Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders calls special session to shield more government documents from public view under Arkansas Freedom of Information Act

[essentialsaltes]

State lawmakers file new bills that would allow officials to shield records from public​

The Republican governor called lawmakers to the Capitol for an extraordinary session to take up bills overhauling the state's open records law, cutting income taxes and banning covid-19 vaccine mandates for government workers.

But while bills to cut tax rates and prohibit a vaccine mandate sailed through Senate committees Monday, legislation to overhaul Arkansas' law on public disclosure and open meetings stalled.

Specifically, the bill would exempt "records reflecting communications between the Governor or his or her staff and the secretary of a cabinet-level department."

Also on Monday morning, the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act Task Force voted unanimously to oppose the bill. The task force, created through legislation in 2017, met via Zoom to listen to public comments and to vote on a recommendation.

"What this is going to do is take away the rights citizens have had since 1967 to see that deliberative process," Jimmie Cavin, a self-described Freedom of Information advocate, told the task force.

 

[Pommer]

State lawmakers file new bills that would allow officials to shield records from public​

The Republican governor called lawmakers to the Capitol for an extraordinary session to take up bills overhauling the state's open records law, cutting income taxes and banning covid-19 vaccine mandates for government workers.

But while bills to cut tax rates and prohibit a vaccine mandate sailed through Senate committees Monday, legislation to overhaul Arkansas' law on public disclosure and open meetings stalled.

Specifically, the bill would exempt "records reflecting communications between the Governor or his or her staff and the secretary of a cabinet-level department."

Also on Monday morning, the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act Task Force voted unanimously to oppose the bill. The task force, created through legislation in 2017, met via Zoom to listen to public comments and to vote on a recommendation.

"What this is going to do is take away the rights citizens have had since 1967 to see that deliberative process," Jimmie Cavin, a self-described Freedom of Information advocate, told the task force.

Spoiler: YAY!

Transparency!

 

[Fantine]

I wrote my state representative about FOIA (partly because the changes she wanted were to protect her against more revelations about her private junkets---even to Europe---on the police department plane.)

Predictably, both of them are about 180 degrees to the right of me politically, but my state rep answered the next morning saying she was opposed to the bill.

She belongs to an extremist group in our community called "the Elders," and a friend who went to a meeting to find out about them said she's one of the main speakers. Among their causes: Paper Ballots, Book Banning.

Believe it or not, the Elders are opposed to the FOIA Act changes, too. The Democrats said, "It's the first time we've ever agreed on anything."

 

[essentialsaltes]

'Incompetent' or criminal? Even Republicans are calling for a legislative audit over AR gov’s $19,000 lectern​

A Republican state senator in Arkansas requested an audit of his own party’s governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, over the purchase of a $19,000 lectern with a state credit card, the Associated Press reports.

As ABC News reported last month, Sanders overhauled the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The changes also included “a retroactive clause to June 1, 2022, before Sanders took office” and was signed at the same time “a lawsuit pends against the state for allegedly withholding information related to her travel requested under the FOIA,” ABC News reported.

Little Rock, AR attorney Matt Campbell, who filed the FOIA lawsuit against the state, told the AP the issue is larger than a lectern — and is instead a question of whether Sanders’ office is “incompetent” or engaged in “actual criminality.”

 

[essentialsaltes]

'Incompetent' or criminal? Even Republicans are calling for a legislative audit over AR gov’s $19,000 lectern​

Ark. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to face GOP-led audit over $19K lectern​

Arkansas Republicans on Thursday approved an audit of their governor’s purchases after a blogger’s open-records requests unleashed a political storm that has resulted in claims about the state altering public documents.

 

[DaisyDay]

This is trending on social media as #LecternGate and #podiumgate

Interestingly, Sanders took a jaunt to Paris with a couple of friends - one of whom has a company, which is not in the business of selling lecterns, sold this one to the governor's office for $19,000 (for reference, a genuine one retails for a top price of $7,000):

TL: DR;​

• The governor paid two women tied to Jan. 6th $20,000 of taxpayer money.
• The governor’s office claimed the $20k expense was for a podium/lectern.
• The podium/lectern has not been seen; many speculate it doesn’t exist and the $20k paid for the governor’s Jan. 6 acquaintances to join her in Paris.
• The ARGOP reimbursed the state for the purchase only after the state was FOIA’d for their expenses.
• The whole thing looks and smells like a good old fashioned coverup.

