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Legislative Joint Auditing-State Agencies

July 10, 2025 ·1:30 PM ·Room 130 ·21:37
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Unknown speaker 0:00
Thank you.
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Speaker 4 0:30
I call the standing committee on state it. The first.
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Speaker 10 1:18
Maybe not. Mr. Chair, findings, and these are listed on page one of the audit summary.
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Speaker 15 1:48
Thank
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Speaker 18 2:16
you.
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Speaker 22 2:18
Now is Mr. Bullington again to report. First report that we have with. There we go. I think we got it now. So the first report we have today with findings is the Arkansas PBA.
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Speaker 10 2:48
FY24 report, and this report Our review of 37 career service recognition payments totaling about $40,000 revealed that the career recorded in a calculate the career service recognition
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Speaker 24 3:03
back for back on again now. Okay, sorry about
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Speaker 26 3:16
that. As a result, improper career services have been made since 2017.
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Representative Steve Unger Unverified 3:26
Mr. Chair, that concludes the presentation. Are there any agency officials present who would like to
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Speaker 34 3:55
come to the table? Thank you. be recognized. Arkansas PBS, Sojny Compiris, the Director of Education. Arkansas PBS, James
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Representative Steve Unger Unverified 4:05
Downs, controller. Does the committee have any questions for
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Senator Joshua Bryant Unverified 4:26
the agency? Yes, Senator Bryan. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess this is just a sampling of 37, or is there 37 total career service technicians?
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Unknown speaker 4:35
it's not it's going in and down Thank you.
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Speaker 43 5:35
All right, try that. Talk for me. Yeah, to hear.
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Unknown speaker 6:05
Thank you.
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Speaker 49 6:35
Thank
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Speaker 50 7:03
you. We're back in the electronic era, and the Secretary
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Representative Steve Unger Unverified 7:18
will take notes. Are there any questions from committee members? Senator Boyd. Sorry, it's been an audit. I
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Speaker 52 7:31
mean, can we have some comments?
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Senator Justin Boyd Unverified 7:35
Are our microphones off again? Okay. Okay. I mean, so can we get some context on, is this like normal? Sometimes if they don't correct the career service date in
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Speaker 10 7:54
ACES, it'll mess them up, and that's why ACES is not a career service or if it's not a career service.
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Speaker 59 8:05
Well, I would say this is kind of an isolated thing. I'm going to be quiet now because it's driving me crazy on the sound. Are there any questions? I'll try to talk loud.
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Speaker 22 8:36
If y'all can't hear me, you let me know. So the next report we're finding is the
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Speaker 10 9:00
Public Employees Retirement System. Okay, so the next report we're finding is the Public Employees Retirement System. Arkansas Code provides that a Partial Equity Ownership Agreement, or PEOA, executed by State Retirement System and Arkansas Legislative Council. When submitting a PEOA for review, including, but not limited to, and other information regarding the terms of the agreement that may be reasonably required for adequate review. APERS submitted a PEOA. In the accompanying private equity investment executive summary, APERS indicated an amount allocated over street of Harborfest Partners. 24 physical year-end capital different than the $300 million previously reviewed by ALC. This allowed for $100
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Speaker 9 10:01
million to be committed finding for APERS.
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Speaker 68 10:16
Thank you. That's your executive director, Vapors. Chief of Vapors. Does the committee have
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Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr Unverified 10:47
any questions? Nothing better. but i would you kind of this i want to understand because you talk net asset what's happened since it's such a substantial amount yes
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Speaker 68 11:02
um and this is a to you all um you know apris just got into private equity in 2023 and so this new report then as soon as we market value so our private equity for this year is at around 26 30 percent so we return on it It's a reporting system, and we've got $300 million. As of now, how much has been called on it? About $78 million. About $78 million. But it was just a reporting error, whether we did the market value.
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Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr Unverified 12:03
We corrected it, and we'll offer it in the future. Okay. So really, though, as far as, and I'm going to just put it as checks that you wrote out of there or monies that come out of the retirement system itself, they never exceeded the $300 million that you got the original approval for. No, sir. Okay. Because you're buying them at a discount? Correct. and it just for inflation that we've got in place do you believe it's the written the correct in a situation like that to me because I see exactly what they're saying is that you know if
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Speaker 2 13:04
it's an expense if it's an expense that's actually they're able to buy it at a discount of I think that we may need to know what the maximum commitment could be yes there is some that's uh from y'all's standpoint abundance of caution but it
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Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr Unverified 13:32
it may be something that uh you know when i we board that maybe we should do an amendment on or look at it because I can see where we'd want to know or have a review of what the with it just being bought at a discount that seems within reason to me so anyway Are there any other questions?
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Representative Steve Unger Unverified 14:21
Seeing none, we will file this report without objection.
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Speaker 65 14:26
Thank you. Okay. The last report we have today with findings
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Speaker 9 14:40
is the Treasurer State FY24 report. as such the treasurer
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Speaker 10 14:53
state should ensure that controls maximize the likelihood that fraudulent
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Unknown speaker 14:57
Warrant activity will be noted. Thank you.
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Representative Steve Unger Unverified 15:57
Adam's salary is the findings for the Treasurer's State. Thank you. Are there any representatives from the Treasurer's office here? If you would introduce yourselves, please. And Director of Government Affairs.
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Speaker 98 16:28
Kenneth Burleson, Deputy Treasurer and Chief
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Speaker 101 16:51
Legal Counsel. I'll ask you a question. Does that mean that somebody billed the state? Thank you. Andy. So. paper warrants and so once those came through then we initiated some additional controls around that and had sensed stuff additional ones coming through. But I'll, was this turned over to a prosecuting
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Representative Steve Unger Unverified 17:23
attorney? I don't know what that is, that is something
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Speaker 101 17:36
that it does when it comes through as an audit finding. I don't know if it was turned over to any prosecuting attorney. I think that would have been on
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Speaker 98 17:47
the agency to have turned that over to them. Yeah, since they would be the victim. Committee, other questions? Yes, sir. I just want to make sure
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Speaker 106 17:59
we know who's going to be on these. Any ideas? The bank looked into it.
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Speaker 108 18:13
One appears in memory here out of Texas. The other one, I don't know that it was cached in the same location. So as far as I know, the bank has done their due diligence trying to identify who may have cached it. Members, are there
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Speaker 104 18:24
any other questions? Senator Bryan. I'm not going to use that. I just want to follow up. So this was somebody from outside of our territory who filled an agency.
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Speaker 81 18:46
directly, or did they intercept it in a mailbox and change it? Yeah. Physically, yeah. So, we had to reissue a
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Speaker 111 19:02
check to the appropriate party. The bank that cashed that check, is there not? I guess I'm not in the banking industry, but what kind of controls do you do
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Speaker 114 19:09
for $1,609 and I don't have a check? Usually I've got to have that in my account before I can satisfy it.
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Speaker 115 19:16
what we've been then is a payee positive pay so when a check gets presented like that the pay is checked to make sure that it place at the time so it is now on the the individual agency that would do it because it was their technically their
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Speaker 116 19:45
funds it was their check. Well, we do, but I don't know if there's an investigation or if they've gone any further with it. I can't speculate.
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Speaker 108 20:03
$100,000. I did notify the FBI, but once that money was refunded back to the state, it dropped below their threshold for investigation. So I did Yeah, and it was recouped. Yeah, so it's not like we were out that
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Speaker 116 20:18
money. We got the money back. The insurance company was out, or the bank was out?
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Speaker 118 20:27
Did they recover it directly from the thief? Did they turn it in? Like, what's the... That I don't know. All I know is
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Speaker 116 20:47
that we got... We don't know. We can find out for sure. I'll get back with you on that. Members, were there any other questions?
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Speaker 121 20:57
Seeing none, you can file this report without objection. Thank you.
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Unknown speaker 21:34
Thank you.
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Agenda

