A growing number of state lawmakers are backing Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s call for the resignation of the commissioner of the state’s veterans’ affairs department prior to a special meeting Tuesday that could lead to his removal.
A joint statement was issued Monday from the Alabama Legislature’s General Fund chairs — Alabama State Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore; and Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville – along with the chair of the Senate Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre; and the chair of the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, supporting Ivey’s call for Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis to resign.
The statement reads:
“As members of the Alabama Legislature, we have proudly passed legislation and allocated resources to advance our state’s support for its veteran men and women. However, we share a lack of confidence in the current Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner’s ability to adequately lead the agency and work collaboratively with other areas of state government. We fully agree with Governor Ivey and join her in calling on Commissioner Kent Davis to do the right thing for the Department and step down from his position. In recent years, we have had growing concerns and frustration, the most recent example being the agency’s mishandling of its proposed ARPA grant program. This would have been a significant problem had it not been caught by the Finance Department. Fortunately, we were able to quickly resolve the issue by working with the governor to authorize $7 million to veterans groups. Taking care of our veterans in Alabama is too important to let anything stand in the way of that mission. We look forward to a new and even stronger chapter at the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.”
Also supporting Ivey’s call for Davis’ resignation are Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville; and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper.
Davis, through the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) was not immediately available for comment.
Davis, on Friday, declined Ivey’s call for his resignation. She has called for a special meeting of the Board of Veterans Affairs for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to consider Davis’ ouster.
The concerns over Davis revolving around accusations that (ADVA) mishandled $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act money earlier this year.
The concerns were raised in an April 12 letter from the Department of Finance’s Legal Division in which questions were raised about why a selection committee for the ARPA funds that was composed of ADVA and Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH) representatives altered the number of award recipients from 15 to 33.
The decision was changed seemingly overnight from two meetings on Jan. 10 to Jan. 11. According to the Department of Finance, “it is unknown which members of the State Board of Veterans Affairs took part in a discussion with the selection committee that might have resulted in the pool of ARPA awards being expanded from 15 to 33.
ADMH, in early April, told the Department of Finance it was terminating its agreement with ADVA and would no longer administer the ARPA programs.
ADMH Commissioner Kim Boswell, in a n April 2 letter, accused ADVA of putting her agency at risk of a potential audit and other negative consequences due to comes questionable requests. One of the concerns raised by the agency involves an unnamed grant recipient who “requested funding for lobbying.” Boswell said that lobbying was prohibited.
Ivey, on Thursday, announced she had removed Col. John Kilpatrick from his position on the State Board of Veterans Affairs.
None of the statements in recent days from Ivey, Davis, or Kilpatrick acknowledged an ethics complaint filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission. A spokesperson with ADVA said on Friday he had not seen the complaint and was unaware what was in it. Ethics complaints are not considered public documents in Alabama and are not accessible for the public’s viewing.
The spokesperson, however, said the complaint was “released publicly” to the Lagniappe “which may have (tainted) the process, before being dismissed by the Ethics Commission.” The commission had reportedly dismissed a complaint raised by Davis against Boswell, according to the publication.
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