OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Auditor says the state “dropped the ball on compliance and oversight” following the results of a federal audit.

Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector (SAI) Cindy Byrd released the findings of spending made during the State Fiscal Year 2021 which includes pandemic funds.

This annual audit is a federally-mandated examination of how the state spends federal grant money and whether the state complied with federal regulations. The audit report covers $14 billion dollars of spending funds.

The SAI is required to report “questioned costs” that don’t align with the objectives of the grants. If guidelines aren’t meant, the state must repay misused funds.

“Every federal grant comes with very strict requirements which the State of Oklahoma agrees to follow,” said Byrd. “Any person in charge of managing federal grants needs a certain level of proficiency because the compliance regulations are very complicated.”

You can read the full audit findings here.

The audit report questioned costs:

• $12.2 million from CARES Forward
• $8.4 million from the Governor’s Office
• $222,951 from the Employment of Security Commission
• $286 from Oklahoma Health Care Authority
• $1.6 million and $8.6 million in questioned costs related to emergency rental assistance funds
• Investigation into $39.9 million spent from Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund

Byrd concluded her findings with the following statement:

“Oklahoma has systemic issues that makes me very concerned for taxpayers. When federal grant money is spent incorrectly, the federal government has the authority to demand repayment from the people of Oklahoma. If the federal government decides the State must pay back these questioned costs, you and I will end up paying the bill. If that happens, gross mismanagement and lack of compliance and oversight will be to blame ... The State of Oklahoma dropped the ball on compliance and oversight.”

Governor Kevin Stitt has issued the following statement:

“During the COVID pandemic, Governor Stitt had a duty to get federal relief funds to students and families in Oklahoma as quickly as possible and he responsibly accomplished just that. The State maintains its position that a negligent out-of-state vendor should be held accountable to recover the federal taxpayer dollars in question, and the auditor’s report further supports that is what ought to happen.”