Arizona AG clears former House Speaker David Gowan in travel probe

There’s no proof that former Arizona House Speaker David Gowan intentionally set up a travel-repayment system that financially benefited him, state Attorney General Mark Brnovich concluded in an investigation into allegations Gowan misused state resources.

While declining to press charges for criminal fraud and misuse of state vehicles, the Attorney General’s Office said there was abundant evidence that the House travel policy under Gowan was “broken” and led to expenses the state should not have covered.

While that raises ethical questions, it did not rise to the level of criminal activity, Brnovich’s office concluded.

“It is not strong enough that Gowan set up a system lacking in checks and balances and benefitted from it,” the report concludes. “(H)is benefit must be knowing and intentional. Lacking such proof, this matter should be closed.”

Even Gowan appears to acknowledge the problems: He reimbursed the state $12,000 from his own funds last year for what he called an inadvertent double dip into taxpayer-funded vehicles and reimbursement checks.

RELATED: Arizona House makes travel policy stricter

The reimbursement, as well as a request that the attorney general investigate the travel repayments, came after the Arizona Capitol Times documented questionable expenses and practices.

For example, records show Gowan broadened the House’s per-diem policy at the same time he launched a bid for a congressional seat in a district far removed from his home legislative base. It allowed him to claim bigger reimbursement checks, the report stated.

Brnovich said his investigators couldn’t find evidence that the speaker’s actions were intentional.

For his part, Gowan, who had to leave the House due to term limits, issued a statement calling the conclusions “both predictable and welcome.”

“I’m glad to finally put to rest this process, as well as the false accusations made by a handful of opportunists looking to settle a political score or score political points,” his statement read. It came from his state Senate campaign: Gowan hopes to return to the Legislature as he runs for an open Senate seat in southeastern Arizona next year.

An Attorney General Office’s investigation into whether Gowan’s staff hid or destroyed public records, which grew out of the travel probe, is ongoing.

Policy change pays off

The attorney general’s report exhaustively detailed Gowan’s use of state vehicles during 2015, a sloppy mileage-reporting system, and a policy shift that resulted in thousands of dollars in expense reimbursements that Gowan ultimately repaid.

That policy shift allowed lawmakers to claim per-diem pay for official duties when they were not meeting in legislative session; previous policy limited them to two days every two weeks unless they were on a committee or doing a special assignment.

With the change in place, Gowan scheduled meetings beyond the boundaries of his southeastern Arizona district, something he justified by noting the speaker serves all of Arizona, not just one district.

“This change coincided with Gowan’s decision to seek a congressional seat in a district that largely did not overlap with his legislative district’s boundaries,” the report stated.

Gowan at the time was seeking the GOP nomination for the 1st Congressional District, which covers a large swath of central and northern Arizona. He dropped out of the race in summer 2016.

In other instances, Gowan used a state-fleet vehicle to travel between the Capitol and his Sierra Vista home, while records showed he also filed expense reports for reimbursement for the same travel in his personal vehicle.

The report attributes much of apparent double dipping to poor communication between himself and one of his administrative assistants, Becca Farmer. Lacking specific details from Gowan, she would piece together expense reports from entries on his legislative and personal calendars, the report states, citing interviews with her.

Problems getting documents

Brnovich pointedly noted that the investigators and prosecutors who worked on the probe had decades of experience, an attempt to fend off potential criticism that he was going light on a politician and a fellow Republican at that.

He also defended the investigation’s length, saying problems getting needed documents contributed to the nearly 1 1/2-year duration of the investigation.

“During the course of this investigation, this office had difficulty obtaining records, and some of those records are incomplete,” Brnovich said. They only became available when J.D. Mesnard became speaker this year and handed them over to investigators.

Brnovich also credited Mesnard for a new House travel policy that ends many of the practices documented in the attorney-general report.

The revamped policy “makes it easier to indict or convict someone if this happens again,” Brnovich said.

For example, House members now must personally sign their expense reports, instead of relying on an electronic signature. Gowan’s assistant apparently attached his electronic signature to his reports, something Gowan said he was unaware of.

House members also are now strictly limited on their use of state-fleet vehicles.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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