Joshua Bryant — Senator Bryant asks about the chief of staff's current maximum salary and compares it to the Secretary of State's Office.
Joshua Bryant — Senator Bryant continues the comparison and questions the workload differences.
Joshua Bryant — Senator Bryant asks why the office chose pay grades instead of simply increasing line-item maximums.
Joshua Bryant — The response is directed to Senator Bryant's question.
Joshua Bryant — Senator Bryant asks for staff to come up to answer questions on Item E.
Joshua Bryant — Said he could not support adding a position solely to engage with the legislature to advocate for policy changes for the office.
Joshua Bryant — Questioned why the office needs a dedicated position to make policy asks instead of using existing staff or the auditor himself.
Joshua Bryant — Was addressed by the witness regarding the government relations position and other staffing questions.
Joshua Bryant — Said he was focused on the government affairs position and noted concern that it was not revenue neutral.
Joshua Bryant — Was told the packet had been amended yesterday and that the government affairs position had been removed.
Kenneth Beddington — Identified as being present from the Secretary of State's office.
Matt Pitch — Identified as being present from the Secretary of State's office.
Ricky Hill — Senator Hill was recognized during the committee discussion, asked for someone from the office to come down to answer questions, and continued pressing on the proposed salary increase, questioning why it is so large. The chair acknowledged Hill’s ongoing questions and indicated the discussion was still in progress.
Ricky Hill — Senator Hill was recognized by the chair following the exchange over the updated packet.
Sandy Hall — Sandy Hall identified herself as Chief of Staff to Lieutenant Governor Rutledge.
John Austin Lynch — John Austin Lynch identified himself as Director of Communications.
Frances Cavenaugh — Representative Kavanaugh was recognized to ask questions and continued with a question about office hours, noting that the lights are often out when he passes by.
Frances Cavenaugh — Representative Luton was recognized and then asked a follow-up question about salary increases and how they compare to market rates.
Ronald Caldwell — Senator Hill is recognized in the committee exchange; the transcript does not name him here, but the prior context identifies him as Senator Hill.
Jim Petty — The chair responds to the request to hold the item until tomorrow.
Dennis Milligan — Auditor of State identifies himself for the record.
Stacey Peterson — Director of Communications for the Auditor's Office identifies herself for the record.
Auditor's Office representative — The Auditor's Office representative discussed the office's budget request and clarified that the proposed government relations position had been removed from the ask. They explained that the office is the only constitutional office without a government relations staffer, noted that other positions are funded through interest earnings and are revenue neutral, and described the office's heavy workload and the volume of money being returned to Arkansans. When confusion arose, the representative reiterated that the request for the government affairs position had been pulled and that the packet had been updated.
Mr. Alderman — Was thanked for coming in person to discuss the issues.
Mr. Elligan — Mr. Elligan was questioned about the basis for proposed salary increases. He explained that the request was not based on a formal outside market survey, but rather on a mid-range comparison using the governor’s pay plan and private-sector considerations. He added that salaries in his office had been stagnant for five to seven years and confirmed that the positions were still below the maximum salary level.
Breanne Davis — The chair is not named here, but the response is directed in the committee setting; no direct mention in text.
Joshua Bryant — Senator Joshua Bryant is recognized to question the Secretary of State request and follows up by asking how the office can justify adding five positions and changing pay grades/titles when the total appropriation is only increasing for those additional positions.
Joshua Bryant — Senator Bryant is about to be recognized in the next exchange.
Joshua Bryant — Senator Bryant asks about the maximum actual numbers for the pay grades.
Joshua Bryant — Senator Bryant continues asking about the pay-grade structure.
Jim Wooten — Representative Jim Wooten is referenced first as the co-chair who will provide opening comments, and later he is thanked for those comments before the meeting moves on to item B.
Breanne Davis — Breanne Davis is addressed as Madam Chair during the opening comments and again during recognition, reflecting a continuous chair-related exchange in the meeting.