Re: “Sonntag uses elected status to bypass travel limits” (TNT, 6-18).
I believe the reporter has it wrong when he states that the state auditor’s office is prohibited by Senate Bill 5460 from travel because of a freeze. He states, and probably correctly, that the auditor’s office is a state agency. But the bill goes on to say: “State agencies of the legislative, executive and judicial branches . . .”
The auditor’s office is not an agency of any of these branches; it is a separate elected office. I think Auditor Brian Sonntag is correct in stating that he is a separate elected office and not covered by the bill.
Anyhow, he made the speaking commitment back in 2008 before enactment of the legislation, and it certainly appears that the expenses were reasonable and that his purpose in speaking to the Association of Government Accountants was likewise reasonable.
