Legislative hearing dives into questions about $19,000 lectern purchase

Legislative auditors, members of the governor’s staff, and representatives from the Attorney General’s office met with state lawmakers on Tuesday (April 16) to answer questions about an extensive audit of a $19,000 lectern purchase made by Gov. Sarah Sanders.

On Monday (April 15), the highly anticipated lectern audit from Arkansas Legislative Audit (ALA) was released to the public. The 67-page report was critical of the governor’s purchasing and redistribution practices and cited potential violations of Arkansas law before referring the report to the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney and Attorney General. The governor’s office disputed ALA’s findings and said it did not break any laws and has reformed some of its internal accounting practices.

Legislative auditors gave an overview of their report to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee before committee members peppered witnesses with questions about the details of the audit and the lectern transaction, which was initially paid for with a state credit card and later reimbursed by the Republican Party of Arkansas.

“We are pleased that the final audit report proves what we have said all along: that our office lawfully purchased a podium and travel case, and the state was fully reimbursed with private funds for the podium, at no cost to the taxpayers. Ultimately, the audit wasted significant taxpayer resources just to come to the conclusion that no laws were broken and no fraud was committed,” said Judd Deere, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Sarah Sanders.

“Even so, we are glad this report dispels all the ridiculous Twitter conspiracy theories that have made the rounds online. It shows that the podium and travel case are real, that their cost was not unreasonable, that the podium was built to specific height requirements, that the purchase was not part of some ‘payment scheme’ or ‘wire fraud,’ that the items were lawfully transferred to the Republican Party of Arkansas, and that the Governor’s Office has taken steps to improve its internal purchasing procedures,” Deere added in his opening statement.

A major portion of the audit committee’s three hour hearing focused on a legal dispute between auditors and the Attorney General’s office as to if the governor’s office, and other constitutional offices, are exempt from the purchasing and redistribution rules of the state.

The Attorney General’s office contends the governor is exempt from state agency policy for selling items it owns. Legislative Audit argued state statutes do not exempt the governor’s office from this policy. Legislative auditors cited several instances where the governor’s office should have followed certain procedures based on their interpretation.

In response to questions from legislators, Deere said the lectern is stored in the governor’s office, while the road case for transporting it is being held at the Republican Party of Arkansas. He also said the governor would begin using the lectern once the audit process is completed.

One line of questioning centered on when the decision was made to have the RPA pick up the cost of the lectern. Deere said he didn’t remember specifically when the decision was made, although the timeline of events suggest it came after blogger Matt Campbell began making FOIA requests about the purchase. Deere admitted it was not the “intent at the beginning” but it later became “preferable that private funds” would pay for it.

Eventually, the RPA reimbursed the state $19,029 for the lectern, road case and accompanying costs.

Legislative auditors have referred their findings to Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Will Jones. Auditors said there were four areas of legal violations for the prosecutor to consider:

• Potential FOIA shortcomings;
• Potential noncompliance of proper documentation of financial transactions;
• Potential lack of supporting documentation; and
• Potential tampering of documents.

Legislative auditors said these potential violations are all requirements for referring reports to prosecutors, but it will be up to Jones’ discretion to file charges, if any. The governor’s office claims they have not violated any state laws.

Officially, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee adopted a motion that the report was “presented,” meaning it has been officially received and accepted by state lawmakers.

The governor faces another legislative audit. Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, who initiated the lectern audit, has also requested state auditors to look into the travel expenses of the governor that were made confidential when the state’s Freedom of Information Act was modified in last year’s special session.