"Oklahoma taxpayers paid for it - they should get to see it."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd today publicly released her audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Former Attorney General Mike Hunter requested the audit on April 28, 2020. Byrd delivered the final audit report to the AG’s office on May 21, 2021. Byrd met with newly appointed Attorney General O’Connor on August 4th and notified him of the audit status.
“I believe all public records should be open and easily accessible to the taxpayers,” Auditor Cindy Byrd said. “After receiving an Open Records Request, and consulting with outside legal counsel, I have concluded there is no Oklahoma statute that gives any state official the authority to withhold this information. This audit is an inspection of existing public records. Consequently, my final audit report is neither confidential nor exempt from the Open Records Act. I feel compelled, both legally and ethically, to release the full audit report to the public. Oklahoma taxpayers paid for it – they should get to see it.”
The full audit report is available here and posted on the Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector’s website at www.sai.ok.gov.
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