The Republican chairman of the legislative committee overseeing the audits of state agencies said that it appeared that the director of a state commission broke the law when she signed off on a check that went to a partisan organization last year.
During the legislative joint auditing committee's state agencies' meeting, Rep. Nate Bell of Mena said he was concerned that the head of the state's Fair Housing Commission, Carol Johnson, ran afoul of state law that prohibits state agencies from making political contributions when her group paid for an advertisement in the program for an event sponsored by the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus.
"The underlying action is illegal, according to the attorney general," Bell said. "Going forward ... I encourage you to stay away from it."
During Monday's meeting, Johnson said she and the rest of her commission understood the legislator's concerns.
"Certainly we will not make this expenditure again," Johnson said. "We did it not in an attempt to provide expenses for any party ... we were attempting to reach a class of persons we have a statutory responsibility to reach ... in this case the African-American community."
The ad ran in an event program for the Caucus' King-Kennedy dinner and cost the state commission $1,500 for a full page.
According to the audit, the purchase flew in the face of the Governor's Policy Directive addendum to Arkansas Annotated Code 7-1-102 and 103, which prohibit state employees from endorsing political candidates in their official capacity. It also bars state employees from "engaging in partisan political activity" during work hours while they are being paid with tax dollars.
Auditors also cited a 2008 opinion from Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who wrote that a public entity cannot "contribute public funds to a political party."
Johnson said that her group routinely advertises its services, as well as makes outreach and education efforts, to inform Arkansans about housing discrimination and unfair lending practices.
By state statute, her group is required to advertise in order to increase visibility of the services and rights available to those most likely to be discriminated against.
The Democratic event was a prime opportunity to advocate, Johnson said.
Bell and state Rep. Sue Scott, R-Rogers, pointed out that in 2012, another state commission, the Black History Commission of Arkansas, paid for an ad in the same event.
That ad, Bell said, only cost the black history commission $150 compared with $1,500.
When asked to explain the difference in cost, as well as who she talked to about the rate, Johnson said she was unaware of previous rates and that she couldn't recall who she'd spoken to last year about the ad.
"Contributions to a political party are not permitted, or a political party entity are not permitted with taxpayer dollars," Bell said. "From where I sit, yes that shouldn't have happened without a doubt. But the larger questions is, if she did truly pay ten times more for the same ad ... any fair-minded person would like to know why."
The language of the ad, Bell said, was also a concern. Whereas the ad for the Black History Commission of Arkansas in the 2012 event program simply included the organization's logo and a list of members, Johnson's ad "applaud[ed]" the work by the Democratic group in raising awareness and wished it "continued success."
Bell said the ad was a "tacit endorsement" of the Democratic body. Johnson denied the characterization.
"It was not my intention to endorse the Caucus," she said. "Or any political party. It was my intention to use this avenue, as a way to reach the African American community... we've used other publications to reach other groups that have historically been discriminated against."
The committee moved the audit to the greater auditing community and forwarded materials to the attorney general's office. It also sent materials to the Pulaski County prosecutor's office to determine if a law had been broken. An official with the office of Larry Jegley said he was not aware they had received any materials from the legislator on the matter.
"Anytime [the legislative committee] encounters a violation of the law they're required to refer it [to a prosecutor's office] ... What [Jegley] will do with it, that's up to them," Bell said. "The other avenue we have is ... to send it to the attorney general for civil litigation."
Bell said the audit subcommittee will review the issue again with the full legislative joint auditing committee today.
Metro on 12/16/2014