LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin has disclosed that four foreign and state entities paid more than $20,800 for food, lodging and travel expenses for trips to China, Ghana, Taiwan and New Orleans last year.
Martin, a Republican from Prairie Grove, filed an amendment to his 2015 Statement of Financial Interest on April 15 and another on Thursday to correct the dates for a trip, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Sunday (https://bit.ly/1NqyIPe ). The amendments were filed after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette initially asked in February who paid for part of Martin’s expenses on his trips to Ghana and Taiwan.
“It was just an oversight,” Martin spokesman Chris Powell said when asked why these trips weren’t disclosed on Martin’s initial Statement of Financial Interest filed Jan. 13 with the secretary of state’s office.
Under Arkansas law, state officials are required to disclose each nongovernment source of expense payments exceeding $150 for food, lodging or travel that bear a relationship to their offices.
“There was some confusion about the term ’nongovernmental’ and whether that included governmental entities outside of Arkansas or the U.S. The state Ethics Commission was consulted and they advised that those should be reported,” Powell said.
Graham Sloan, director of the Ethics Commission, said that “if somebody received that advice, I would agree with it.”
In addition to those travel-expense payments, the state spent more than $10,100 on Martin’s travel in 2015, according to information provided by Powell.
Martin was re-elected in 2014 to his second four-year term. Asked why Martin had substantially increased his travel in 2015 over his previous years as secretary of state, Powell said Martin is on the executive board of the National Association of Secretaries of State and is chairman of the Information Network of Arkansas board, “so he has been more involved in events with those organizations.”
“As to other additional travel, the secretary has received a number of invitations from various organizations and governments and accepted the invitations,” Powell said. “He has had other opportunities that he has not been able to accept.”
Martin, who is barred from seeking re-election under the state’s term limits, recently said he doesn’t plan to run for another statewide office in 2018.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, https://www.arkansasonline.com
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