Arkansas State Senator Jimmy Hickey Jr. (R – Texarkana) sent a letter requesting an audit of the governor’s office in connection to its purchase of a lectern.
Sen. Hickey sent the letter to Sen. David Wallace (R – Greenway) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould), both senior members of the Legislative Joint Audit Committee.
In the letter, Hickey asked for the following two items:
- The purchase of a podium or lectern from Beckett Events LLC for use by the governor’s office.
- “All matters, involving the Governor or the Governor’s Office, made confidential by Section 4(a) of Act 7 of the First Extraordinary Session of 2023.”
The lectern was purchased in June for the amount of $19,029.25 by the governor’s office. It was not until recently that the Republican Party of Arkansas reimbursed that expense with inaugural funds.
The next scheduled Legislative Audit Executive Committee meeting is Thursday, October 12, 2023.