A State Senator who represents a portion of Grant County has been cited by the Senate Ethics Committee for being reimbursed for a meeting that he did not attend.
According to the Sheridan Headlight newspaper, Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale) asked another senator, Mark Johnson (R-Ferndale) to sign his name to the sign in sheet for the Boys State meeting June 3 Clark admitted he did not attend the meeting.
In addition to receiving a salary, legislators are paid $159 per day plus mileage for traveling to and from the capital for meetings, voting, etc.
The newspaper reported that Johnson testified that he signed Clark’s name after receiving a text message asking him to sign Clark in because he was ill.
The committee recommended that Clark and Johnson be stripped of their committee chairmanships and be denied the right to claim any per-diem expenses for the rest of the year. The committee also recommended that Clark and Johnson receive a letter of reprimand from the full senate and be barred from future positions on the ethics committee.
