LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said that his predecessor in that position, Leslie Rutledge, overspent before being elected Lieutenant Governor last fall.
During a joint budget committee meeting, Griffin said that the annual $25 million budget from settlement fees was already $11 million over budget. He said that the discovery was made during a recent internal audit, and that it limits what he can pay for a contracted attorney or other needs.
“It was never an option just to be quiet about it,” Griffin said. “I have moral, ethical and legal obligation when I find that we’ve already hit the appropriation match for the year or I have a good faith belief that we have.”
Rutledge denied any wrongdoing.
“Money obtained from lawsuit settlements and then transferred to other state agencies as well as to the general revenue for use by the general assembly was completed in accordance with the law,” she said.