 

[Fantine]

Her approval rating is 40% among Arkansans. I think they are starting to realize that they should have chosen the Harvard-educated physicist, who had worked for NASA, and later ran an innovation center in Little Rock, educating business and students out the latest technological advances.

In a race between a rocket-scientist and a former Trump press secretary with a long history of truth dodging, Arkansans chose the professional liar. What a mistake!

 

[durangodawood]

This is trending on social media as #LecternGate and #podiumgate

Interestingly, Sanders took a jaunt to Paris with a couple of friends - one of whom has a company, which is not in the business of selling lecterns, sold this one to the governor's office for $19,000 (for reference, a genuine one retails for a top price of $7,000):

TL: DR;​

• The governor paid two women tied to Jan. 6th $20,000 of taxpayer money.
• The governor’s office claimed the $20k expense was for a podium/lectern.
• The podium/lectern has not been seen; many speculate it doesn’t exist and the $20k paid for the governor’s Jan. 6 acquaintances to join her in Paris.
• The ARGOP reimbursed the state for the purchase only after the state was FOIA’d for their expenses.
• The whole thing looks and smells like a good old fashioned coverup.

Thats the lectern??? Wow what a horrible little pedestal

 

[DaisyDay]

The audit report has been completed and released along with a referral to the state for criminal investigation.

https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2024/04/17/podiumgate-audit-sarah-huckabee-sanders-arkansas

 

[Fantine]

As an Arkansas resident, this should be a cause for joy, but her second in command, Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge, is a virtual clone of Gov. Sanders, minus the Huckabee pedigree...

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

19,000 for a podium. A podium should cost no more than a few hundred dollars. The rest could go on projects for kids or elderly people. Of course, I'm sure there's a lot of waistful spending going on. But I thought this woman was supposed to be Christian. Christians aren't supposed to break laws.

 

[7thKeeper]

19,000 for a podium. A podium should cost no more than a few hundred dollars. The rest could go on projects for kids or elderly people. Of course, I'm sure there's a lot of waistful spending going on. But I thought this woman was supposed to be Christian. Christians aren't supposed to break laws.

Technically it was 19k to party at Paris. There was no podium bought as far as I remember, and the picture they showed of the podium is a model that's worth about 2k at most. Not even from the same maker/model as they claimed, which are expensive ones.

 

[Fantine]

Less than a year later, her family of 5 saw the Super Bowl in a sky box package with personal visits with all the stars--reputed to cost $750K per person. No guesses on what she had to promise in order to get such a lavish gift--or who transported her there.

There is a referendum petition to enshrine the freedom of information act she wants to dismantle. Taxpayers need to know what she's spending, and if she is selling us out.

 

[DaisyDay]

Technically it was 19k to party at Paris. There was no podium bought as far as I remember, and the picture they showed of the podium is a model that's worth about 2k at most. Not even from the same maker/model as they claimed, which are expensive ones.

They did apparently purchase one that was might have been delivered in mid-September (the attached bill of lading was inadvertently shredded, oops). The auditor "caught sight" of it October 13, 2023. The audit report linked to above has pictures and measurements, which are relevant because it supposed to be a custom order.

Unfortunately, it was originally expensed out of "transition funds" and paid for by a card meant for office supplies, but for that to have been legal, the item would have to have been bought and delivered before June 20, 2023. Someone apparently wrote on some but not all the copies of the invoice "to be reimbursed" and soon after the Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA) gave a check for it. There was some oddities in the accounting of the piece as it had not previously been entered into the inventory system, so they were in a quandary as how to transfer it out. The governor's office is not overseen for purchasing equipment (vendor list, RPAs, etc.) but it is overseen for disposing of equipment (which transferring to the RPA of this expensive, custom podium fell under).

 

[iluvatar5150]

19,000 for a podium. A podium should cost no more than a few hundred dollars.

lol, you haven’t bought furniture in a while, have you?

