Audit: Oklahoma Health Dept. Spending Violated State Constitution

A newly released investigatory audit found the Oklahoma State Department of Health lost millions from bad PPE purchases and violated the state constitution by paying up-front for supplies. 

Auditor Cindy Byrd released the audit report on Tuesday despite Attorney General John O’Connor’s office claiming the report was closed. 

Click here to view the full report. 

Last week Rachel Roberts, a spokesperson for O’Connor’s office told News 9 that the report, which was finished in May 2021, would not be released because it “is kept confidential as it is part of litigation and investigatory files of the Attorney General’s office.” 

“We have multiple cases ongoing that were referred to in the audit,” Roberts said in an email. “These cases are all at different stages in litigation, to ensure the State’s interests are protected.” 

Byrd said in a statement on Wednesday that her office received an open records request for the report and has no reason to keep its findings confidential. 

“I have concluded there is no Oklahoma statute that gives any state official the authority to withhold this information,” Byrd said. 

The report investigated the spending of the OSDH between Sept. 2019 and February 2021, when there was widespread demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and limited supply. Gov. Kevin Stitt eased purchasing requirements to allow state departments to quickly buy the supplies. 

“With an already strained environment, the staff of OSDH were about to experience the unimaginable,” the audit report said. 

The report found OSDH made purchased $5.4 million worth of PPE that the state has never received. 

Limited supply led to quick purchases with new companies and up-front payments by the state, according to the audit, including a $2 million order made to a bar owner in Tulsa who promised more than one million masks to the state. 

Related: Oklahoma Business Suing International Companies After Losing Nearly $2 Million In Botched PPE Order 

“OSDH believes its response to this extraordinary public health crisis was prompt and effective within the resources and infrastructure available at the time,” an OSDH spokesperson said in a statement.  

“Purchases were made in the midst of a global supply chain crises where acquisitions had to be made expeditiously. The OSDH and State Leaders’ focus was and continues to be on protecting the health and safety of the citizens of Oklahoma. As the State Auditor’s report reflects, OSDH with the assistance of the Attorney General’s Office, are working diligently to resolve the matters of missing product or the return of State funds. OSDH remains committed to excellence in providing public health resources while exercising good stewardship of public funds.” 

The audit also found the OSDH sending advance payments, without securing the supplies first, violated the Oklahoma Constitution. 

“It appears that advancing payments for PPE violates Article 10 § 15 of the Oklahoma Constitution which prohibits the credit of the State from being ‘given, pledged, or loaned to any individual, company, corporation, or association.’” 

The state is still pursuing reimbursements from the companies that failed to follow through on PPE orders through civil lawsuits. 

The audit also examined contracts with companies and health providers, as well as raises to the salaries of health officials. 

In the final days of 2020, Stitt and members of his cabinet approved of a more-than 40% increase to the salary of former Health Commissioner Lance Frye, who started in the position in May 2020. 

Frye’s salary rose from $215,188 in July 2020 to $335,160 in January 2021. Kevin Corbett, Secretary of Health and Mental Health signed off on the increase, according to the audit. 

“Looking back today, we can acknowledge that there were technical errors while still knowing we did everything we could to protect citizens of this state during an unimaginable time,” Stitt said in a statement.