An ethics complaint has been filed against Gov. Asa Hutchinson in the wake of comments by former Democratic Attorney General Dustin McDaniel about whether lawmakers and constitutional officers are allowed to campaign for candidates during "normal business hours.”
Matt Campbell, a Little Rock lawyer and blogger, provided the complaint to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Friday. He said the Republican governor appeared at two campaign events in support of Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, on Feb. 29.
Hutchinson campaigned for Williams — and other Medicaid expansion supporters — before the primary on March 1.
Campbell had filed a complaint against Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Treasurer Dennis Milligan in February when the pair traveled to Iowa to support former Gov. Mike Huckabee in his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination.
But the Arkansas Ethics Commission tossed that complaint because the state’s definition of candidate does not include those running for federal office.
McDaniel said that means that elected officials supporting state candidates during work hours may run afoul of the law.
However, Sloan said the commission's analysis stopped when it established that Huckabee did not meet the state's definition of candidate.
The commission has ruled in the past that public servants — such as rank-and-file employees who clock in — may take leave to support a candidate.
However, there is no clear precedent for constitutional officers — such as the governor — who do not punch a timecard or accrue vacation time.
"We've advised them to take steps to document that they're off the clock, so to speak, but exactly how you would do that, it's never been spelled out," Sloan said.
Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.