$11,500 (which was the cost of the podium itself) doesn’t strike me as out of line for a piece like this that’s all hardwood. For stuff that’s marketed to commercial customers, you can easily spend a couple grand on an av cabinet that’s basically a rectangular box made out of mdf with a nice veneer.

 

[Pommer]

lol, you haven’t bought furniture in a while, have you?

$11,500 (which was the cost of the podium itself) doesn’t strike me as out of line for a piece like this that’s all hardwood. For stuff that’s marketed to commercial customers, you can easily spend a couple grand on an av cabinet that’s basically a rectangular box made out of mdf with a nice veneer.

Nothing’s “too good” for the Governor of Arkansas, taxpayers should consider the savings from restricting post-partum medical leave to two months (instead of a year!), that ought to be worth a couple of million, easy!

 

[DaisyDay]

lol, you haven’t bought furniture in a while, have you?

$11,500 (which was the cost of the podium itself) doesn’t strike me as out of line for a piece like this that’s all hardwood. For stuff that’s marketed to commercial customers, you can easily spend a couple grand on an av cabinet that’s basically a rectangular box made out of mdf with a nice veneer.

However, when the governor's office and the auditors looked for comparable pricing, the prices quoted for customized podiums of that style came in under half; the base price before the customization was also less than half the quoted base from Beckett Events and Salem Strategies from Arlington, VA and Panama City Beach, FL. respectively. Even choosing the high end of each estimate doesn't come anywhere near $11, 575. The other problem, of course, is that the out of state companies, Beckett Events and Salem Strategies don't sell or supply podiums as their ordinary business - they got the equipment from another out of state supplier, Millers Presentation Furniture in Beacon, NY.

​

On March 6, Hannah Stone provided a computer draft of a falcon style podium (see Appendix F) and estimated the cost to be between $10,000 and $15,000, depending on any upgrades or customizations selected, with a turnaround time of 30 to 60 days between order and delivery. The schematics were provided by Harbinger, a company based in Washington, DC. During interviews with ALA, Governor’s Office staff could not recall any other quotes being obtained; however, ALA review revealed that, on March 24, a Governor’s Office staff member contacted an Arkansas-based audio and visual equipment dealer and received quotes for various styles of portable podiums ranging in cost from $800 to $1500, lighting systems ranging from $250 to $1,000, and sound systems ranging from $500 to $3,000.​

​

The auditors found that the traveling case for the podium, the crate cost and shipping fees were reasonable - but the "consulting fee" of $2,500 from the Beckett Events invoice (Appendix N) which brings the total amount invoiced to just under the reporting requirement of $20,000 remains unexplained.

 

[iluvatar5150]

However, when the governor's office and the auditors looked for comparable pricing, the prices quoted for customized podiums of that style came in under half; the base price before the customization was also less than half the quoted base from Beckett Events and Salem Strategies from Arlington, VA and Panama City Beach, FL. respectively.

As I recall, the base price was around $7000. The finished price was $11,500. That's not less than half.

Even choosing the high end of each estimate doesn't come anywhere near $11, 575. The other problem, of course, is that the out of state companies, Beckett Events and Salem Strategies don't sell or supply podiums as their ordinary business - they got the equipment from another out of state supplier, Millers Presentation Furniture in Beacon, NY.

​

On March 6, Hannah Stone provided a computer draft of a falcon style podium (see Appendix F) and estimated the cost to be between $10,000 and $15,000, depending on any upgrades or customizations selected, with a turnaround time of 30 to 60 days between order and delivery. The schematics were provided by Harbinger, a company based in Washington, DC. During interviews with ALA, Governor’s Office staff could not recall any other quotes being obtained; however, ALA review revealed that, on March 24, a Governor’s Office staff member contacted an Arkansas-based audio and visual equipment dealer and received quotes for various styles of portable podiums ranging in cost from $800 to $1500, lighting systems ranging from $250 to $1,000, and sound systems ranging from $500 to $3,000.​

​

The auditors found that the traveling case for the podium, the crate cost and shipping fees were reasonable - but the "consulting fee" of $2,500 from the Beckett Events invoice (Appendix N) which brings the total amount invoiced to just under the reporting requirement of $20,000 remains unexplained.

