Investigative Audit Of State Health Department Finds Constitutional Violation

An investigative state audit released today found the Oklahoma State Department of Health violated the Constitution in its pandemic spending.

This audit was from September 2019 through February 2021, and some lawmakers are asking why it took so long to be released. The findings also lead to many other questions. Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector, Cindy Byrd, said there have been concerns of improper use of funds by the state health department.

The five audit's findings include:

1. There was no supporting documentation that PPE was received after payments
2. The state paid for PPE before receiving it, which violates the state Constitution
3. There were one-time purchases in excess of the allowable $250,000
4. The Cabinet Secretary for Health did not have authority to delegate purchasing authority
5. There were inadequate controls regarding the PPE inventory system

Senator George Young, a democratic in Oklahoma and on the Health and Human Services Committee, said he was shocked to learn of the findings.

"Even in a pandemic, those kinds of decisions, you have to come back and get some other input on, and so that surprised me that it seems like it was literally out of control,” said Young.

The audit reported the state is still missing more than $5.4 million in goods that were paid. As News On 6 has reported, $2,125,000 was paid to PPE Supplies LLC of Tulsa for N-95 masks. Records state Casey Bradford, who is an owner of PPE Supplies LLC, has only refunded a partial payment of $300,000.

"The dollar amounts are just astounding,” said Young. “So, this is significant. I think this audit is really important."

The audit also revealed former state health commissioner, Lance Fry, had a 40 percent annual salary increase, from $215,188 in July 2020 to $335,160 in January 2021.

Full audit here

Governor Kevin Stitt released the following statement after reviewing the investigative audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Health:

“First, I appreciate the hard work and thorough investigation conducted by Auditor Byrd and I continue to be fully committed to transparency in state government.

“COVID was an unprecedented crisis across the world. From the beginning, my top priority has been to protect the health and safety of Oklahomans. In early March 2020, we were one of the first states to shut down nursing homes to protect the most vulnerable, saving countless lives. To keep hospitals open and our frontline workers safe, I issued executive orders to get PPE to our state as quickly as possible. Looking back today, we can acknowledge that there were technical errors while still knowing we did everything we could to protect the citizens of this state during an unimaginable time.

“Lastly, I am grateful to Attorney General John O’Connor for working with OSDH and fighting to ensure the state receives the money it is owed.”

Statement from Julie Pittman, Deputy General Counsel to the Attorney General:

The Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General conducts ongoing investigations into matters which may lead to civil litigation or criminal prosecution or simply the closing of a file. The Attorney General may request an investigatory audit as part of an investigation. Per the Attorney General’s common practice and statutory authority, our office does not release investigatory audits which are part of the investigatory file.