By John Lyon go ahead and pull the trigger, Arkansas News Bureau ” he said. LITTLE ROCK — The state Game The commission has 658 and Fish Commission voted 6-1 vehicles despite having today to revise its policy on barely more than 600 vehicle assignment and use in employees. Beebe said Tuesday an effort to reduce the the question of whether 658 number of state-owned vehicles is too many is vehicles assigned to office “almost a rhetorical question. workers. ” The vote came a day after Gov. Hitchcock said today that Mike Beebe issued an only 411 of the vehicles are executive order to curb the assigned to individuals, and private use of state vehicles, of the others, 70 are already the subject of a pair of scheduled to be sold. lawsuits filed recently. Ron Duncan of Springdale cast “We’re looking at a 20 the only vote against the percent-25 percent vehicle policy change. Duncan did not reduction by revising this immediately return a call for policy,” said Loren Hitchcock, comment today, but a the commission’s interim commission news release said director. Duncan wanted more time to The commission amended a 1990 review information about the policy that automatically fleet before revising the assigned state vehicles to policy. the agency’s director, Also constitutionally assistant director, division independent is the Arkansas chiefs and their assistants, Highway and Transportation as well as to any employee Department. The department who worked out of the office has 2,567 vehicles, more than 60 percent of the time. any other state agency, but Under the new policy, the many are heavy-equipment commission will assign vehicles used to construct vehicles to personnel who and maintain the state’s more require full-time use of a than 16,400 miles of highways. vehicle. Employees who work Spokesman Randy Ort said in the field 60 percent of today that 23 vehicles are the time may be assigned assigned to the department’s vehicles at the director’s administrative staff members, discretion. from Director Dan Flowers to Other employees will be Ort himself, and workers who allowed to use a pool vehicle, spend 60 percent of their including taking it home time out of the office are overnight, if their division authorized take their chief approves. vehicles home. Beebe’s executive order “We are certainly going to limits state-owned vehicles look at our current policies to business use, though state to make sure we are employees can apply for a consistent with the waiver to allow them to governor’s proclamation,” Ort commute between home and work said. “Just because we’re in a state vehicle. independent doesn’t mean we The Game and Fish Commission ignore what the rest of state is constitutionally government does.” independent from the Two lawsuits, one filed by a executive branch and does not group of taxpayers and one have to comply with the filed by Johnny Rhoda of governor’s orders, but Clinton with the backing of Hitchcock said the the state Republican Party, commission’s new policy “is are challenging the personal certainly in the spirit of use of state vehicles by the order.” state employees. The commission acted at a State GOP Chairman Doyle Webb, special meeting that was who is acting as Rhoda’s scheduled before Beebe issued attorney, filed a motion the order. Hitchcock said the today in Pulaski County commission began a review of Circuit Court for an all its policies in April. injunction ordering the “I think we would have made a state’s seven constitutional vehicle policy change anyway, officers and the House but the media focus this past speaker to stop using state- summer and obviously Gov. owned vehicles until an Beebe’s statement yesterday official policy is in place and proclamation — we were to provide taxpayers with ready to do something, and we documentation of personal just figured we might as well miles driven on the vehicles.
Tags: adopts, Fish, fleet, Game, policy, reduce, state, Update, vehicle