I read the audit. Most of those numbers are laughable. Can you buy podiums for $800-1500? Probably, sure. Are they going to be made out of solid hardwood like the one spec'd here? Absolutely not. Wooden furniture is just expensive. A veneered dining room chair can run well over $1000. Solid hardwood can run over $2000. For one chair. It's unlikely that a run-of-the-mill AV dealer would carry hardwood, either. Most of the stuff they carry is MDF with veneer and even then, $800-1500 is on the cheap side for anything. The last piece of AV furniture I ordered was a 12RU Middle Atlantic rack (an MDF box roughly 2'w x 2.5'h x 2.5'd) and, once I added all the accessories like the casters, glass doors, and rear rails, it came out to around $1000 - for something I had to put it together myself and was so "robust" I'd be worried to roll it out of the room.

At the time, our IT dept suggested I go with their usual AV furniture vendor, Salamander:

Audio Cabinets & Racks at Crutchfield

Shopping for Audio Cabinets & Racks? Our Virginia-based experts love helping folks find the right gear. Get FREE 2-day shipping and free lifetime tech support with your order.

www.crutchfield.com

$2-3k for an MDF bookshelf that's too shallow to house most AV gear.

One could argue that what the governor ordered was too fancy, but for what they ordered, that price is not unreasonable.

Regarding the other parts: I don't know what their idea of a "sound system" for a podium is, but for the bare minimum of a gooseneck microphone attached to an xlr output, then $500 would barely get you the parts.

For $2200, the road case was a bit less than I expected, though I did not expect the freight to be $1000.

 

[DaisyDay]

As I recall, the base price was around $7000. The finished price was $11,500. That's not less than half.

The base price of the comps was less than half the base price quoted by the governor's office.

I read the audit. Most of those numbers are laughable. Can you buy podiums for $800-1500? Probably, sure. Are they going to be made out of solid hardwood like the one spec'd here? Absolutely not. Wooden furniture is just expensive. A veneered dining room chair can run well over $1000. Solid hardwood can run over $2000. For one chair. It's unlikely that a run-of-the-mill AV dealer would carry hardwood, either. Most of the stuff they carry is MDF with veneer and even then, $800-1500 is on the cheap side for anything. The last piece of AV furniture I ordered was a 12RU Middle Atlantic rack (an MDF box roughly 2'w x 2.5'h x 2.5'd) and, once I added all the accessories like the casters, glass doors, and rear rails, it came out to around $1000 - for something I had to put it together myself and was so "robust" I'd be worried to roll it out of the room.

At the time, our IT dept suggested I go with their usual AV furniture vendor, Salamander:

Audio Cabinets & Racks at Crutchfield

Shopping for Audio Cabinets & Racks? Our Virginia-based experts love helping folks find the right gear. Get FREE 2-day shipping and free lifetime tech support with your order.

www.crutchfield.com

$2-3k for an MDF bookshelf that's too shallow to house most AV gear.

One could argue that what the governor ordered was too fancy, but for what they ordered, that price is not unreasonable.

Regarding the other parts: I don't know what their idea of a "sound system" for a podium is, but for the bare minimum of a gooseneck microphone attached to an xlr output, then $500 would barely get you the parts.

For $2200, the road case was a bit less than I expected, though I did not expect the freight to be $1000.

I'm not familiar with lecterns and AV equipment, so you may well be correct that the auditor's report was faulty in that respect, that $7,000 was reasonable for a Falcon style lectern. However, the other problems still remain - for instance, that only two of the three copies of the same invoice have the handwritten notation "to be reimbursed" and those two don't match.

 

[iluvatar5150]

The base price of the comps was less than half the base price quoted by the governor's office.

I'm not familiar with lecterns and AV equipment, so you may well be correct that the auditor's report was faulty in that respect, that $7,000 was reasonable for a Falcon style lectern. However, the other problems still remain - for instance, that only two of the three copies of the same invoice have the handwritten notation "to be reimbursed" and those two don't match.

Yeah, there may very well have been shenanigans regarding the procurement. My wife has a P-card and I can't imagine the hyperventilations that would be induced if somebody wanted her to put $20k on it.