Posted on 01/13/2005 1:01:37 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Embattled Secretary of State Kevin Shelley agreed Thursday to testify Feb. 3 before the legislative committee investigating his use of federal election funds, his aides said.
Shelley made the commitment Thursday morning, meeting a 10 a.m. deadline to confirm his appearance before the Joint Legislative Audit Committee's hearing next month. The committee's chair, Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, said she would seek a subpoena to compel his testimony if he did not agree to come.
Shelley made the commitment in a letter and telephone call to Parra, said his spokeswoman, Caren Daniels-Meade.
"He looks forward to participating," she said.
Parra scheduled an 1:15 a.m. news conference to discuss the development.
The committee investigating Shelley's use of federal Help America Vote Act funds, met 7 1/2 hours Monday to consider a state audit that charged his office with mishandling some of the money.
State Auditor Elaine Howle told the committee that Shelley's office poorly managed portions of $46 million in election funds with "disregard for proper controls and poor oversight." The auditor alleged numerous instances of money steered to consultants who attended partisan political events and to contractors without competitive bidding. Many performed services that had little relationship to the election funds' purpose.
California is expected to receive approximately $350 million of the nearly $4 billion in funds earmarked by Congress in 2002 to modernize U.S. voting systems in the wake of the 2000 presidential election debacle in Florida.
A Shelley aide, special counsel Tony Miller, told committee members Monday that the problems with handling the money were "old news." Miller said the secretary of state's office had established new procedures to monitor how it spends the money and hopes to make California a model for the nation in spending the federal funds.
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On the Net:
Secretary of State: http://www.ss.ca.gov
Background information at Joint Legislative Audit Committee: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/newcomframeset.asp?committee208
The Committee: Mr Shelly did you have a good day? How's the family? I guess that's all the questions. we'll get back to you later.
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