Arkansas Legislative Joint Audit Committee meets to discuss podium audit

Damara Hale
·2 min read
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Arkansas Legislative Joint Audit Committee completed its deep dive into the podium audit released on Monday to better understand the 68-page audit on Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ $19,000 podium.

Senators asked questions such as where the podium is currently located and how people can see it. But there were also questions asking whether the amount of the podium was too much.

Audit of Arkansas $19,000 lectern purchase reveals technical errors in paperwork, compliance

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ team says approximately $11,500 is “within market value of similar podiums.” They also said they spent more than $2,500 for customizations.

Senator Bart Hester says he felt the language of agencies would be discussed the most during the meeting.

“The one big question is now the auditors have said the governor’s office is a state agency for the purpose of this audit, which is the vast majority of their findings. Well, everyone that can read the Constitution understand the governor’s office is not a state agency. It’s a constitutional office and does not have to abide by state agency procurement,” said Hester.

But as for Democrat State Senator of District 30, Greg Leding, he feels this will be a discussion for the next couple of days.

“Clearly, the independent nonpartisan auditors disagree with that take, and they maintain that the governor’s office is a state agency. Certainly, we would want, I think, all government bodies to adhere to the same procurement laws when they’re when they’re purchasing things. So I think that’s something we’re going to see discussed here in the next couple of days,” said Leding.

The audit also highlights multiple potential violations of Arkansas code, including operating expenses used to pay for the podium and failing to make the Department of Transformation and Shared Services aware of the delivery.

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