Col. Mike Hagar, right, Secretary of Public Safety and Director of Arkansas State Police, answers questions about Sen. Bart Hester’s Freedom of Information Act bill during a Senate committee hearing in September 2023. At left is Allison Bragg, Secretary of the Department of Inspector General. (John Sykes Jr. /Arkansas Advocate)
Arkansas State Police will use an additional $1.2 million in federal pandemic relief funds for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ security detail, following final approval from lawmakers on Friday.
Col. Mike Hagar, who leads the state police force, sent a letter to the secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration on Aug. 31 asking that $1.2 million from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act funds be allocated to the agency’s executive protection detail.
“Arkansas State Police will protect any Governor and their family in accordance with state law,” Hagar said in a statement upon lawmakers’ approval. “We constantly reevaluate and update our methods and procedures based on numerous factors, including the number of protectees and threat level, which vary with each administration and from day to day.”
The funding request was presented earlier this week during the Performance Evaluation Expenditure Review subcommittee meeting. Lawmakers did not ask any questions about the request.
In an interview following Friday’s approval, Sen. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, said he supported the additional cost for the governor’s protection, but he questioned the use of ARPA funds as a source for the one-time spending.
“It seems like a pretty sizable chunk of money coming from a questionable source for things that we’re told we can’t know because of security concerns,” Leding said.
Leding said he discussed his questions with Bureau of Legislative Research staff earlier this week and was reassured that the security detail was an appropriate use of the federal dollars.
Hagar’s funding request included minimal details. The money would provide “enhanced security efforts of the Executive Protection Detail, including equipment and related professional services,” according to the letter.
Arkansas State Police spokesperson Cindy Murphy did not provide any further insight about what the funding would provide.
Arkansas officials’ security records shielded from public under altered FOIA law
During a special legislative session last September, lawmakers amended the state’s Freedom of Information Act to shield the governor’s security plans from public record.
Hagar said at the time that ensuring Sanders’ safety was different from former leaders because of her history as a nationally-recognized political figure.
Sanders served as former President Donald Trump’s press secretary from 2017 to 2019. She is also the state’s first woman governor, and she has three young children.
“I don’t doubt at all that the threats are potentially higher in this day and age,” Leding said. “Both because she is the first woman governor of the state, but also because it’s just a crazier world than it was when her dad [former Gov. Mike Huckabee] was in office.”
The final changes to Arkansas’ FOIA were a compromise to initial policy proposals, which would have also exempted documents revealing the deliberative process of state agencies, boards or commissions. At the time, Sanders said she was pushing for government efficiency, something that she said she would continue to strive toward.
Bipartisan pushback about concerns for government transparency resulted in a scaled-back version of the proposals. The final version was adopted as Act 7 of the 2023 special session.
Leding said he has lingering questions about ARPA funds being used for security costs, but he doesn’t think his questions will be answered based on the changes enacted under the law.
Sen. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)
“I don’t necessarily see any opportunity to go back and sort of undo those changes that we made or to have more transparency,” he said. “It would be great, though, if we could. It might just come from pressure from the taxpayers.”
Under Act 7, the Arkansas State Police is required to provide quarterly reports identifying expenses to the legislative council.
The agency has spent a total of nearly $1.5 million toward the executive protection detail from Jan. 1 to June 30, according to reports from Arkansas State Police. The total includes costs such as salaries, meals, lodging, ground transportation and gas and software subscriptions.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package aimed at helping the United States recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arkansas received $1.5 billion that has been used for a variety of public purposes.
The federal funds must be allocated to projects by the end of this year and distributed to the respective projects by December 31, 2026. The state Department of Finance and Administration reported Friday about $77 million of the state’s funds remain unallocated.
Scott Hardin, a spokesperson for the agency, said the majority of those funds would be discussed during an October legislative meeting.
“The request will direct the money to the Department of Education for a variety of needs, including literacy coaches, tutoring, transportation, modernization and teacher incentives,” Hardin said. “The remaining balance would then be $3.6 million.”
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