Legislative Audit Co-chair says lawmakers weighing options on lectern audit release

Rep. Jimmy Gazaway, R-Paragould, co-chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee, said state lawmakers are discussing internally how they want to release a highly-anticipated audit of Gov. Sarah Sanders’ $19,000 lectern purchase.

Appearing on this week’s Capitol View TV program, Gazaway said the lectern audit will be released next week, but the timing and the format are undecided.

“There’s some discussion going on now about whether or not we should have a hearing when we release the audit, or whether we should just release it to the public,” he said. “[The hearing] would be to allow the audit staff to present the report and then allow the committee members to ask questions.”

Either way, Gazaway said the report should be released publicly next week. When asked if he expects it to be controversial, Gazaway said, “We’ll see.”

Legislative auditors have been reviewing for months the purchase of a $19,000 lectern made by Gov. Sarah Sanders’ office. While the price tag raised eyebrows, there were weeks of controversy over how the purchase was made through a state credit card and later reimbursed by the Republican Party of Arkansas.

Auditors have been researching the transaction and the governor’s office handling of the matter, which was originally reported by blogger Matt Campbell.

Gazaway appeared Sunday (April 14) with Rep. Ashley Hudson, D-Little Rock, on Capitol View. The two state legislators discussed the current fiscal session, possible solutions to altering a crypto mining law, and their plans for the next regular session.

Watch their full interview in the video below.