Legislative committee says to ignore corrections board’s contract with lawyer

In a gathering that started 4 minutes early and took lower than two minutes to finish, the Joint Efficiency Evaluate (JPR) Committee referred findings Tuesday to the Legislative Council relating to the Arkansas Board of Corrections’ hiring of an lawyer in the course of the board’s ongoing battles with the governor and attorney general.

The referral was the one matter of enterprise earlier than JPR this morning, and Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe) instantly moved that the committee refer the next findings to the Legislative Council:

• The Board of Corrections acted with disregard to public transparency, together with violations of the state Freedom of Info Act, when hiring lawyer Abtin Mehdizadegan as exterior counsel;
• The board lacked monetary and statutory authority to enter right into a contract with Mehdizadegan or his agency; 
• There have been “perceived and mentioned violations of legislation” by the board relating to Mehdizadegan’s hiring;
• The board acknowledged a scarcity of correct course of in conducting the board conferences wherein Mehdizadegan was in the end employed.

Based mostly on these findings, Dismang stated, JPR really helpful the Legislative Council decline to assessment or ratify the contract between the corrections board and Mehdizadegan.

The vote on Dismang’s movement was not unanimous — a handful of half-hearted “no” votes could be heard on the video — however the movement handed overwhelmingly nonetheless, and chair Mark Berry (R-Ozark) rapidly adjourned the committee simply earlier than 10:58 a.m.

At this time’s assembly was a continuation of each yesterday morning’s JPR meeting and a proxy battle some legislators are waging in opposition to the corrections board on behalf of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The committee questioned Mehdizadegan and board members at length at two meetings earlier this month. 

A movement much like Dismang’s failed yesterday on a voice vote. That movement, raised by Sen. Jim Petty (R-Van Buren), would have preemptively blocked any contract with Mehdizadegan, declared the board had disregarded state legislation, and referred the matter to the state Division of Inspector Basic for additional investigation. (The inspector basic is a governor-appointed workplace tasked with stopping, detecting and investigating fraud and abuse inside the authorities.)

Petty’s movement failed on Monday, maybe on account of some members being absent. Afterwards, Berry — who’s been extremely essential of Mehdizadegan and the corrections board — stated the committee would meet once more right this moment.

Dismang famous his movement didn’t embrace a referral to the inspector basic. In any other case, right this moment’s movement was functionally the identical as yesterday’s. Mehdizadegan didn’t instantly return a request for remark.

The publish Legislative committee says to disregard corrections board’s contract with attorney appeared first on Arkansas Times.