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More of the old "Do as I say, not as I do" from our religious leaders, government masters and police???
If me or you tried to screw the state of Arizona out of $12,000 by claiming bogus expenses, we would have been slapped with some felony fraud charges. But when Arizona House Speaker David Gowan does the same thing it's not big deal.
Arizona House Speaker repays state $12K for travel errors Mary Jo Pitzl, The Republic | azcentral.com 8:29 a.m. MST February 26, 2016 House Speaker David Gowan has reimbursed the state more than $12,000 for travel expenses taxpayers shouldn't have paid for. Gowan's check for $10,411 cleared state accounts a month ago, according to records from the Arizona Department of Administration. An additional $1,655 payment reimbursed Gowan's legislative per diem of $60 a day. The money pays back Gowan's double-dip into taxpayer funds, something his office says was inadvertent. The Arizona Capitol Times uncovered the issue last month while examining travel expenses for members of the House of Representatives. Gowan's office clarified that the money came from his personal accounts, not campaign funds. The legislator, R-Sierra Vista, represents a geographically large district in southeastern Arizona and is running for Congress in the sprawling 1st District. However, none of his travel using state-fleet vehicles was for political purposes, according to a review his office conducted of his 2015 journeys. The speaker released his calendar and travel records to the public as proof he was properly using taxpayer money. The greatest share of his repayment — $9,683 — was for mileage checks he received for using his personal vehicle, when in fact he was using one of the state's, a mistake made by Gowan's assistant, spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said. The figure also includes reimbursement for several instances where Gowan's staff overestimated the mileage involved. As a lawmaker, Gowan is entitled to reimbursement for mileage to and from his district, as well as for legislative-related travel. The per-diem reimbursement was the result of an abundance of caution, Grisham said, after staff scrubbed Gowan's 2015 calendar and found it didn't fully account for days on which he received the $60 payment. They suspect he might have overpaid the state but erred on the side of caution. Another $727 payment covered the costs of keeping a fleet vehicle longer than was needed for the intended travel, Gowan's office said. It is against state policy to use state vehicles for personal use, a rule Tony Bouie, who resigned as head of the Arizona State Lottery in January, was found violating. Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.
Roberts: Gowan repays state $12,000 Laurie Roberts, The Republic | azcentral.com 11:26 a.m. MST February 25, 2016 Glad to see that House Speaker David Gowan repaid the state $12,000 for work he didn’t do and mileage reimbursements he shouldn’t have claimed. I was all set to give the guy credit for owning up after the Arizona Capitol Times’ Hank Stephenson called into question tens of thousands of miles that Gowan, a candidate for Congress, put on a state-owned car as he was chauffeured around Arizona. The Capitol Times on Thursday reported that Gowan quietly repaid more than $12,000. It seems he was putting in for mileage reimbursements as if he’d been driving his own car and also used a state car for personal business. He also put in for per-diem pay for days he wasn’t working. Gowan didn’t talk to the Cap Times, naturally. Instead, he sent his spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, who promptly blamed… …the staff. Grisham told the Cap Times that Gowan’s assistant “assumed incorrectly” that he was driving his own car. “The lack of communication among staff accounts for the vast majority of over-reimbursement,” Grisham wrote in an email. As I recall, he also blamed the staff last year when he got chastised for planning yet another renovation to the House last year – a $1.7 million upgrade that contemplated a workout room in the basement, complete with showers. But I digress. Gowan reportedly repaid the state $9,683 for mileage reimbursements he claimed despite the fact that he was being driven around in a state car and for overestimating distances when he was using his own car. Another $727 was repaid for using a state car for personal business. Then there was $1,655 in per-diem pay for days he didn’t actually work. The Cap Times says it filed a public records request, asking for a copy of the travel reimbursement form, presumably to see if it included Gowan’s signature. Curiously, the House has not responded to that Jan. 19 public records request. The House also hasn’t provided a copy of his per-diem claim form, despite a Jan. 28 public records request. By the way, state law bars employees and legislators from using state vehicles for personal business. It’s a class 2 misdemeanor. |