, which is a law allowing legislators to request the attorney general investigate specific concerns.
Mayes (pictured above) reportedly issued a letter to the county on Thursday, giving them until February 23 to respond to the Republicans’ complaint, according to the Arizona Capitol Times.
In their press release, the Arizona House Republicans included meeting minutes from the Yuma County Board of Supervisors that illustrated their desire to choose AC for the project despite receiving more competitive bids from other companies.
During the early 2022 meeting when the supervisors approved the contract for AC, the minutes reveal that a representative for competing Gila Electronics warned the board that he “conducted a search and there is no contractor license in Arizona issued to ALLO Communications, which poses a concern since this is a construction contract.”
AC owned the property for its other projects in Arizona, the minutes explained, and Gila Electronics’ attorney Barry Olsen noted the competitor “is a licensed contractor and their proposal submitted was still the lowest price.”
Nonetheless, the Yuma County Board of Supervisors adopted the agreement with AC without any requirements for the out-of-state company to obtain the proper license from Arizona.
“We cannot ignore Yuma County’s apparent disregard of Arizona law and the lack of oversight and accountability surrounding this critical project,” the House Republicans said in a statement that preceded Mayes’ letter.
AC recently claimed to be ahead of schedule and under budget in its Yuma County project, and in December 2023, was awarded a “Giant of Sustainability” award for its commitments to “sustainable practices” in “energy efficiency, renewable energy, and broadening access for underserved customers.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