A. Call to order by Chairman.

B. Adoption of minutes of the June 5, 2025 meeting.

C. Review of reports. (Refer to the Summary)

D. New Business. The next meeting will be held September 11, 2025

E. Adjournment.

500 WOODLANE STREET, SUITE 172 • LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201-1099 • PHONE: (501) 683-8600 • FAX: (501) 683-8605 www.arklegaudit.gov

LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING COMMITTEE ARKANSAS LEGISLATIVE AUDIT JULY 10, 2025 STANDING COMMITTEE ON STATE AGENCIES

ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS - JUNE 30, 2024 ARKANSAS FIRE AND POLICE PENSION REVIEW BOARD - DECEMBER 31, 2024 ARKANSAS PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT PLAN – SCHEDULE OF EMPLOYER ALLOCATIONS AND SCHEDULE OF PENSION AMOUNTS BY EMPLOYER - JUNE 30, 2025 SECRETARY OF STATE - JUNE 30, 2025 ARKANSAS STUDENT LOAN GUARANTEE FOUNDATION - SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 ARKANSAS PUBLIC DEFENDER COMMISSION -JUNE 30, 2024 DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION – EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION – JUNE 30, 2024 ARKANSAS PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM – JUNE 30, 2024 TREASURER OF STATE – JUNE 20, 2024

Speakers

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1 segment
Speaker 10
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Speaker 15
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Speaker 18
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Speaker 22
2 segments
Speaker 24
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Speaker 26
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Representative Steve Unger Unverified
6 segments
Speaker 34
1 segment
Senator Joshua Bryant Unverified
1 segment
Speaker 43
1 segment
Speaker 49
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Speaker 50
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Speaker 52
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Senator Justin Boyd Unverified
1 segment
Speaker 59
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Speaker 9
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Speaker 68
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Senator Jimmy Hickey, Jr Unverified
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Speaker 2
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Speaker 65
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Speaker 98
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Speaker 106
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Speaker 108
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Speaker 104
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Speaker 81
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Speaker 111
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Speaker 115
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Speaker 116
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Speaker 118
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Speaker 121
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